a single source, nothing corroborates it

Charge for the discovery you currently give away

Put a small paid engagement in front of every large project, with real deliverables and a written report, so the scoping work becomes a product rather than unpaid selling. The buyer leaves able to act on it alone, which is what makes commissioning the bigger project feel like a step rather than a leap.

The method

1. 01

   Put a cheap, low-commitment paid engagement in front of every large project, so the discovery work that normally happens for free becomes a product the client buys first.

2. 02

   Give the paid discovery engagement a defined set of deliverables, such as wireframes, workflow mockups, story cards and a written report, so the buyer receives something concrete rather than a sales meeting.

3. 03

   Finish the paid entry engagement with a report the client can act on by themselves, which is what makes buying the larger engagement the obvious next step rather than a leap.

4. 04

   Sell paid discovery before the project so the client can decide whether the path they had in mind is worth taking at all, rather than treating it as a fee for producing an estimate.

5. 05

   Charge for the scoping work so you establish from the start that your time costs money, rather than spending a day or two writing proposals for projects that never happen.

What it returned

• 14

  Dunn surveyed his list: courting one lead absorbs three to four hours, roughly a quarter of proposals are accepted, so about 14 unpaid hours go into landing each client.

• Janelle, who researches course creators' customers, sells a short consultation plus an actionable report that lets buyers decide whether to commission the full course build.

• Brennan says one or two people a week write to him after selling their first such session, paid, with the client then keen to go ahead with the project.

Sources

• 3 Reasons You Should Be Roadmapping - Double Your FreelancingBrennan Dunn · doubleyourfreelancing.com · Reason #1: Reduce your “Sales Overhead” · 2016-04-12
• What Should You Ask Of Your Clients Prior To Roadmapping? - Double Your FreelancingBrennan Dunn · doubleyourfreelancing.com · What Should You Ask Of Your Clients Prior To Roadmapping? · 2016-11-03
• How To Socratically Question New Project Leads - Double Your FreelancingBrennan Dunn · doubleyourfreelancing.com · How To Socratically Question New Project Leads · 2017-01-01
• The Definitive Guide To Project Billing - Double Your FreelancingBrennan Dunn · doubleyourfreelancing.com · My Recommendations · 2013-07-30