Pro Call: AMA with Ben Burns

Join in as The Futur's Ben Burns coaches Pro members through topics such as lead generation, cold outreach, organizing networking events, and content creation.

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Ben Burns is a designer who started his own design firm 10 years ago. He grew the firm to 5 employees and was acquired by Chris Do's company Blind.  

As head of digital at Blind, Ben oversaw new business and client relationships, helping generate $20 million in revenue over 4 years.    

When Blind pivoted to The FuturTM, Ben led back-end operations and product development, including standing up online courses. His expertise lies in running service-based companies, business development, and creating/selling knowledge products.

Michael's Situation and Stuck Point  

Michael has run his branding/design firm for 7 years through word-of-mouth alone. He joined The FuturTM to prepare for change.

In December, Michael lost 2 retainer clients - one due to acquisition, the other budget cuts. He now relies on freelance work, lacking new client development. Michael feels stuck not knowing how to generate new leads or implement strategies from The FuturTM courses. LinkedIn is his main idea but he's unsure how to effectively use it.

Normal Course of Business and Maintaining a Full Pipeline  

Ben acknowledges clients will inevitably leave for reasons outside a designer's control, like acquisitions or budget cuts.

The key is maintaining a full pipeline of prospects and projects at all times. This ensures the next available client is ready when an existing one departs, avoiding gaps that could stall business growth.

Michael's Service Offerings

Michael's firm specializes in branding, identity design and implementation support. This includes:

- Brand strategy documentation

- Designing brand elements like logos  

- Guiding clients' brand rollout on materials, website, app designs, trade show booths

Retainer clients pay an upfront fee, then Michael supports ongoing branding needs through production and updates.

Targeting Your Ideal Clients

Ben asks Michael to describe his typical clients. Michael realizes they've been varied but will now focus on craft/specialty manufacturers as this is his industry expertise.

Targeting an ideal client profile provides clearer marketing messages tailored to specific needs and pain points. It also attracts clients more likely to become long-term partners.

LinkedIn Prospecting Best Practices

While Michael realized LinkedIn's potential, he was unclear how to leverage it effectively. Some best practices include: connecting with relevant professional associations, alumni groups, engaging on industry discussions, crafting a compelling profile highlighting skills and case studies, running targeted ads, customized outreach messages mentioning mutual connections, and following up consistently.

Questions to Ask Prospects

When connecting with prospects, ask questions to better understand their needs and determine fit, like how they currently handle branding/design work internally or freelance, challenges launching new products, when was the last brand strategy review, and goals for rebranding/design projects. Qualitative answers help craft proposals demonstrating deep insight.  

Pricing Strategically

Michael realizes he may not be pricing projects and services appropriately. Tips include researching industry standards and competitors' rates, calculating actual project/overhead costs and desired profit margin, providing value-based packages rather than hourly rates, using retainers that bill monthly against work provided, and including optional add-on services that increase package value.

Next Action Steps

1. Research top 3 craft/manufacturer clients and study their branding needs

2. Update LinkedIn profile highlighting relevant case studies and skills  

3. Connect with 3 local manufacturer association groups on LinkedIn

4. Craft 3 customized outreach messages and schedule connect meetings

5. Calculate true costs for several project packages and price accordingly

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