People Who Need It Won’t Pay For It - Counterintuitive Realization #2

The people who need your work the most are often the least likely to pay for it. 

Consider this: the people who need paintings the most are people who don’t have paintings in their homes. But the reason they don’t have paintings in their homes is because they don’t value paintings. So marketing to them will be an uphill battle until they finally buy, begrudgingly. And guess what? They probably won’t buy again.

On the contrary, people who already have art don’t need new art. But they’re more likely to buy because they value art. 

When I fist started freelancing, I spent so much time pitching people who desperately needed what I offered. But in the end, they didn’t value my services. So they didn’t stick around.

So it’s counterintuitive, but I’ve realized that when we pitch people who have already pre-qualified themselves as potential customers, we’re much more likely to be successful. If someone has a decent website, but not a great one, pitch that person. If someone puts a lot of time into growing their audience, but isn’t very successful yet, pitch that person. If someone has a quality video, but not a unique one, pitch that person. 

It’s tough to let go of the market’s needy segment. But you need to. You got into this to make money and do great work. Not to evangelize.