Jun 14, 2011
If you’ve been following along with our story about Bryn Mooth, who left
her 20-year publishing career to pursue a career as a freelance
writer, you’ll remember our interview a month ago when she was in
the glow of Week 1 of self-employment.
I interviewed her again in Week 5 to see how she’s coming along.
One especially interesting topic that came up in our conversation
was how asking the right questions of clients and prospects will
make you look smart, not stupid.
Bryn says, “People are afraid to ask questions because they think,
if I do… it might dampen the impression I’m making with this
prospect. But I think asking questions is a sign that you’re
interested in their business… and really helps you deliver what
they’re looking for instead of taking a wild shot in the dark… Take
the time up front to ask a couple of smart questions so you’re not
flailing when it’s time to deliver a solution.”
I couldn’t agree more. In fact, there’s whole chapter about this in
my new book, The Creative Professional’s Guide to Money. In the
chapter on positioning your price, there are 8 pages on asking
questions, plus 20 questions to ask before you do a
proposal.
In this interview, Bryn also shares how she’s:
Discovering what she doesn’t know
Getting better at managing her time, and making time for marketing activities
Trying to build a reputation in food/healthy living
Using online and social media activities, finding places to participate
Using her previous career as an editor to help her get ahead
Recently back from vacation, Bryn also describes how her
vacation as a freelancer was different from when she was a
full-timer.
What are some of the questions you ask, that get you the
information you need?