Happy Thursday! Welcome back to The Gig, the daily morning memo helping 2,000+ freelancers build profitable client businesses.
Mentioned in todayâs edition: Apple, Twitter, and LastPass. Plus why falling on your sword is usually a good idea, how to become a trusted advisor, and the quickest way to annoy your clients and colleagues.
Read time: 3 minutes and 38 seconds
Making the Rounds
- Apple reveals plans for new end-to-end encryption system to protect iCloud data. The new âAdvanced Data Protectionâ will be an optional feature that is likely to bring about cheers from consumers and jeers from hackers. One other group that may not love it? Law enforcement, who even with a warrant wonât be able to bypass the new encryption. Speaking of data securityâŚ
- Twitterâs massive staff exodus has exacerbated the companyâs long list of data security problems. Already sporting a troubled history of data breaches, the departure of Twitterâs Chief Information Security Officer and other top security employees has generated new levels of concern for the company. They havenât been breached yet, which is more than some companies can say right nowâŚ
- Password manager LastPass is investigating a security incident for the second time this year. Chief Executive Karim Toubba has said they are working to understand the scope of the incident and identify what specific information has been accessed. Early signs point to no customer passwords being exposed but instead LastPass proprietary info.
Working With Clients
Why Falling On Your Sword is Usually a Good Idea
If youâve been freelancing for a while, chances are youâve screwed something up when working for a client.
And if youâre new to freelancing, well⌠give it time.
Either way, mistakes are inevitable.
They canât be avoided.
But what most freelancers donât realize isâŚ
How you respond to a mistake can make or break your client relationship.
So own up to your screw ups.
If your sales letter went live with a typo in the headlineâŚ
Or you embedded the wrong video on a landing pageâŚ
Or you launched ads with a broken linkâŚ
Then take responsibility.
Donât try to deflect the blame.
Clients will respect you for it, and â assuming the offense wasnât firing-worthy â it will help to build trust and strengthen your relationship over the long term
Working For Yourself
How to Become a Trusted Advisor
Hereâs a simple yet powerful way to reframe the sales processâŚ
So you can eliminate needinessâŚ
Reduce sales resistanceâŚ
And force prospects to sell themselves to YOU.
Itâs called the âStrategy of Preeminence.â
It was created by a guy named Jay AbrahamâŚ
In case youâve never heard of JayâŚ
Heâs a legendary copywriter, consultant, and business owner whoâs coached some of the biggest names across many industries, including Tony Robbins, Ramit Sethi, Daymond John, Eben Pagan, and many others.
Now hereâs how it works:
Instead of focusing on your product or service and why itâs a great fit for the prospectâŚ
Frame the conversation as a diagnostic tool to help them figure out whatâs best for their specific situation⌠even if that means NOT working with you.
It may sound simpleâŚ
But this subtle shift can flip the script and remove sales pressure for the prospect.
And if you can demonstrate a deeper level of understanding of their fears, problems, and goals than anyone elseâŚ
Through authentic, empathetic conversation about their current situationâŚ
Then chances are, theyâll be eager to work with you anyway.
Which means you wonât need to rely on fake urgency or fast action discounts to close the deal.
Plus the prospect will be more pre-framed to trust you and implement your solution.
Tools We Love
The Quickest Way to Annoy Your Clients and Colleagues
Ever been on call with someone who had lots of background noise?
It sucks.
But⌠itâs even worse when youâre the one with the bad background noise.
Fortunately, thatâs where Krisp comes in.
Itâs a free software solution that completely eliminates background noise.
And when we say completely, we mean it.
Whether itâs a barking dog, crying baby, or a computer fan so loud it could pass for a vacuum cleanerâŚ
Krisp uses AI technology to cut out background noises from your mic and speaker so you (and more importantly, your clients and colleagues) can finally enjoy distraction-free calls.
Gig Alerts
Looking for clients? These freelance jobs were posted on Upwork in the last 24 hours:
- Graphic Designer To Create Ad Creatives For Facebook Campaigns
- Graphic Designer for E-commerce Images
- ââLooking for content writers and copy writers for clothing brand website
- Content Writer for online Furniture Store (SEO is plus)
- Google and Instagram Ad Buyer and Manager
- Amazon, Google and Facebook Ads Manager
Featured Newsletter
Take your growing company to the next level with down-to-earth insight on tax strategy, bookkeeping, and software.
Be Your Own CFO: The Newsletter combines the raw power of finance with the human element of running a company.
A finance newsletter for entrepreneurs, written by an entrepreneurial CPA.
Quote of the Day
âThere are no rules. That is how art is born, how breakthroughs happen. Go against the rules or ignore the rules. That is what invention is about.â
â Helen Frankenthaler
In Case You Missed It
- Monday: đ Incentive to stay
- Tuesday: đ Global market slowdown
- Wednesday:đ Apple to the rescue