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Sales Expectations Crashing? How To Solve It.

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Let’s get serious. Are your products and services bringing in the revenue you expected, based on your pre-launch market and customer research? Or do too many sales calls crumble and bring you rejection instead of revenue? It is true that most B2B sales conversations result in No instead of Yes—but is a flashing red light signaling that you’re losing an unacceptable number of sales?

Failed sales is a common scenario in businesses and sadly, those who face this problem for an extended period must close their doors. There are a few usual suspects known to hasten the demise, such as insufficient working capital/cash-flow (29%) and an improper product-market fit (34%). A walk through your neighborhood is bound to reveal empty storefronts where once a happy and hopeful B2C entrepreneur expected to find sustainable success and become a familiar face in the community. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that of the 34.8M active small businesses in the US in 2025 (82% solopreneurs), 20.4% failed in the first year and 45% failed within five years of operating.

If your sales expectations are crashing, you must take action in short order. Reconfirm who comprises your best customer groups and their motivations for buying your category of services or products by doing some market research. If you detect a shift in customer behavior regarding the need for your offering, extend your research to explore the possibility of providing another service, an offering that has a more extensive pool of customers that will welcome your new offering and will be accessible to you. Your adjusted offering—which might be aimed at another customer group— will become the launchpad for executing a sustainable pivot. While you research and strategize to correct your product-market problem, consider trying to get hired into a side-hustle job, so you can get paid and build up your paltry cash-flow.

There could be another, less obvious, obstacle to your sales problem. Think carefully; how do you describe the Unique Selling Proposition of your service or product and “paint a picture” that helps your prospect envision the value delivered by your offering? Your difficulty with closing deals and making sales might be the result of what you say, or do not say— a failure to communicate. Outside of a viable product-market fit, how you explain and position your service or product for the prospect is the most important part of your sales strategy. If you expect to make sales, it is necessary to help prospects connect the dots between their needs, goals, or pain points and the logic of your solution. Your failure to have successful sales calls might boil down to a handful of common misunderstandings that are fixable:

  • Prospective clients do not understand the When, Where, or Why of your offering.
  • Prospective clients are not convinced that your solution can solve their problem, or the benefit, as the prospect understands it, seems insufficient when compared to the time and money required to implement.
  • You are trying to sell to the wrong prospect (product-market disconnect).

Know why customers buy your offering

Whether you’re wearing your sales hat or marketing hat, you must learn to communicate unambiguously the most important aspect of your brand story—why your solution is the best fit for the prospect’s need, goal, or pain point. Open your favorite note-taking app—or use the back of an envelope—-and list the core capabilities and benefits that your product or service brings to customers and articulate clearly what it all could mean to them. You must deliver a credible use case explanation that spells out how and why your offering produces the desired outcomes. Create a script that conveys a message that connects the dots and resonates with the prospect’s agenda. Your mission is to help the prospect understand how and why your offering will yield the best return on investment.

When re-assessing and re-booting your USP, remember that what may seem clear to you might confuse or overwhelm your listener—the prospect. Bear in mind that constructive feedback is your friend and can help you to more effectively articulate the message. The most effective way to obtain reliable feedback is to ask those who know your offerings:

  • Ask customers. Those who have successfully used your product or service understand how, where and when to use it and they know how your offering performs in real time. You may be surprised by what a boots-on-the-ground perspective reveals about your product or service. Customer feedback can give you powerful insights into what matters to customers.
  • Ask colleagues who know your market. Professional colleagues who are in an adjacent business to your own, or who have some familiarity with your customers or marketplace, may be able to give you a couple of pearls of wisdom regarding what your prospects may value about your solution.
  • Investigate social media comment sections and industry publications. Information included in published research or case studies found in industry magazines and newsletters may give you the heads-up, or a deeper understanding, of any number of issues in your marketplace. The user-generated content found in the comments section of social media platforms are another trove of grassroots insights and wisdom that flows from users of your category of service or product. The commenters are not your customers, but you can still learn what is important to those who use a similar offering.

Are speaking to the decision-maker?

You know, identifying the decision-maker for your sale is not always easy. I’ve been gaslighted several times by someone who has a job title that makes it easy to masquerade as a decision-maker when that is not the case. I’ve also been told by certain prospects that s/he is the sole decision maker, when that also is not the case. Heads-up—unless you’re talking to a fellow Freelance professional, there is rarely just one decision-maker for major projects. Obtaining access to an official member of the decision committee for your sale is not always easy. Moreover, speaking with the committee member who has the most clout might be impossible. Sometimes the heavy hitter prefers to hide in the background. Unless you have a friend inside the organization, all you can do is ask and hope that you get an honest answer.

The goal here is to avoid wasting time trying to sell to someone who is unable to green-light the sale. One of the most frustrating experiences in sales is devoting time and energy on a so-called prospect who doesn’t have the authority to make purchasing decisions. Serious prospects have the authority to buy. Masquerading prospects tend to be evasive or vague about the decision-making process. If the prospect repeatedly tells you s/he must consult with someone else and, especially, if the sales never seems to move forward, it’s likely that you have been hoodwinked by an imposter and you are wasting your time. Sharing key details with the other members of the decision committee is to be expected. Being unclear about internal steps, such as the preferred delivery timeline or the purchase budget could be a red flag.

Early in your sales conversations, it’s essential to ask about the prospect’s decision-making process. In your first meeting, ask questions like, “Who else will be involved in the decision?” or “What steps will we go through for the final approval?” to help confirm whether or not you’re speaking with the right person. Note that genuine prospects will ask you specific performance, delivery and pricing questions, or will want to know how your offering compares to a competitor.

 Product-market disconnect/wrong prospect

Not everyone is your prospect, even if it appears that certain potential customer groups should be interested in your solution. It’s disappointing, but even an excellent product or service cannot be of use to everyone. If you approach would-be prospects, who politely decline, use it as a learning opportunity; you might receive information about your target customers that can help you strengthen your USP pitch. But whatever—if you put into motion the remedies discussed above, you’ll likely have more than enough sales calls to make you forget about the one that got away.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Dreamstime 2023

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Brave New World of B2B Marketing: What Customers Expect Now

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The processes of marketing and sales in the B2B sector continues adjusting to local and global economic factors, as it responds to revolutionary technological advancements that are changing so much about how business is done. What might successful marketing campaigns and sales strategies look like as we approach 2027? What will define effective tactics? “Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride” is the correct answer for the time being. Most of all, whatever lead generation marketing strategies and tactics that have done a respectable job bringing in customers will need a review and a reset as you come face2face with the growing adoption of artificial intelligence-powered business tools. Also rocking the boat is the availability of online information that’s fueling the Do It Yourself B2B buyer journey that’s seducing more of your prospects. Funnels and channels are receding into history.

Search moves from keywords to trustworthy references

Let’s begin with what’s on track to become the most impactful development in both business and personal sectors—the arrival, and acceptance, of artificial AI-powered everything. You’ve surely noticed that keyword searches may not only produce a list of website links? More often than not, you also see an AI-overview that gives addresses your query in AI-generated complete sentences. AI-driven traffic is growing 165 times faster than organic search. An important outcome of this change is that your website will now play a lesser role in your marketing strategy—or maybe none at all. Recall that just a year ago, it was a given that the foundation of your digital presence (and marketing) was the website. So it’s not about getting your site into the Top 10 search results anymore. Now, it’s Google AI-verified citations that make your organization look credible. Maybe you should consider it another spin on EEAT (experience, expertise, authoritative, trustworthy)?

Today, search means earning a referral as a trusted source; if AI can’t recommend you, there’s little chance you’ll be able to interact with a prospect yourself and attempt to make a pitch. If you do nothing else this year, devise a strategy to upgrade your marketing searchability so you can optimize your online presence for AI search engines and demonstrate that your organization is trustworthy and deserving of recommendation. Freelancers who hesitate to hire a marketing company (maybe until you get beyond tax time?) can perform some DIY work to make your entity become AI-search favorable.

  • Establish visibility on digital sources these systems already trust. Online public relations mentions have considerable influence on AI visibility, so get a PR campaign going and get your entity (and yourself) mentioned in industry publications. Additionally, establish a presence on experts’ forums and industry publications.
  • Prospects tend to use longer, more conversational queries when conducting AI-powered searches, say the SEO experts at BrightEdge, who found that queries of eight or more words trigger AI Overviews far more frequently. You can align your company with this customer behavior when you brainstorm a list of the most frequently asked questions you receive; make sure that you include complex or specific queries. Next, drop those FAQs and your responses into the appropriate tabs on your website and social media, written as concise, problem-solving sentences that are placed in the appropriate tabs in your website and social media platforms. Your objective is to create opportunities for your digital content (i.e., marketing messages)to be referenced in AI searches.
  • Remember that prospective buyers expect to find relevant information about your services and products on your social media platforms. Prospects expect that questions can be asked and answered and that expectation makes social media ideal sites for AI-friendly conversational queries that portray your company as trustworthy. Prospective buyers will also appreciate demos, comparisons, pricing and outcomes. Brand stories may become less important as prospective buyers turn to AI search for content that shows how your solution will solve problems. Freelancers would be wise to post content that answers typical buyer journey FAQs because if your social content looks like ads, it might be ignored.

Funnels are responsive, static buyer journeys are done

The marketing/sales funnel as we’ve known it is on a slippery slope to obsolescence in 2026. If your approach to leadgen hasn’t changed in two years or so, it’s probably out-of-date because it is almost certainly unresponsive to nuanced customer needs. One-size-fits-all leadgen can’t keep up with the In Real Time B2B buyer journey behavior and expectations. Hyper-responsive AI-driven leadgen marketing/sales funnels are able to adjust timing, marketing (or sales) channels and messaging that responds to the behavior of prospective buyers IRT. That responsiveness is valuable to you because a dropped lead is lost revenue. According to research by Mc Kinsey, adaptive AI-powered marketing/sales funnels reduce prospect drop-off and make a sale more likely.

The typical marketing/sales funnel is being outclassed as buyers increasingly turn to AI agents for product or service summaries and reviews, performance comparisons and rankingsof competing products or services and, ultimately, purchase recommendations. Adobe Analytics reports that traffic to retailer websites from generative AI sources increased by 1,200% in February 2025 vs. July 2024.

What Freelancers must do now is to stop thinking of buying “stages”—Top of Funnel, Middle of Funnel, Bottom of Funnel— and start recognizing and responding to buying signals. Redesign your marketing/sales funnel to respond to behavior that does not follow the (increasingly irrelevant) TOFU, MOFU, BOFU stages. AI-powered “zero-click” journeys can distill the discovery-to-decision process—and simultaneously effectively eliminate opportunities for brands to influence prospects, differentiate from competitors—or even appear in the list of possibilities during the buyer journey. A survey of more than 1,100 US consumers by Bain & Company found that 80% of them rely on these “zero-click” results for at least 40% of their searches. 

AI ready to become the buyer journey influencer

The involvement of AI agents such as Gemini Deep Research and Microsoft Copilot that “streamline” the B2B buyer journey present a real challenge to Freelancers and others who have marketing and sales responsibility. Freelancers who are reluctant to adapt their leadgen tactics to include an AI-friendly protocol might have already begun to lose those who might have been customers. What’s scary is that it’s unlikely you’ll know what’s happening to your leads. Remember, the obligatory visit to your website is often omitted when the buyer journey is guided by the brisk efficiency of an AI agent. There will be no browsing through our services and about us tabs; no marketing content downloads that deliver (hopefully) convincing info for prospects to read and assess. When contact with the core touch point that is your website is bypassed, marketers will be unable to reach out and send a personalized marketing email that could start a dialogue, build trust and result in a sale. Since the “fingerprint” obtained from contact with your website will not be available, you won’t know which interested prospects might have become customers.

In the Brave New World that’s brought to us by AI capabilities, if the digital presence of your brand is scarce on platforms other than your website, your company and its services or products may be rendered effectively invisible to AI-powered search. As AI assistants guide prospective buyers through a frictionless process that moves from questions to product or service comparisons to recommendations, relatively quickly and seamlessly. There will be no need to study an e-book or envision how a case study might apply to a prospect’s needs and goals, no need to listen to a webinar or podcast. Products and services that are AI-friendly will be made available for consideration; marketing content that the AI agent finds on a trusted platform will be shared with prospects and will form the basis of the buying recommendation. It is clear that how you promote and sell your products and services will be upended.

Yet all may not be lost, thanks to basic human behaviors. Researchers at Bain and Company anticipates B2B prospective customers will respond to the growing presence of AI with, you guessed it, acceptance or avoidance. Still, wise Freelance professionals will be in a stronger position by implementing even a low-cost, no-cost strategy designed to make their brand more visible to AI search and AI agents. So, ramp up your social media content to become more service or product oriented and create content that provides info that substantively assists the buyer journey. Sell prospects the way they want to be sold and express your content in an AI-friendly format, as per your analysis of FAQs. Recognizing PR opportunities whose purpose is to obtain for your brand heightened visibility and favorable mentions in respected publications and give yourself another way to position your brand as trustworthy and deserving of an AI agent recommendation. Bain and Company predictions are as follows:

1). Prospective customers will go directly to the brand website, because that’s what they’ve always done. In fact, who are slow to adopt generative AI may dominate B2B marketing and sales processes enabling traditional sales channels to retain the lion’s share of traffic. That said, the growing use of AI agents and the ubiquity of AI-powered search is likely to chip away at traditional methods.

2.) Customers whose buyer journey is AI-supported will span the spectrum from casual shopping assistance to completion of a major purchase guided by an AI agent. These behaviors might slow down the inevitability of AI influence on the buyer journey.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Dragoscondrea | Dreamstime.com

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To Court Your Competitors’ Customers

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Motivating prospective customers to do business with you is the leading function of independent Freelance professionals and business owners. You may not look at it this way, but recognize that your pool of potential customers also includes those who are currently doing business with one of your competitors. Think about it—how many B2B customers are buying within your category of services or products for the first time? Unless your solution is new to the market and not available from others, your customers have been someone else’s customers and every once in a while some of them might decide to look around to see what’s new or a better fit for their needs.

While it’s true that getting your unique selling proposition in front of prospective customers is essential to converting them into paying customers, there are messaging refinements you can make to strengthen your appeal to prospects who are currently active in a competitor’s camp. Some in that cohort might be dissatisfied with the experience they’ve had when using a certain service or product, or maybe the vendor relationship was underwhelming. Others might simply feel a little restless and inclined to look around and find out who else is out there (you!). Here are tactics that will be useful for your outreach to competitors’ customers.

Analyze the competitive landscape

You need to learn who your competitors’ customers are from a demographic standpoint and obtain insight into what motivated them to choose a competitor. Among the information you’ll appreciate understanding are factors that cause competitors’ customers to become one-off users and factors that lead them to become loyal customers—what are the triggers for each cohort? Study the websites and social media platforms of your primary competitors as a way to learn what might matters to competitors’ customers.

Conducting a competitor analysis will help you understand the Unique Sales Proposition (USP) and perceived advantages of products and services offered by your rivals and get a handle on what it could mean to their customers. What persuades their prospects to choose those offerings instead of yours’ and what can you do to make your offerings more appealing to them? How and where your competitors market their services or products, their pricing strategy, payment options, market visibility and brand popularity are certain to be integral to attracting and keeping those customers. By analyzing the strengths and potential weaknesses of competitors and comparing them to the strengths and weaknesses of your organization, you may be able to identify gaps in the market and find ways to promote what it is that rivals’ customers might be persuaded to perceive as a better on your side of the fence.

Identify gaps in the market

Does your competitive analysis reveal incompletely addressed customer needs or preferences? Those factors might crack open a window that lets you pull in a few of your rivals’ customers. Incisive competitive research may lead you to discover that a cohort of competitors’ customers would appreciate a more comprehensive customer service package—maybe after-sale training, for example? Or perhaps, in this era of rising prices, a couple of payment options that you’ve never bothered to promote, could turn the tide in your favor and carry in a few of your competitors’ customers.

Because you will not be able to research the pain points and priorities of your competitors’ customers because it’s almost certain that you cannot access their contact info. Unless someone visits your social media or website and chooses to reveal an email address—you cannot send a survey and hope for a response. So, you’ll have to get creative to learn about the unaddressed needs of your competitors’ customers.

Visit your competitors’ social media accounts and do some social listening by checking out comment sections. There you may learn of pain points or perceived inconveniences that you can address in your marketing messages. You will also be wise to read industry articles and visit the social media platforms of those organizations to read market research published by major market research firms that report on your industry sector.

Get visible

Today’s buyer journey is not like it was even a year or two ago; prospects may not contact vendors until they are well into the buyer journey. Prospects now explore potential vendors for the solutions they need and on their own compare offerings, get an idea of costs and only then will they reach out to two or three candidates to get details and create a shortlist.

Your strategy is to be proactive. Find out where competitors’ customers discover new products or services—do they watch product or service reviews on YouTube? Do they follow industry experts or influencers on Instagram or TikTok? Customers trust brands that meet them where they already are and provide value before the sale even happens. Once you’ve learned who their guiding stars are, establish a presence for your entity in those spaces.

You want to get into organic search results with helpful content that answers questions that are important to prospects and that can include getting out in front of hesitation by addressing common objections. Showcase the outcomes your service or products can produce and how to achieve them. Blog posts, short videos, webinars, or educational product Q & A guides may be effective. The more consistently you show up with the right message, the more likely you will be able to win over your competitor’s customers—as well as finding a few new customers for yourself.

Promote your USPs

Once you understand what differentiates your brand from its competitors, as well as the evolving shopping habits of your target market, you can begin to promote the desirable and unique qualities that make your brand stand out. These might include your prices, delivery time, product availability, convenience, quality, or customer service.

These traits, which are part of the USP, should be consistently promoted across your entire business, including your website, marketing and PR, packaging and customer experience from buyer journey to post-sale. By upholding these values throughout your organization’s customer experience, you can ensure that potential buyers will know why they should switch to your brand.

Nurture brand loyalty

Acquiring new customers is much more expensive than retaining an existing one, as research has shown. Once a customer has made his/her first purchase, it’s essential to encourage repeat visits if you want to see a strong return on your investment. Building these connections will instill consumer trust and brand loyalty, ensuring that you’ve won a customer for life.

Email marketing is a time-tested way to nurture customer loyalty and it is easy to personalize—a feeling that customers value. Brand loyalty starts with how you onboard people. When you acquire a new customer, put yourself in that individual’s seat and envision a customer journey that will resonate. For example, customer’s are inclined to appreciate a discount code but in the immediate aftermath of post-sale, they’ll likely appreciate more a welcome from you that explains who you are, what the customer can expect regarding the initial stages of working together, a request to meet and discuss the product or service purchased, invoicing and payment options. In other words, you can show your value by providing relevant information that also teaches them why they should open your emails. Set the tone early, and they’ll stay engaged longer and that is one of the pathways to loyalty.

Final thoughts

Customers leave brands—your competitors or you—that stop serving their needs. They leave because someone else made it easier to understand, easier to trust, or easier to buy. That can be you.

You may need to set up a marketing complicated funnel. You may not need a sizeable marketing budget. You do need to research and learn the pain points, hot buttons, priorities and emerging next big thing—way of doing business, customer service needs, buyer journey, payment options, or whatever else. You also need to pay attention to customers and prospects consistently, to help yourself make smart improvements and prove your value where it matters most. When you do that, you don’t have to out-shout your competition. You just have to be their obvious choice.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Courtesy of Brimfield Antique Flea Markets. Featuring 5,000 dealers, Brimfield Antique Flea Markets is believed to be the most popular and largest such event in the U.S.

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8 Stepping Stones to Smart Decision-Making

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OK, here’s another fact of life we all must face—when there’s a decision to make—should you have a slice of carrot cake, or should you skip dessert—or maybe there’s something on the table that’s more important than splurging on dessert? Leaders of Freelance solopreneur entities may have an important business decision to examine. To complicate your task, there is also the matter of determining which data resources will give your decision-making process the best support?

It’s often the case that some information that would be useful will not be available to you, for some reason or another. For example, despite the considerable amount of website and social media engagement data that’s at your fingertips, along with your company financial records and perhaps also industry reports, some that may have been generated by heavyweights like Accenture or McKinsey, you may nevertheless struggle to interpret and utilize certain information. There is often data you don’t have and sometimes also data whose relevance you don’t understand.

In fact, there is also data that indicates that misunderstanding how to leverage data can lead to mistrust of data. Doubting your data can cause you to regret certain of your decisions, because you fear that you may have misinterpreted the data and that your possible miscalculation might spoil the decision outcome. You may fear that a previous decision made failed to deliver the desired outcome because you either didn’t interpret the data appropriately or you relied on the wrong metrics.

A 2023 study found that those called upon to make decisions, especially impactful business decisions, rather frequently feel overwhelmed, and perhaps even unqualified, to sort through and recognize which data will be helpful to the decision-making process and that the phenomenon is hurting the quality of their business performance. According to The Decision Dilemma, a 2023 study by Oracle and Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, the New York Times bestselling author of Don’t Trust Your Gut: Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life (2022), it is common to feel regret caused by the possibility of having made an unfortunate decision. Study outcomes showed that 85% of participating business leaders admitted questioning certain decisions they made over the previous 12 months. Furthermore, the 72% of participants who admitted that the sheer volume of data is overwhelming, along with the 35% of participants who were unable to determine which data or data sources were either relevant or accurate, caused most in the study to lose trust in data. Moreover, that lack of trust has at times prevented them from making a decision.

The 14,000+ employees and business leaders across 17 countries who participated revealed that business owners and leaders are struggling to make decisions in their (personal and) professional lives at a time when they are expected to make more decisions than ever before: 74 % of respondents reported that the number of decisions they make every day has increased by 10x over the last three years. Additionally, 85 % of respondents feel unable to make good decisions. That feeling of inadequacy has a negative impact on their quality of life, from causing them to experience anxiety (36%), to miss business opportunities (33%) and contributing to unnecessary spending (29%). As a result, 93% of respondents reported that they’ve changed how they make decisions.

As a leader, knowing what should factor into making the best decision you can is crucial. How might company expenses, products and/or services, your company brand, or customers be impacted? You might not have access to all the information you’d like, but you are most likely aware of a number of key factors that will give some indication of the outcome of your decision. To that end, I share with you decision-making suggestions compiled by members of the Inc. Magazine Leadership Forum, a group of founders and C-Suite business leaders who understand that decision-making without complete information is an everyday occurrence, making the availability of a framework to guide your process essential

SEE THE BIG PICTURE AND PICK A DIRECTION

Decision-makers are encouraged to keep the big picture of your organization and what you’d like the decision to bring about as you predict potential outcomes and assess risks that help you to weigh possible losses before deciding which actions you’ll take (strategy development). This approach ensures that your decision will align with long-term organization goals and promote its growth.

Remember also that in many cases, making almost any decision is better than not making a decision and that making no decision is a decision by default. Choosing against making a decision is not a synonym for caution. Pick a direction, commit to it and then do all that you can do to make it work. Your final result may not be 100 % perfect but it may suffice and, best of all, can take you a step closer to your ultimate goal.

BREAK AWAY FROM FEAR AND FOCUS ON GROWTH

Alas, it is inevitable that many decision-makers are imprisoned by the fear of negative outcomes. Avoiding risk is an essential ingredient in every decision-making process, but risk management should not be an expression of fear, because fear limits opportunities. Letting go of fear allows you to recognize and pursue opportunities, especially when the quest for opportunity is leavened by appropriate risk assessment and management.

Psychologists have proposed numerous strategies to help side-step fear (which is usually exaggerated or even irrational). Identifying the worst-case scenario of your decision outcomes, which is an element of scenario-planning, is perhaps one of the best remedies. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best!

CONFIRM FACTS AND AVOID CONFIRMATION BIAS

Separate facts from interpretation that’s tainted by confirmation bias. Also known as wishful thinking, confirmation bias lulls you into interpreting information in a way that conforms with what you expect or would like to happen; you may be inclined to ignore or discredit information that does not support your preferred outcome.

That said, don’t be afraid to be guided by the outcomes of previous decisions, whether or not they produced the preferred outcome. Trust your track record and do the best you can with the available data and the resources that are in hand. Once you’ve done your homework and objectively examined the available information, have faith that it may be preferable to take a chance and own a mistake than to play it safe and lose out on creative, innovate decision.

You can escape the blinders of confirmation bias by asking yourself the tough questions. It will be wise to confirm that your company has the necessary resources, for example, market share, revenue, expertise and/or relationships to implement certain decisions. If your resources appear to be lackluster, you may need to launch a remedial plan—an interim decision— before embarking on a decision-making process to launch a major initiative.

ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR ASSUMPTIONS

Consider initiating your decision-making process by creating a list to catalogue the decision options that are available to you. It’s very basic, but it’s helpful to know what your options are. You can also rank what appear to be the best options by next listing the potential benefits associated with each direction available. You want to be able to confirm that your assumptions reflect the best picture formed with current data and also to acknowledge that which you are unable to know.

Assumptions are like the scaffolding used on a building but they are tricky because they are vulnerable to confirmation bias—magical thinking you want to avoid. Yet, assumptions in decision-making are necessary because you need a few “givens” to depend on—the size of your customer base, the performance of your best-selling services, the impact of your major competitors, for example. The danger is when your assumptions remain invisible. Unexamined beliefs about people, processes, or systems can silently distort judgment and create blind spots. 

ASSESS WHAT IS UNKNOWN

How wonderful it would be to know what you don’t know—or at least recognize that there are happenings about which you haven’t got a clue. Another useful contribution to successful decision-making is to brainstorm about the unknowns. How can you figure out how to know what you don’t know? When compiling and analyzing data, you may not realize that it’s primarily a collection of vanity metrics. If you invest an hour, or a day or a week, to think about the unknowns, you’ll have a better chance of coming to the table with a true understanding of what factors are in play for your decision. Keep a piece of paper and a pencil handy and write down what comes to mind when you least expect it.

DETERMINE WHAT CAN BE ADJUSTED

Catalogue what must be right about the outcome of your decision and what can be adjusted later. As noted above, pick a direction, assess the likely risks and fix what needs some adjustment. When information is incomplete, and that’s often the case, you might decide to follow a strategy that has wiggle-room for a reversible choice or two. Sometimes, time matters—either you are compelled to make a decision to save yourself a peck of trouble, or you want to catch a good opportunity and you may be holding enough cards to catch the wave and ride it. Momentum matters—but it has to be paired with flexibility so that the right adjustments can be made in response to unexpected developments or if new information becomes available.

PROTECT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Because information may be incomplete or inscrutable, you will likely be well-served to let protecting (or enhancing) the quality of your customer experience be your decision-making guiding star. In a fast-changing business environment, you’ll rarely have all the answers to questions that would clarify your understanding and affirm the path you should take. If your decision preserves customer trust and, if possible, enables you to keep the business to rather quickly and efficiently adapt to marketplace fluctuations, you can more easily make adjustments if there is push-back from your customers. Depending on the decision you must make, it could make sense to get some input from customers to learn how they might feel about changes that would be visible or impactful to them.

ACCEPT MISTAKES AND COURSE-CORRECT

It is not unusual for Freelancers and other business leaders to be called upon to make impactful decisions quickly and with only partial, maybe even questionable, information. You must learn to accept that mistakes will be made. Impact comes from being able to identify, own and modify decisions as new information surfaces. The real mistake is to hold on to bad decisions because they were already made.

You rarely have complete information, so effective leaders learn to make timely, confident decisions using their experience, industry knowledge, understanding of the broader environment, and awareness of the competitive landscape—then quickly course-correct if new information shows the decision should be adjusted.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Adobe Stock, generated with AI

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Specialization and How to Stand Out in Your Market

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Until the latter years of the 20th century, the majority of U.S. physicians were general practitioners who treated all manner of illness, unless one was a surgeon—that would be a general surgeon. Likewise, attorneys were expected to be multi-faceted legal advisers who could adequately represent aspiring homeowners when a property was purchased, counsel plaintiffs or defendants in legal battles that occasionally involved a jury trial, or guide clients as they wrote up a last will and testament. In the 1970s, most likely inspired by research that introduced more effective therapies into medical practice and in the legal sector, federal and state regulations whose purpose was to provide consumer protection that resulted from the increased complexity of national and global economies, distinct subspecialties eventually became the norm in both professions.

Freelance professionals are having a moment now as we respond to the growing phenomenon of specialization that is penetrating nearly every business entity and by necessity influences the way we operate. Most of you recognize that the ability to clearly define—brand—your expertise and the services you provide is a competitive advantage and many of you are probably inclined to rethink how you describe their services—and maybe also rethinking which services should be offered.

Blandly describing oneself as a provider of solutions that, for example, address human resources, IT, accounting/finance, or marketing needs may no longer capture attention. As B2B prospects continue to exercise agency and proactively research the solutions they need and give themselves a head start on finding someone who’s qualified to resolve that need, Freelancers are recognizing that the way to get noticed by a search committee is to leave no doubt that you are the best in the business within your specialty—your skill-set niche—and if your category of expertise is needed, you should be on the short-list for follow-up.

Paring down and focusing skills is already established in the Freelance technology sector, where it is commonplace to narrowly specialize, for example, in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence or machine learning, network administration, or blockchain smart contract development. To claim a specialty within your professional sector is, in fact, to operate within a niche market. You might also discover that it’s easier to stand out in a “small is beautiful” niche, where you only interact with prospects who are interested in your highly focused, expert-level skills.

In an era that favors specialization, owning a versatile skill set loses value. Thought leader opinions indicate that as industries become more complex, deep expertise is more sought-after than competencies that can address a wide range of tasks. Your prospects are less inclined to see advantages in broad-based capabilities; instead, they now see a jack of all trades and master of none. B2B search committees echo the new normal narrative: to manage the complexities of modern business the trend is to hire Freelancers who demonstrate specialized expertise that can be used to deliver specialized solutions. It’s compartmentalizing by another name; but it makes sense to sell your customers the way they want to be sold (as you know).The ultimate validation is that those with niche expertise are often more highly paid.

Clarity and precision

Simplicity makes things understandable, memorable and dependable. Unless you are well-known and connected, operating within the big pond known as the general marketplace for your Freelance sector is almost guaranteed to make you an overlooked little fish who’s surrounded by big fish who gobble up the billable hours and leave you struggling to survive and thrive. Being one of many competent Freelance professionals makes it difficult to stand out when your audience is broad. Prospects who search your service category will likely encounter several other talented Freelancers and may therefore be unable to recognize who can efficiently deliver the best solution.

But when you adjust your business strategy to limit your target market to prospects who seek a specific segment of your expert services—not just HR services, but benefits management or employee compensation, for example—and you confirm that the niche market sector is viable and sustainable, you will receive competitive advantages:

  • Narrowing your marketing strategies to communicate with prospects who have a hyper-specific problem to resolve or goal to achieve can position you as the leading authority in your tightly focused market and greatly reduce competition.
  • Micro-niche businesses facilitate deeper customer relationships that are nurtured through personalized marketing messages that are able to enhance trust, loyalty and word-of-mouth marketing.
  • Specializing in a small market segment allows for more efficient resource allocation and improved return on investment re: outcomes (conversion of prospects to customers).

A credible and visible authority

When you focus your specialized expertise and operate within an exclusive niche, the number of your competitors can only decrease, making it easier to position yourself as a respected thought leader and authority. As noted above, you can also expect to be able to increase the amount of your standard billable rate because specialization enhances perceived value to the customer. Moreover, by strategically limiting the number of potential customers, over time you will learn to craft highly specific marketing messages that directly address what matters most to your exclusive group of prospects—and, as noted above, helps you to nurture customer relationships. You’ll “get it” and they’ll know it and they will become your devoted, long-term customers. Your marketing could evolve from “covering all bases” platitudes to spot-on understanding of their challenges, goals and priorities.

Micro-niche growth strategy

Identifying a potentially viable B2B niche skill for your Freelance entity can become a launchpad, not a limitation and enable you to develop and package yourself and your entity yourself as a well-known and respected big fish (in a small, exclusive pond). While some of your colleagues may feel that a large potential customer base holds more opportunities, but that assumption is losing validity. In the B2B sector, attempting to sell to everyone is becoming less effective every year; rather, Freelancers who limit their focus to a select group of prospective customers are winning more contracts and are poised to dominate in revenue generated. Here’s your roadmap to specialization success:

  • Step 1: Dominate the micro-niche. Become the recognized leader in an exclusive sector.
  • Step 2: Move to adjacent niches. Expand your presence to similar groups who have similar problems or goals.
  • Step 3: Expand horizontally. Add new add-on or upgrade services to the core audience.

Closing thought

To achieve your goal of establishing and sustaining a profitable Freelance entity it is necessary to stand out and distinguish yourself as a thought leader, an authority and trusted source who is not just one of many “sound-alike” Freelancers who is trying to survive in a competitive B2B services marketplace. Resist the temptation to chase down every prospect who might be interested in your solutions. Instead, find the confidence to specialize, perhaps by focusing on an underserved customer group that is motivated by an urgent need to find a specialized solution and also has the potential to become a viable market. As the legendary Diana Vreeland (1903-1989), who was the Fashion Editor at Harper’s Bazaar Magazine (1939-1962) and later became Editor-in-Chief at Vogue Magazine (1963 -1971) said, “Elegance is refusal.” Ms. Vreeland understood that trying to be all things to all people is folly.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Yayoi Kusama. Kusama, 2000 courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo

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Freelancing Future of Work 2026 and Beyond

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In case you hadn’t noticed, how and where many Americans work—the work environment—has changed significantly, especially since the 2020-2021 coronavirus pandemic era. Twenty years ago there were employees, most of whom worked within the IT industry at companies such as Cisco Systems, Google, IBM, or Microsoft, who were allowed to telecommute (as it was known) maybe once or twice a week. Co-workers who were based in different parts of the country (and sometimes on different continents) would periodically hold meetings and the proceedings were transmitted by satellite feed, which, while usually shaky, enabled teams to communicate and share information, make plans and agree on execution and desired outcomes.

Back in the day outsourcing arrived, a solution fueled by employee downsizing, a practice that in the aftermath of the 1987 stock market crash and recession became increasingly common. Outsourcing emerged as a strategy to address the need to replenish depleted labor talent pools without incurring costs associated with (re)hiring full-time employees—-better to avoid paying for health insurance, sick and vacation time and retirement funding. So, out with employees and in with the contractors.

In other words, while several alternative working options in America simmered beneath the surface for decades, it wasn’t until the 2020-2021 coronavirus pandemic that the doors blew off as business leaders recognized the necessity to immediately provide practical and effective solutions to keep their organizations alive and profitable. Enter the remote work force and a huge validation for Freelance professionals. Who knows how to do Work From Home better than you?

How we worked before has been transformed into what historians may one day label the most impactful labor movement since the Industrial Revolution. The transformation of how many people work, that is, the future of how we will work, is represented by Freelance professionals. In 2026, Freelance employment can no longer be called a mere trend—it is a phenomenon that impacts all 3.38 billion workers on planet Earth. The number of Freelance professionals continues to expand and justify the way we work now and will likely continue to work well into the 21st century.

The influence of Freelance labor is demonstrated by its strong year-over-year growth in bellwether markets such as Britain, South Africa, India and the U.S. In 2026, the population of independent workers is predicted to reach 1.57 billion worldwide, with 83 million Freelancers engaged in the U.S.Freelancers make a substantial economic impact, contributing an estimated $1.27 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2024.

Most Freelance professionals work in the knowledge economy and perform services that require specialized expertise, education and training that’s obtained by earning undergraduate or advanced post-secondary school degrees and/or specialized certifications. From bookkeepers and accountants who ensure that clients’ financial statements are accurate and able to inform business decisions to special events photographers who memorialize the proceedings of Fortune 500 corporate meetings and other important events, the skills and ambition of independent workers have pushed the Freelance economy to unprecedented growth,

fundamentally reshaping the worldwide labor market and positioning the global business processing sector—finance and accounting, customer service, human resources, marketing and other B2B services– to generate revenue of $407.1 Billion (USD) in 2026.

The U.S. has the fastest-growing Freelance economy, with revenue increasing by 78% year-over-year 2023-2024 and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17% in 2025-2029. The global data-as-a-service giant Statista predicts that by 2027, 86.5 million U.S. workers will Freelance, accounting for 50.9% of the country’s total workforce.


Your inner optimist may interpret this forecast as an opportunity to grow your billable hours; your inner pessimist may see disturbing visions of increased competition in the Freelance hiring landscape. Why not be realistic and take a look at your organization to find where you would be wise to raise the level of your game and enable yourself to be more responsive to clients and prospects in ways that grow your client roster? Make lemonade out of the lemons.

In fact, Freelance professionals are optimistic about the future of Freelance work. Your confidence is fueled by increasing demand for specialized skills and a global pivot toward more flexible work arrangements. According to the Upwork Future of Work Index in April 2025, 82% of Freelancers say their work opportunities have grown since last year, versus just 63% of full-time employees. In that same report, 84% of Freelancers reported that they are excited by how the prospect of Artificial Intelligence tools will reshape their services, offerings and workflows.

Research indicates that Freelance work will continue in growth mode and the data has a high confidence level amongst the experts. You should be able to claim your share of the pie. If the intentions of corporate decision-makers can be taken to the bank (ha!) they support Freelance expertise. A January 2025 Upwork report found that 29% of executives believe that Freelance workers are essential to their business and 48% of CEOs plan to increase their hiring of Freelance workers over the next 12 months.

Still, there are worries that keep you awake at night. A November 2025 survey found that 66% of Freelancers feel that securing enough work is their primary challenge. Other major concerns included managing an irregular income, unpredictable work availability and non-paying clients.

Research also shows that Freelancing in 2026 won’t be all about finding projects; 2026 is shaping up to be about adapting to new skills, technologies and ways of working. Staying informed will help you to prepare and position yourself to keep up as the independent economy continues to grow. The Upwork Future of Work Index found that the most relevant Freelancing strategies to follow in 2026 will be to stay informed about global developments as you remain apprised of relevant shifts that occur in the U.S. B2B Freelance economy.

These are the signals every Freelance consulting specialist should pay attention to. For example, as automation becomes more common, skills that are uniquely human become more valuable. Negotiation, communication, empathy, storytelling, decision-making and leadership will help Freelancers stand out and facilitate building long-term client relationships. These soft skills are now seen as core strengths that technology cannot replace. The Future of Work Index shows that 87% of Freelancers prefer work that helps them improve their current skills or learn new skills, versus work that only allows them to use the skills and proficiency they already have.

 Let’s finish up with some 2025 statistics that examine billable hours and revenue. I’m sure you know that Freelance earnings differ according to the services provided. Generally, the more technical the service, the higher the billable hour. High-demand services such as programming allow Freelancers in the field to bill at $70/hour. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning engineering are currently the highest-paid sectors among all Freelancing roles and expertise in one or the other niche allows you to command a billable of $50-$200 per hour. The number of computer and information research scientists is expected to grow by 26% by 2033. (Upwork)

  • Full-time B2B Freelancers on average work approximately 43 hours per week
  • Approximately 54% of Freelancers work five days a week
  • On average, Freelancers earn $99,230 annually; however, the top earners have annual earnings of $200,000. Meanwhile, 25% of Freelancers earn $50,500 annually.
  • The average hourly billable earned by U.S. Freelancers is $47.71, with a range of $132.21 to $14.90 per billable hour. 
  • The average Freelance programmer bills at $60-70/hour and generates annual revenue of about $120,000 
  • The average Freelance writer bills at $30-40/hour and generates annual revenue of about $42,000
  • Online marketers typically earn $50/hour and generate $100,000 annual revenue
  • Freelance graphic artists bill at $40-$45/hour but are known to receive enough billable hours to generate $90,000 in annual revenue

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: market.us

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How Does Influencer Marketing Work for B2B Freelancers?

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Influencer marketing has been white hot for a minute and it’s getting even hotter. A strategy born of user generated content and nurtured by early bloggers soon produced content creators who came to be considered authorities within their niche fields of expertise, developing loyal audiences for their blog content and generating follower communities along the way. Those early pioneers earned reputations and gained recognition for product reviews that showed trustworthy insights and built credibility. The DIY grassroots aura and absence of corporate advertising gave it all the blessing of authenticity. The independent and impartial assessments provided by the bloggers encouraged engagement and audience trust. But this is America so gradually, bloggers with the biggest followings in the scene featured sponsored content on their sites (often disclosed through affiliate links) and next, collaborations with retail outlets and product brands.

The phenomenon was accelerated by the introduction of social media platforms and exploded with the arrival of visually-focused platforms. Images, and especially videos, provided an ideal environment for newly minted marketing influencers to showcase themselves and the brands they represent with exciting visual content. The visually focused platforms caused an inflection point that gave rise to influencer marketing stars who found a lot of work in the B2C sector, in particular fashion, beauty and travel. Bloggers and others who had a flair for creating appealing content plus the ability to connect with and encourage relationships with their audience began to grow significant followings and exert influence over the behavior (aspirations) of prospective and current customers.

The rise of B2B Influencers 

While originally a strategy used by your flashy B2C cousins, competition for billable hours in the B2B sector seems to have stimulated the adoption of influencer marketing in the B2B sector. However, be advised that B2B influencer marketing is not about showcasing services or products. Rather, B2B influencer marketing is about helping you build trust and connect with prospective clients who, if all falls into place, will be more inclined to become your loyal clients. The goal of B2B influencer marketing strategies is to align your organization with recognized and respected industry thought leaders—the influencers— whose industry knowledge, reputation and loyal followers can be leveraged in your target market sectors.

B2B influencers are well-known and respected experts and thought leaders in their field. They’ve acquired impressive knowledge, experience and authority that confers recognized credibility that’s enabled them to build a sizeable, loyal and often activist following. Based on that authority and credibility, effective influencers are able to build trust and enthusiasm for a brand within their community of followers by making endorsements that can stimulate purchases made by decision-makers within the community. Furthermore, a brand endorsement can also result in a significant number of positive reviews posted on social media that creates a word-of-mouth campaign that can spread to the general public and can stimulate still more purchases of the brand’s services or products.

On a national level, you might think of sales training expert Brian Tracy, marketing wizard Neil Patel, professional development guru and author Stephen Covey and leadership and personal development maven Brene Brown as powerful B2B influencers. The best influencers assist brands by providing targeted exposure, building industry credibility, facilitating strategic partnerships and product or service endorsements that, ideally, will substantively enhance brand recognition, reputation and sales. Potential B2B influencer marketing goals for your organization could include:

  • Increased credibility and trust for your brand within your target market
  • Heightened audience engagement with your marketing content
  • Enhanced perceived value of your brand
  • Increased stature and influence of your thought leadership
  • Accelerated rate and quality of leads generated and an enhanced sales conversion rate

Is influencer marketing for you?

Let’s examine how influencer marketing could be useful to B2B Freelance consultants. As usual, your first act will be to assess your client base and refresh your understanding of your target market(s). You must know whom you’d like to influence, what you’d like to achieve and why that achievement will matter. Verifying your target market will enable you to recognize which influencers, marketing tactics and channels can be expected to resonate with your clients and prospects. So that you can begin to recognize the expertise, authority, connections and social media presence your most effective influencer should have, it’s imperative that you clarify the problems and projects that clients and prospects ask you to resolve. As you go through this process, you’ll also get an idea of whether (or not) influencer marketing might be a fit for you.

Identify and investigate influencers in your industry

Take your evaluation process to the next level by investigating the types of content your clients and prospects usually engage with and the platforms that supply it. What types of content do they find relevant, whom do they follow and on which platforms can that content be found? Also, what are the most common questions they’re looking to answer and the problems they want to resolve?

Next, develop a list of influencers you’d like to contact. Your job here is to speak and get to know who you might like to work with. Does this candidate have not only the industry experience and authority that you’d like but does s/he have the connections and clout in your niche to move the needle for you? Essentially, you’ll search for influencers who can help you reach and impact your ideal audience. It’s no help if an influencer has a large community of followers but does not have a prominent presence in your industry and niche. Before you decide who you’d like to follow and follow-up with, verify precisely how your potential influencer can produce what you want, which is probably some combination of upgrading and/or increasing your leadgen, enhancing company brand, encouraging brand loyalty, upgrading and expanding the earned media you receive and, ultimately, impacting purchase decisions that increase your client roster. Keep all that in mind as you look for good potential influencers. Here are common methods you can use to find influencers you can meet and interview.

  • Social media. Many influencers have large followings on social media platforms and it makes sense to start your search there. You’ll want to choose influencers who have a strong presence on the preferred platforms of decision-makers for your service or product. Engage with the content of influencers who seem to have promise for you. You can follow those who look promising and then reach out and initiate contact. This strategy gives you direct access to potential influencers and enables you to build relationships.
    • If Facebook is your preferred platform, use their search function to find influencers. You can also check out industry specific Facebook groups or pages to find B2B potential influencers.
    • Instagram is your gateway to connecting with Millennial generation decision-makers and discovering the influencers they trust. Search the platform for producers of excellent and consistent content and then visit the site profiles of those content producers you find compelling.
    • LinkedIn is the usual suspect for all things B2B, including finding B2B influencers. You can search your industry to find influencers directly. Definitely join and investigate relevant LI groups and watch for influencers within their membership ranks.
  • Networking at industry conferences and events. Attending in-person meetings and conferences provides a unique opportunity to network with professionals and identify potential B2B influencers within your niche. The strategy is effective for discovering and getting to know B2B influencers with whom you can potentially build a mutually beneficial relationship.
    • Attend relevant conferences in your industry.
    • Actively participate in networking sessions.
    • Identify B2B professionals with significant industry influence
    • Establish connections and express interest in collaboration

  • Discover B2B influencers through industry publications, influential blogs and speaking engagements. This strategy lets you evaluate is the credibility of influencers by learning who is featured in respected industry publications, which indicates expertise, authenticity and most likely, influential relationships.
    • Regularly follow industry publications and relevant blogs, with an emphasis on organizations such as chambers of commerce or other well-respected professional societies and business associations. Identify content contributors and speakers who have the industry expertise and reputations that you seek.
    • Familiarize yourself with the content of industry experts that you find promising
    • Reach out to suggest the possibility of collaboration opportunities.

Evaluate B2B influencer industry authority and credibility;

Confirm the authority and credibility of potential B2B influencers within your industry by examining their past collaborations (if possible), content quality, consistency and presence in prestige publications. Your job is to investigate which B2B influencers’ audiences and authority align with your target market and can be useful for you. Refer to your research to develop a candidate shortlist.

Reach out to your follow-up list gauge and request an opportunity to discuss the possibility of an influencer marketing relationship. Enhance your appeal to your intended influencer with a personalized and compelling outreach message that demonstrates your awareness of his/her industry authority, as evidenced by the quality and consistency of his/her published content, speaking engagements and /or professional awards. Express your admiration for their insights and expertise.

If your invitation to talk is accepted, during the conversation inquire about the brands and types of campaigns your would-be influencer has previously collaborated on. If the initial discussion leads to further and more specific talks, request a link to his/her portfolio to verify the success of past collaborations and get a feel for how a collaboration with you might work.

Negotiate terms and collaboration agreements

Clearly define and commit to writing in a signed contract your expectations of the influencer marketing campaigns, the roles and responsibilities of the influencer you’ll partner with and the compensation agreement (monetary amount and due dates) with your selected B2B influencer. Execute this agreement by producing a transparently communicated legal document—a contract.

Keep in mind that a contract is only as good as your ability to enforce it. Help yourself by keeping your wish list and the timeline for its achievement realistic. While discussions and negotiations with your preferred influencer in advance of finalizing the contract, do your best to confirm which items of your wish list outcomes seem possible for your organization as well as the amount of time and other resources that will likely be needed to get you there.

Monitor and measure campaign influencer performance

Monitor the performance of your B2B influencer campaign by tracking the relevant associated key metrics, such as client and prospect engagement, click-through rates and shares, follower growth and expansion, leadgen growth and expansion, brand reach and impressions and sales revenue. In sum, you’ll want to evaluate the campaign ROI outcome and understand the costs associated with your influencer marketing campaign versus the sales revenue that can be attributed to the campaign.

It’s imperative that you obtain an objective and comprehensive assessment of your influencer marketing activities. As with all of your business strategies, obtaining a big-picture performance evaluation is a must-do. Once you learn which strategies and campaigns are effective, and therefore worthy of your investments of money and time, and what failed to live up to your expectations, and might either benefit from an adjustment or maybe should be dropped will, as always, show you the path forward.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © gstockstudio for Freepik

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Revolutionize Your Email Marketing Campaigns

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How many times over the past 10 years have B2B marketing experts declared email marketing dead? Oh, well—sometimes experts project their own feelings onto those whose behaviors they’ve been charged to study and predict. The experts, it seems, and not the customers, were ready to move on but like a cat, email marketing has nine lives. B2B email marketing in 2025 continued to earn the trust of customers and prospects and produced a confidence-boosting performance for marketers. The median B2B open rate reached 36.7%–42.35% , an increase from 34.2% in 2024, according to data from VerifiedEmail.

Email marketing continues to deliver exceptional return on investment of $36–$42 per $1 spent as of 2025, as reported by data published by Los Angeles, CA based VerifiedEmail and outperforming all digital marketing channels by 4–5x. Bold text, eye-catching images, interactive content and an irresistible subject line are how email marketers capture the attention of intended readers.

AI tools optimize performance of an evergreen marketing resource

A 2025 Boston Consulting Group survey of 251 marketing professionals concluded that 33% of survey respondents regularly use generative AI tools and 92% of respondents feel optimistic or very optimistic about the creative potential of GenAI over the next two to three years. GenAI tools like ChatGPT, the AI-powered chatbot developed by OpenAI and the AI-powered search engine Perplexity are primarily used to write articles and create images that accompany social media posts. Email marketers are finding inspiration in those capabilities and are off to a good start with AI technology. According to Salesforce research, AI is positioned to greatly enhance the impact of email marketing:

  • Managing campaigns: AI helps marketers understand which elements of an email campaign are effective and which do not resonate.
  • Content creation: GenAI platforms will support the text outline and compose the narrative, as well as edit your copy and also create the images that supply visual context to your marketing message.
  • Brainstorming: Marketers can use AI to jumpstart creativity and elevate the quality of the text you produce and help you to more efficiently produce the irresistible subject lines, eye-catching images and, most importantly, compelling topics that build the audience for marketing emails that deliver your newsletters.
  • Scaling output: AI can speed up completion of the normally time-consuming functions listed above—finding the right subject line, composing newsletter text, producing an image that enhances your text and, icing on the cake, analyzing the performance of your email marketing campaigns.

Getting in, getting noticed, getting opened

The volume of daily emails received by a working adult is often overwhelming and most inboxes are inundated with messages both business and personal. Nevertheless, the response to email marketing remains robust, propelled by the value and trust conveyed in highly targeted, personalized marketing messages that address the needs and priorities of decision-makers.

Still, recipients are inclined to require opt-in permission to control their email deluge. A double opt-in protocol that asks subscribers to both agree to accept your emails and also include another security layer by adding your company email address to his/her trusted contact list, your emails might still be blocked by spam filters. The unintended consequence is that 22% of permissioned email fails to reach subscriber inboxes.

Furthermore, like a determined salmon swimming upstream, reaching subscriber inboxes is only Step One in your marketing email’s journey. Step Two for email marketers is to prepare for how the email will be received and noticed by subscribers. Research indicates that as of 2025, 55% of email is opened on mobile devices, that is, smart phone or tablet. Responsive design is therefore required for your marketing emails. Furthermore, mobile devices allow only a limited view of the email subject line. Just first 40 characters of a subject line are visible on the iPhone email app.

Those 40 characters have a big responsibility. Marketers are advised to be very selective about what those 40 characters communicate to potential readers. Then again, shorter subject lines consistently outperform longer ones. The email marketing experts at Constant Contact point out that that all aspects of your email content—format, text and images—must be considered and optimal email design for different mobile devices may not be uniform.

An intriguing discovery is that including an emoji in the subject line can increase open rate by 56%. Still, a subject line that is considered relevant will likely be the more persuasive strategy for intended readers. Finally, there is the most important ingredient in this recipe and that is email content. The open and click through rates depend on the content delivered in the email. The subscriber has to feel that the subject you’ll cover—whether it’s a special offer, an announcement of some sort, or a hot industry topic—must be relevant and timely.

Email segmentation is the new normal

Email segmentation, along with email marketing automation, has been one of the biggest digital marketing trends over the last few years. Email segmentation has moved from what was considered an “advanced feature” to a capability that basically all email service provider platforms offer because basically all email marketers want to use segmentation in their email marketing campaigns to enhance the ROI.

Recent studies have found that 33% of companies segment their audiences for marketing campaigns and 20% send customer-specific emails. In fact, researchers at VerifiedEmail report a pronounced shift from email volume to email relevance that’s revealed the highest-performing campaigns send fewer emails to more precisely segmented (targeted) audiences and achieve 30% higher open rates and 50% higher click-through rates. These findings suggest that email marketers create customer personae and use data from those profiles to segment audiences and more effectively target the campaign content they will receive. Hyper -personalized marketing content has been shown to produce as much as a six-fold increase in transaction rate. In addition to producing increased sales revenue, the data further suggests that segmentation can boost recipient engagement as well. An industry study by MailChimp found that segmented campaigns lead to an average of 14% greater open rates and 100% greater clickthrough rates. Keep in mind that this happens when fewer, hyper-personalized emails are sent—I’m sure you’ll agree that limiting your marketing emails increases the value of those you do send and works to limit your unsubscribe rate.

Listen up—email marketing experts know that CTR matters more than the email open rate. VerifiedEmail spills the tea and points out that in our privacy-restricted era, CTR represents the most reliable engagement signal—it requires deliberate action rather than passive preview. Top-quartile email campaigns achieve 6%–10% CTR with diligent segmentation and AI- augmented personalization.

Get started by choosing the right email marketing eervice

Many marketers face the same challenge—they want to send marketing emails, grow their customer list and audience, plus automate and segment email campaigns without spending hours on design or technical setup. Furthermore, you may get stuck with the grunt work of performing manual data transfers risk to add list names and profile info if the software you use doesn’t integrate with the software used by your customer relations management service. You might also be limited in the number of marketing emails you can send. Or maybe you’ll eventually become dissatisfied with the generic designs that do not enhance your brand.

In other words, it will be worth your time to investigate and compare ESP software plans to identify the right platform for your needs. The right platform will save time and aggravation. It will simplify your workflow, encourage customer engagement, increase your campaign conversion rate and make your brand memorable in the best ways.

The price range of ESP plans varies significantly, depending on the level of service you’d like to have. There are even free plans that most likely will limit your number of email campaigns per day or month, a low-cost plan that could cost perhaps $5 to $10 per month, with limited campaign sends and size of the contact list, could be a good way for a Freelance professional to get started and access the benefits of email marketing. The average cost of email marketing platforms for up to 500 contacts is around $20 per month. Choosing the best platform won’t be complicated if you focus on the features that matter most. A list of typical services that marketers use is below. Next, you can start your ESP research here with this credible list of recommended email platforms Forbes Magazine in January 2026: 

1. Send volume. Pick a platform with send limits and pricing that match your current and future email marketing plans. Don’t overpay for features you won’t use or hit limits too soon.

2. Easy platform migration. Make sure it’s easy to migrate your customer data from your old system. The less time you spend moving contacts, the sooner you can get back to marketing.

3. Seamless integrations. Look for software that works with your CRM, online store, and even social media. This makes it easier to retarget leads and keep your marketing efforts connected.

4. User-friendly design tools. Choose a platform with drag-and-drop editors and customizable templates. You shouldn’t need a designer or coder to build beautiful emails.

5. Automation & AI. Advanced platforms let you automate email workflows, like sending follow-ups based on opens or clicks. AI can help predict the best times to send emails, write subject lines, or even suggest content.

6. Customization & branding. Free or cheap plans often include the platform’s logo on your emails. Invest in a plan that lets you add your branding, so your business looks professional.

7. Analytics. Basic reports should track open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. A/B testing tools can show you what’s working and where to improve.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Getty Images. Burning Blue Email

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Make 2026 Your Gold Medal Year

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Independently employed Freelance professionals remain one of the most robust segments of the global labor market, powered by a still growing number of U.S. workers. The San Francisco, CA based Grandview Market Research projects the 2030 Freelance economy market size will reach $14.39 Billion (USD), up from $7.65 billion in 2025. According to the Upwork Research Institute, currently 28% of skilled knowledge workers operate as Freelancers or independent professionals here in America. In 2024, those Freelance workers generated $1.5 Trillion in earnings.

Freelancers recognize that the outcome of a growing number of talented and ambitious colleagues leads to the inevitable presence of increased competition for work assignments. As a result, Freelance professionals are aware that you’ve gotta hustle on many levels, from consistent marketing that demonstrates thought leadership in tandem with other inbound marketing formats designed to appeal to your most promising prospects. Continual upskilling of your core knowledge base is yet another tactic that can help to strategically position a one-person empire in ways that are sustainable and push you ahead of hungry competitors.

If that’s not enough, savvy Freelancers must always keep eyes and ears open to consider how you might improve the quality or delivery of your services. The five SMART business development goals listed below—-Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely—should be on every Freelancer’s business strategy list, for they constitute a reliable roadmap that’s capable of taking you to the top and helping you grab your gold medal in 2026.

To further enhance the impact of the goals, think of them collectively as potential focus points in the storytelling narrative you’ll present when in discussion with prospects. Incorporating into those conversations benefits derived from implementing the goals that you know or surmise would be of interest to them bolsters your ability to structure a more compelling in the conversation. You can weave into the story narrative that frames the conversation why and how your capabilities, experience, ability to collaborate and education make you especially well-suited for the role you seek, whether it’s an exciting client project or new W-2 job. Your mastery of the goals presented here will enable you to “paint a picture” that helps search committee members, hiring manager and other influential parties on the prospect’s team to clearly envision how you and the competencies you bring to the table will get the job done, meet or exceed expectations and (best of all!) make them look good to superiors, direct reports and colleagues.

  1. Update your online presence and portfolio

Type your business entity name and your own name into two or three prominent search engines to conduct a review of your online presence. What does the internet reveal about you? Is the information accurate? Does it portray you in ways that highlight your strengths? According to MBO Partners, 42% of Freelance professionals rely on digital platforms for finding clients; that means the sum total of your digital presence, from your website, to your social media presence, to postings of your appearances on podcasts, webinars, magazine articles and notices for your speaking engagements or other public appearances constitute what you might call your digital “storefront.”

Your collective online presence informs interested parties, that is, prospective clients, that your entity is open for business and ready to deliver valuable services. The vault for your professional credentials and capabilities is online in the cloud, so it’s imperative that your bona fides up-to-date and presented in visual and text language that inspires confidence and interest, so that the online story of you, the Freelance professional, works hard and smart to generate leads for your business. Update your portfolio with descriptions or examples of recent project work that makes you proud and will convince clients that you can be trusted to produce the outcomes they need. Convincing client testimonials and case studies will further help you make your case. Don’t forget to review your profiles that appear in Freelancer directories and third-party websites that are viewed and trusted by prospects, as well.

2. Consistent engagement on the right social media platforms

A persuasive LinkedIn profile is a powerful communication channel that will communicate the capabilities of your Freelance business entity to potential prospects; 40% of B2B marketers say LinkedIn is the most effective channel for driving high-quality leads. You now have significant motivation to regularly share your unique thought leadership, valuable insights and opinions on industry news and updates that will heighten your professional visible and enhance your status as a go-to expert in your niche.

In 2026, make a point is to become a consistent LinkedIn participant and more than someone who just gives “likes.” When you feel able to make a relevant contribution to a conversation thread be brave and speak up! Even if your opinion or advice is expressed in a mere sentence or two, remember that succinctly delivered info is always appreciated. Moreover, your participation helps to build a respected reputation on the platform and will increase your LinkedIn Social Selling Index (SSI)— a metric that LinkedIn says pays demonstrable professional benefits on the platform.

Along with LinkedIn, research and follow-up may lead you to discover that Facebook, Instagram and/or TikTok also have significant marketing potential for your venture. What are the norms for your industry? If those who hire for your service or product categories consider certain social media platforms are good hunting grounds for talented professionals, that’s where you hang out your digital shingle.

 3. Increase PR activity

Public relations and media mentions help build name recognition and credibility for your brand and make you and your business entity a known and trusted quantity. Moreover, PR features are posted online, so PR adds to your digital presence. Noteworthy media mentions should be uploaded to your website (you can add a “press” tab to your website and upload media mentions there) for review by interested parties. Freelance professionals should aim to earn valuable media opportunities (that is, unpaid media exposure) and leverage that exposure to grow trust and credibility.

Favorable PR is an important ingredient in a comprehensive inbound marketing strategy—-PR is soft sell leadgen and should not be overlooked. An effective and achievable PR strategy for Freelancers might include two or more of the activities listed below. Be sure to leverage your PR opportunities by sharing them on your website, email list and social media channels. Published articles that you’ve authored will be published online by the media outlets. Videos of your participation in podcasts and webinars will be posted online by the hosts. Sponsors of any awards you’ve received will be delighted when you share news of your victory with members of your email list, post to your online platforms and send a press release to local media outlets—because it also creates good PR for the sponsoring organization and encourages more candidates for the next round of awards (for which the sponsoring organization collects entry fees). Charity organizations will likewise be delighted when you distribute your participation to media outlets as well as your digital platforms and email list.

  • Be a guest on three or four industry-relevant podcasts or webinars
  • Write four or five industry-relevant posts (or guest posts) for blogs, newsletters, or other publications
  • Be a guest speaker, or introduce the guest speaker, at a business association meeting
  • Moderate an industry-relevant panel of experts, or be a panelist yourself
  • Campaign for a local business award and if you win so much as a bronze participation trophy, send a press release to announce your victory to local media and also post to your website, social media platforms and send to your email list (include a photo of you accepting the award with your press release)
  • Become a sponsor of a local charity event, for example, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Little League, or social services organizations. You might have an event-day volunteer presence and be able to take a few photos that document your participation. Feature your volunteerism on all of your digital platforms plus your email list with two or three photos plus information about the role the organization plays in the community and the impact of the event.

 4. Create meaningful client case studies

Use your storyteller’s perspective—a competency that you utilized while polishing your overall online presence and portfolio in the first goal and becoming more strategic and active in your use of PR initiatives in the third goal—to review and decide which of your most successful client projects could make compelling case studies that you can share on your website and social media channels? Case studies are powerful stories that provide irrefutable proof that you can deliver what clients need. They are the ultimate testimonial.

The marketing gurus at HubSpot report that businesses that publish case studies generate +45% more qualified leads than those that don’t. By illustrating a sampling of the real-world work and results you’ve created for clients, you’ll stimulate more trust in your brand and add positive influence to purchase decisions. This year, aim to create and strategically post data-driven case studies that showcase your expertise are housed in your portfolio or on your website.

Hubspot marketing experts go on to recommend that when writing your case study, whose purpose is to showcase your problem-solving expertise, ability to collaborate and the customer experience and support you offer, include the following information:

  • Define the problem you were hired to solve. Furthermore, succinctly explain its relevance to the client and the client’s definition of desirable benefits that will result from its resolution
  • Describe the solution you provided to resolve the problem. Explain why proposed that solution and also your process for delivering the solution and the results produced by implementing that solution.
  • Describe the beneficial collaboration between you and the client. Make clear how the trust and respect between you and the client enabled and supported the choice, implementation and favorable outcomes of the solution you provided.
  • Client testimonial. Invite one or more representatives of the client’s team to describe the problem and explain why an effective solution was a priority. A brief overview of ineffective attempts at resolution that produced unsatisfactory outcomes will shine a flattering light on you. Encourage the client to discuss how members of his/her team initially felt about your proposed solution and what gave them the confidence to hire you, instead of a competitor. Likewise, encourage the client to celebrate the benefits that were derived from the solution that you provided—saving money, saving time, simplifying workflow processes, for example.

5. Explore and implement AI tools to improve your annual earning potential

According to PwC’s 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer, workers with Artificial Intelligence skills command a +56% wage premium, meaning that Freelancers who add AI-related skills or services to their offerings may increase their earning power. Address this goal in 2026 to both learn new and in-demand AI tools and then use your valuable new competencies to both create operational efficiencies in your own business and offer and offer desirable premium services to clients.

LinkedIn career expert Catherine Fisher attests that candidates who demonstrate their fluency in artificial intelligence are much more likely to pique the interest of hiring managers and I’m sure it’s safe to assume that that her recommendation refers to both Freelance professionals and W-2 employees. Her top tip for job seekers is to emphasize their AI literacy and highlight how they use different AI tools in their day-to-day work. Specifically, Fisher urges job candidates to come to interviews prepared to discuss how AI makes them more productive in completing their work responsibilities. “Make sure you have some examples, because you know you’re probably going to get asked, ‘How have you used AI in your work?'” she said,” but keep in mind that you don’t have to be a computer programmer to demonstrate your competence with AI tools.”

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Getty Images 2022. Chinese skater Wu Dajing wins the short track speed skating gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

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Motivation to Climb Your Customer Loyalty Ladder

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You know that customer loyalty is a powerful resource, one that directly impacts business growth by reducing customer acquisition costs and customer churn by generating referrals and increasing your company’s average customer lifetime value (CLV) to grow your customer list and company revenue. Jeffrey Gitomer, a recognized authority on sales and customer loyalty and author of 15 books, has a blunt observation to share with Freelancers and business owners. In his book Customer Satisfaction Is Worthless, Customer Loyalty Is Priceless (1998), Gitomer shares an outrageous truth—if you disappoint a customer even once, s/he will tell 10 people about your faults. On the other hand, when you (merely) satisfy customer needs and expectations, it’s likely that your customer will tell no one—you did your job and so what.

The good news is, when you show some enthusiasm and exceed the customer’s expectations, s/he will usually tell others how wonderful you are. Here’s the lesson—Freelance professionals and other business owners cannot expect to maximize the potential of their business venture by simply showing up to do the job; that won’t move the needle and make a positive impact on reputation (brand) or revenue. You’ve gotta hit the ball out of the park every time, because acting like an order taker, making sure the fries and everything else are in the bag, is not enough.

In his book, Gitomer identifies critical moments in the buyer’s journey that influence whether customers will become your devoted brand advocates, make a one-off purchase and disappear, or remain indifferent and ignore you. By using what Gitomer describes as the customer loyalty ladder, you’ll refine the timing of the marketing and sales messages that you create to persuade prospects to become customers and eventually become repeat customers.The customer loyalty ladder takes it further and shows how to cultivate loyal customers and even brand advocates who become cheerleaders and make referrals, give testimonials in your favor and play a decisive role in the vitality of your customer list. It’s powerful stuff.

Each rung in the ladder represents a different stage in customer loyalty to your brand. It’s no secret that customer loyalty can make or break your company’s long-term success. You may be aware of customer retention statistics that indicate the probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%, while the probability of selling to a new customer is only 5-20%. Gitomer labels the process of moving up the ladder as the customer acquisition journey  Identifying where each customer stands on your customer loyalty ladder enables you to deliver a marketing message tailored to move that customer toward the top.

As you probably guessed, the customer loyalty ladder starts at the bottom with those the author calls suspects; they are not yet, and may never become, an actual prospect. Suspects barely know that you and your enterprise exist. The top rung of the ladder is where your most loyal and valuable customers reside: they’re the highly coveted brand advocates. Gitomer also cautions that in the nebulous middle are those with whom you’ve done business but unfortunately feel that you (or your team) did only what was necessary—nothing more, nothing less—causing this cohort to feel no attachment to your product, service, or organization. These folks may or may not do business with you again.

Stage 1: Suspects

These people know your brand exists and might have some level of awareness as to what you offer, but they’re not ready to make a purchase. They might have seen an ad, visited your website, or checked out your social media—but they have hesitations still. Suspects may potentially have use for your service product, but it’s not a front-burner issue. They are the largest group and they are ruled by inertia or indifference.

Stage 2: Prospects

Members of this cohort have demonstrate interest in your service or product and may have asked for more information. They know your brand exists, they have some awareness of your service or product, but they’re not ready, or able, to make a purchase yet. They’ve most likely have seen an ad, visited your website, or engaged with your social media but they hesitate to proceed. Prospects are weighing their options, and your organization is just one of perhaps several choices in our increasingly competitive B2B marketplace. You may be able to motivate prospects by tempting them with discounts for first-time buyers, free trials, or free access to gated content that they covet. Whatever the case, your goal here is conversion – turning prospects into first-time customers. Look at website traffic, ad engagement and email sign-ups to gauge brand awareness.

Stage 3: First-Time Customers

Needless to say, a customer has done business with you, made at least one purchase. You finally got the customer to take a chance on your brand and it is a relief and validation. But you can’t exhale yet—to be truly successful you’ll need repeat business—that is, customers who return to do more business with you. Over the years, make it a point to calculate the customer lifetime value vs customer acquisition cost of those on your customer list. 

There are a lot of one-off purchases made in the world. Every business owner is delighted to receive that first purchase a welcome a new customer, but there can be no misunderstanding that a viable customer list is not created through a series of one-offs. The first purchase is a critical juncture, when you would be wise to take steps to turn a one-time buyer into one who becomes a loyal advocate over the long term. Your job is to start the process with immediate post- purchase contact. A follow-up email thanking the user, providing value with how-tos while the customer anticipates delivery, or a quick survey to ask the customer to evaluate customer service are all a good first step. 

Examine conversion rates and purchase behavior – how many return for a second order? Make it a permanent part of your post-sale follow-up to touch base with them to see if you missed the mark in any way or if there’s anything you can do to help them make the most of their product. 96% of consumers say customer service influences brand loyalty.

You can also start sending personalized follow-ups with complementary product suggestions, or even go as far as offering incentives for the next purchase (discounts, loyalty program enrollment, etc.).The key takeaway is that a positive first experience can make or break your customer retention efforts. If you fail to act, or if your approach is wrong, you’ll have a much lower chance of encouraging repeat business.

Stage 3: Repeat Customers

A repeat customer is anyone who has done business with your company more than once. These customer see value in your service or product, but it will nevertheless be helpful to remind these customers why they should continue to do business with your organization. This is where you can implement a well-structured loyalty program. Tiered loyalty programs allow customers to earn points or exclusive perks over time.

You can also use data to send personalized recommendations that align with their purchase history. Whatever you do, keep up the attentive customer service. It’s been reported that 61% of customers will jump ship and defect to a competitor after a single poor customer service experience.

Stage 4: Loyal Customers

Loyal customers are deeply connected to your brand and choose you because of you and not just because of the products and services you sell. They have an emotional attachment that guides their purchase habits and they are among your most valuable customers. Don’t just take my word for it—one study found that loyal customers can drive up to 65% of a brand’s revenue, even though they typically make up only a small percentage of total customers.

Without question, it is in your interest to go above and beyond when considering how to reward and thank these customers with ultra-exclusive benefits. Your rewards should free shipping or discounts, for example. Instead, think early access to new services or products that you introduce, behind-the-scenes content, invitation to a launch event and unexpected surprises like handwritten notes all go a long way. Use customer lifetime value (LTV) and engagement metrics to see who keeps coming back. You can even poll them and let them tell you why they come back again and again. Give these customers opportunities to interact with your brand beyond purchases with events or opportunities to offer feedback on new product releases. The priority is to make them feel as if they’re not just another customer, but very special people who are part of the movement.

Stage 5: Brand Advocates

Eventually, your most loyal customers may become motivated to become brand advocates. This top rung in the customer loyalty ladder represents your most powerful customers, those who serve as an organic marketing channel for your brand. These customers actively promote your brand to their friends, family, colleagues, even random people they come across on a daily basis. They leave glowing reviews and share your products on social media, too.

Brand advocates are your most valuable customers not only because their testimonials and cheerleading bring interest, excitement and trust to your service or product that results in customer referrals and maybe some PR too. the enthusiasm of brand advocates also lowers your cost of customer acquisition and drive customer growth naturally.

So, how do you move people up the ladder of customer loyalty into this stage? Continue taking other steps to make customers, especially repeat and loyal customers, feel like VIP insiders. Seek their insights from your brand advocates when making decisions about your service or product; involve them in beta testing new features or entry into a new market, invite them to exclusive VIP-only events. A customer who feels involved and part of your business, while also receiving consistent value, can be an influential promoter of your brand, giving referrals and singing your praises.

Assess your customer list

First, examine your customer list to figure out where you’re struggling the most. Maybe you have a hard time getting customers to take a chance on your brand but once they do, they stick around. You have an acquisition problem. Or, perhaps you get customers to buy once but they never come back to make another purchase. You have a customer retention problem and problem with customer churn. Gitomer recommends that you focus on the following questions:

Analyze your customer retention KPIs and figure out where you have the need to level up your performance. You now know what to look for at each rung of the very useful customer loyalty ladder and understand how the customer acquisition journey along with the customer loyalty ladder can improve your ability to improve the CLV in your customer list. To get you started, Gitomer recommends that you focus on the following questions:

  • How can you convert one-time buyers into repeat customers?
  • What’s the best way to incentivize loyal customers to become brand advocates?
  • Where do you see prospects abandoning the customer acquisition journey and how might you correct, or limit, the problem? fix them?

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Depositphotos free image