Hidden Secret #4: Don’t Write; Solve Problems for Your Clients

When you solve problems for your clients, you’ll become invaluable to them.

Today, I have some advice for any copywriter engaging a new prospect. And a story about a time when I used this hidden secret to land a client worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

It all started when I visited a startup in Montreal that did barcode scanning for systems like Oracle and SAP. The company only had 10 employees, so I met with the founder/CEO.

But I didn’t ask what they needed written. Instead, I asked, “What’s your biggest business problem?”

The CEO did a double take. He hadn’t expected that one. But he told me the company’s biggest challenge was standing out in a crowd of vendors. Even though his company had a more powerful product with dozens of happy customers.

Then I asked, “Who are your prospective customers?” This time he shot back, “Why do you need to know that?” I replied, “The more I know about your customers, the more I can help you.”

That seemed to satisfy him. As we talked, he said he’d like to find a way to showcase the company’s successful installs. Clearly, they needed customer stories, but had no one to write them.

So I proposed doing some of those to start. And I knew a designer who would give them a professional look.

I was supposed to be talking about a three-week update on a software manual. I ended up working with the company for three years, taking a full-time job as VP of marketing, traveling all over, and getting a $25,000 bonus when the company sold the business to a larger competitor.

Over the years, I helped create many case studies, a website, a newsletter, and numerous white papers: the B2B content that attracted dozens of new customers and generated millions of dollars in sales. Eventually, I had a marketing team of eight people, plus several contract writers.

And all that grew from me asking those two strategic questions at our first meeting.

This story has a postscript. Another writer showed up the same week I did. But he asked the typical question, “What do you need written?” After looking at the company’s materials, he proposed doing a style guide to help all the publications sound the same.

Now, I have nothing against style guides. I’ve created them, and I’ve used them. But how would a style guide solve that company’s critical business problem and help it stand out from the crowd?

That CEO picked me over the other writer for one good reason.

I didn’t present myself as a junior whose best idea was making a style guide. I engaged him more like a consultant who was there to help solve his biggest business problems. So he was willing to invest in what I proposed, over and over.

During your next interview with a prospect, why not try out some more strategic questions? Ask them about their marketing challenges. Find some juicy issue you can help with.

Engaging a prospect at a higher level will enable you to add far more value. And that will earn their respect and their repeat business.

Here’s to your copywriting success, powered by strategic questions!