I spent my first 6 months freelancing sending cold emails into the void. Maybe got 3 responses total. All no thanks. I'm starting to think I'm just not cut out for this whole thing. Then one day I get a reply. Not interested right now, but this was actually a decent email. Most people just spam me. That's it. Just... a compliment? I'm so desperate for any kind of win that I reply back basically asking what would've made him say yes. Didn't expect a response. He writes back. Long message. Breaks down exactly what he's looking for. What his actual problem is. Why most pitches miss the mark. I'm reading this like it's the holy grail. I thank him. Tell him if he ever needs help with his specific problem, I'm around. That's it. No pitch. Just left it there. Three weeks later he messages asking if I'm available. The problem we talked about is getting worse. We hop on a call. He explains what's going on. I already know from our email exchange, so I walk him through exactly what I'd do. He's nodding the whole time. Asks when I can start. Project goes great. He refers me to someone in his network. That person refers me to two more. Within 4 months I had more work than I could handle. All because I didn't pitch a guy who said no. Here's what messed me up: I'd sent hundreds of cold emails trying to close people. And what actually worked? Just having a normal conversation with someone who said he wasn't interested. I think about that a lot now. Most of us are so focused on the yes that we treat every no like a dead end. But that guy taught me more in one email than any course ever did. And then became a client anyway. The best clients I've ever landed came from cold emails where I WASN'T trying to close them. Just asked good questions. Actually listened. Stayed helpful even when they said no. Turns out people remember that. Anyway. That client is still with me. We've done like 12 projects together at this point. All because I didn't give up after no thanks.   submitted by   /u/Aggressive_Taro2107 [link]   [comments]