Being the new guy in the online business community is hard.

No one takes you seriously. Everyone thinks you have nothing to offer and always write you off.

This is why the “new guys” pose as experts because they can't stand the lack of recognition and respect.

So today, I'll show you how to prove to people that you're the right man for the job even if you're new to the sales game.

Storytime 📖

5 months ago. I had about 600+ followers.

And yet, I was offering a twitter growth coaching call. (I know, stupid).

But I was confident in my abilities and I actually landed my first client with that same following.

I didn't have any social proof or even years of experience. No portfolio. Nothing.

And yet, it was still easy to do.

All I did was…

1. Send out a lot of DMs

2. Got a 15% open rate or so (only 3 people replied lol)

3. Told the prospects about my “prototype” and how I'm just testing things out

4. Sold to one of them at a ridiculous price of $20

5. Asked for a testimonial (and feedback) after the program.

6. Asked for referrals

See. Easy.

Although the referrals didn't work. Everything else did.

Since you have no audience or even authority in your niche. Why wait till you've built one before selling your stuff? That's pretty stupid.

Reason why it's stupid is because the product might not sell as well as it should because you never tested it and only waited till you had an audience.

Being a small account provides you the opportunity to test product/service ideas.

Which in turn provides you with a lot of the recognition and social proof you need to kickstart your business.

But then again…

There's one thing you should avoid when pitching in the DMs for your social proof

Stop being too needy

People can see through needy salesmen.

I actually tried an experiment today on this same issue.

I pitched to a guy in the DMs and the guy respectfully told me “I'll reach out to you when I need you”

And then, to see if being a bit pushy can bring him to a close. I asked for a date when I can get back to him.

He ghosted me 😅

So yeah. A no is a no. Don't push any further.

Big Takeaways:

• You can get clients even at 600 followers

• Don't listen to anyone that says you need up to 1000 followers to start monetizing. They'll kill your drive.

• Send more DMs. The better you get, the higher the Avg.Open rate.

• Now is the time to test your product ideas

• Don't be Needy

That's all for now.

Hope you learnt something from today's issue and I would see you next Sunday.

— Abdulmalik Salawu