By Jane Genova

The global financial meltdown took with it most of those gold-plated contacts who used to refer freelance assignments to us. Likely, they themselves have joined us as free agents, hustling to put together multiple sources of income. What has replaced that network game is the pay to play one. It comes in two forms.

One is that we literally shell out cash in order to have access to assignments. Jack O’Dwyer, who operates this site, told me that even his daughter participates in that approach. O’Dwyer was in Washington D.C. visiting his daughter. She and her circle buy memberships in services such as the American Independent Writers (yearly dues: $125).

Another kind of service is eLance in which you pay to bid on assignments. Another version is buying space to advertise yourself on sites such as Mediabistro or Craigslist.

The other form consists of an "American Idol"-type audition. Instead of shelling out cash, we invest our sweat equity – and creativity. The wildly popular legal tabloid Abovethelaw.com relies on that approach for not only freelance but also full-time work.

The applicant tries out in public by creating several posts for the site. Then readers, along with the brass such as David Lat, give the thumbs up or down. Like American Idol itself, that competition itself brings plenty of attention. It’s a kind of performance art readers love judging.

The tamer version of that is having prospects request that we review their websites and make recommendations for improvement; copy-edit a small part of a white paper; prepare a proposal for a blog; assess some designs; or simply listen as they describe their challenge. All of this is without compensation.

That means we have to become astute players in sizing up what opportunities we will pursue, how much time we will be willing to invest in any one, and how we will attempt to close on that sale. One objective is to keep the cost of the sale low, even if that cost is sweat equity. After all, we don’t want to burn out chasing work. We have to have energy left over to actually do the work.

Here we make progress by making mistakes. As C.S. Lewis noted, experience is a brutal teacher but, we learn, boy do we learn. And what we learn is to smell miles away a con or a browser who has no intention of becoming a buyer. Unlike the favor bank of networking, pay to play runs on intuitive. We use our gut all the time.

The other move we have to get down is forming criteria what kind of work we will do and who we will do it for. There will be extensive choice. After all, with jobs gone, there is plenty of freelance work. As the economy unfreezes, there is plenty of pent-up demand. If we understand how to present ourselves, we should have access to many more assignments than we can handle, even if we take on some contract writers to do some of it. At times I have employed 10 who were subcontractors on projects.

For me, those criteria include:

• Are the knowledge base and skills associated with this assignment something I can leverage to get my next assignment. None of us can waste time doing work just for the income. The income will come – and in increasing amounts – if we have experience in what’s selling at a decent fee schedule.

• The prospect understands what needs to get done and why. Few of us will be paid for educating the client. Therefore, we would be stupid to enter a situation in which we would be doing that and with no compensation.

• The relationship isn’t abusive. As I say, for the millions I would earn working in an investment bank, sure, I will absorb abuse. For what I earn as a freelancer, no way. Again, there is so much work out there, any prospect who develops a reputation for being abusive will not find a vendor, at least not a qualified one.

• The budget is available. Yes, do due diligence. Yes, require a percentage down payment on PayPal. More and more often I am using what has become to me a standard phrase, “You don’t seem to have the budget. I’m sorry. I can’t assist on this project.”

Another recommendation I would make is being flexible in a fee schedule. There are minimums we won’t go under. However, to gain experience in a new area I will work for less and then later raise my fee with other prospects.

In addition, don’t create too much value such as doing excessive research or analysis. Prospects don’t want perfect. They want outcomes. If we are in-tune with the marketplace we can achieve those results with fewer resources and effort. In this case, less is more profitable.

A third tip is not to direct efforts toward long-term relationships. Client churn is high. They are purchasing services, not a relationship. That’s not only in communications. It’s in most professional services. That’s why there’s such an emphasis on new business development.

In that classic "What Color is Your Parachute?" the message in 2009 was the same as in the 1970s. And that’s that the person who gets hired or the client or the customer who’s the best at getting hired or closing on client or customer assignments is not necessarily the most qualified. Since this is a marketplace of churn, it’s imperative to have down cold marketing and sales. Being good at what we do isn’t enough.

The best investment I made was four figures in an eight-week hands-on seminar in marketing and sales. The next best investment I made has been taking risks in how I present myself and my services.

Yesterday’s approach may not be how to close today.

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Jane Genova, based in New Haven, Connecticut, provides services in executive communications and social media. Website | mgenova981 [at] aol.com.