60. How to Get on the Radar of Your Dream Clients (Even if You're Just Starting Out) | Alefiya Khorakiwala

In this episode of Soulpreneur Scaling Stories, I sit down with Alefiya Khorakiwala, a quiz funnel strategist and copywriter who’s redefining lead generation with innovative, high-converting quizzes. Alefiya shares her journey from working with traditional funnels and email marketing to discovering the unmatched potential of quiz funnels for scaling businesses.

We explore how Alefiya created her first quiz funnel, achieving conversion rates as high as 80%, and why she decided to niche down into this specialized area. She provides insights into the power of gamification, creativity, and understanding your audience’s needs to craft quizzes that not only generate leads but also spark genuine engagement. Whether you’re a virtual assistant, OBM, or service provider, you’ll learn how to embrace creativity, take bold risks, and carve out your own path in a saturated market.

Key Points Covered:
✨ The surprising success of Alefiya’s first quiz funnel project
✨ How to use gamification and creativity to build impactful quizzes
✨ Why niching down is a game-changer for service providers
✨ The mindset shifts needed to experiment and innovate in your business

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Andrea Elibero: Andrea here, your host and passionate business coach and scaling strategist for Soulful Service Providers and Coaches. Welcome to another episode of Soulpreneur Scaling Stories. Have you ever wanted to look behind the curtain of your fellow entrepreneur's business to see what actually went into scaling it?

[00:00:22] Well, you are in for a treat because that's exactly what we are doing here. In each episode, we will be uncovering the truth behind the lessons and the stories behind what it truly takes for sole preneurs to scale their businesses intentionally. I'm hoping that their stories will help you to unlock the true potential of your business so you can create your own soulful, abundant and aligned laptop lifestyle through intentional scaling.

[00:00:46] So whether you're just starting out on your scaling journey or you're a seasoned entrepreneur seeking inspiration, this episode has something incredible in store for you. Are you ready to rise, grow and create? Create a business that fully supports your dream life. Well, let's [00:01:00] dive in before we begin.

[00:01:02] Make sure to hit that subscribe buttons. You never miss an empowering episode filled with real stories and soulful insights.

[00:01:11] Welcome to Soulpreneur Scaling Stories. I'm so excited to have Aleffia here with us, who is a quiz funnel strategist and copywriter.

[00:01:23] Welcome Aleffia.

[00:01:25] Alefiya Khorakiwala: Thank you so much for having me, Andrea.

[00:01:28] Andrea Elibero: And so please introduce yourself, tell us about your business and what it looks like today.

[00:01:33] Alefiya Khorakiwala: Yeah. So I started out with funnels and email marketing in like email sequences, email courses, um, webinar funnels. Um, PDF funnels and all sorts of funnels for very big names on LinkedIn. So influencers, uh, speaking coaches, et cetera. And then in March, [00:02:00] 24, I landed a quiz project and it was, it was a client who we were like on my radar, so she trusted me for this thing and it converted really, really well.

[00:02:14] And then a second client. Like, I onboarded a second client and we were initially going to do something else, but then I told her, Listen, I just had this project and this quiz like did 10 times better or actually 20, 30 times better than any other lead magnets we've tried. So I don't have the expertise here, but if you, if you're open to test it and try it, let's do it.

[00:02:40] And she's like, okay, let's do it. And then we, we got 80 percent plus conversion rates for her. So I was like, okay, this is on beginner's luck because this happened the second time. And then when the third project came in, I was like, do you want to try quizzes? Because I've had the success with these past two projects. So she's like, yeah, yeah, let's do it. And then we had the success again. [00:03:00] Again, it was like around 65%, 70%. which is like for normal lead magnets. You get around 5 percent to 20 percent to 30 percent if you're like super, um, warm audience. And this was like double,

[00:03:15] Andrea Elibero: Hmm.

[00:03:16] Alefiya Khorakiwala: without changing anything. So then I was like, okay, this is it.

[00:03:20] Cause as it is, I am. going to niche down here. And yeah, so that's what I've been doing.

[00:03:28] Andrea Elibero: So cool. So I'm curious about when you started in quizzes, did you have a background in it?

[00:03:35] Alefiya Khorakiwala: I didn't. So when I started with quizzes, I initially took that project and I saw that half of that, half of the quizzes are BuzzFeed style quizzes and the other half are like surveys. Uh, do you sleep eight hours a day? Yes, no. Uh, do you, Like what's your income level? 000. It's, it was like very survey based and we, we can [00:04:00] smell a pitch in those quizzes, like from a mile away.

[00:04:03] So I was like, there is a gap missing where people who are not using personality quizzes, like not every brand can use like, what's your type? Are you, or, um, What is your CEO type personality or what, uh, celebrity would you be if you like what celebrity business owner you are like we're seeing Amy Potterfield's quiz right now but not every business can use that and some businesses need diagnostic quizzes but I was like If we, if the diagnostic quizzes space was filled with yes, no, yes, no type questions. So I was like, there is this whole arena that is not yet tapped in. No one is talking about that. So for this first client, we created a challenge based gamified quiz and. It performed so well that it was literally circling around in MailChimp communities as quote unquote, best quiz ever. And that would [00:05:00] let a lot of traction.

[00:05:01] Yeah. So it got a lot of attention, traction, and then that's when the other clients started rolling in.

[00:05:09] Andrea Elibero: So, so when you were doing this, was this. An idea that you had is this because you're like, oh, like I'm really creative or how did this idea come about? I heard you say that. Oh, I saw that, you know I wasn't really I thought these other quizzes were kind of crappy and I think there's a better way to do it So i'm curious really how you created that because that's really like it's really exciting

[00:05:31] Alefiya Khorakiwala: So some things that you're naturally good at. So my, my create, because I've been an ex Baker. And I play around with flavors, and my one flavor was solid caramel Oreo brownie. So I loved playing around with ideas. And then I was like, okay, how can I still keep this as a quiz? Which is, of course, for lead gen.

[00:05:54] It's not like a quote unquote assessment. But, or it's not like an exam sort of thing, but I can still make [00:06:00] it like a leadership, like, uh, there's a scoring system and then I want to create buzz because I'm going to create that hype that people are saying, I got the score, but no, I think that, uh, my answer here was right.

[00:06:12] And this is the angle that it could have been like, and they justify their answers. And that's exactly what it did. When the quiz went live, like people were having healthy conversations in the comment section that I said this, and then. I was wrong here, but I still believe that this could be applied in x, y, z situations.

[00:06:31] And The idea basically came for, from creativity, trying and mapping two to three different scenarios. And then we landed with this. Yes, it was for an e commerce strategy course. So we, the questions were around scenarios for, um, e commerce brand scenarios where people had to say like, okay, a mattress brand has XYZ problem.

[00:06:56] What? Could the, uh, situation [00:07:00] be so me and my husband work together. So when he was working on this project, he went through the course course and, and, uh, plucked out all the examples that the client was sharing in the course. And then we turned that into the quiz.

[00:07:15] Andrea Elibero: Ah, very neat. So I think that is there's an important lesson here for all of my service providers listening is that not being afraid to do something different and try something new and not being afraid of what your client might say. So I'm curious how you approach this, right? Because this is something totally different, totally new, both in terms of like, Oh, I'm not a quiz expert per se, but One is, okay, I'm going to sort of pitch this kind of, oh, yes, I would love to do this thing that I don't have expertise in.

[00:07:46] And then the other side of that is, oh, but I want to do it in a different way. And I'm curious how you approach these things with your clients.

[00:07:54] Alefiya Khorakiwala: So from the very first day, like I started entrepreneurship, [00:08:00] I'm not talking even about online entrepreneurship. I'm talking about back my 2019, my bakery business days. I was like, Every niche is saturated. Wherever you go, there is saturation everywhere.

[00:08:14] Andrea Elibero: Mm

[00:08:17] Alefiya Khorakiwala: days.

[00:08:17] It was as back as talk about like my club when I was four year old and I was given a literature assignment or creative writing assignment, and everyone was writing from, you had to write a story on pigeon, everyone was writing from the bird's perspective, but I was writing from the trees perspective. So I, I always thought of how can I think like, I am a breech baby.

[00:08:42] So I came in the world upside down. So like, that's how I think. I think of all things upside down. Like, how can I bring a different perspective to that? And that's how, just how I've been. So when I. Naturally when I started the bakery business, I was like, I had to stand out and how I'm gonna do that. [00:09:00] How can I, how can I do something that not other bakery owners are doing in my, like I was in Africa at that time.

[00:09:05] So I was like, what are other bakery owners in Africa not doing that I can do? So it's, it happened there. Then when I came into the online space, I was like, okay, I started with humor copywriting and standup copy and All those fun stuff. I was trying a lot of things. So I started LinkedIn, close writing, then email marketing, then funnels.

[00:09:27] And because. I don't find it very difficult to land clients. So I was like, okay, whatever I try, I'll find clients for that. I'll try it for one, two projects, and then I will see what I enjoy the best. So that's been my approach.

[00:09:44] Andrea Elibero: no, it's amazing. You're really brave. I think a lot of people listening would be like, oh wow, she's, you know, exactly that. I know she's so brave. I could never do that. So I'm wondering, what would you say to somebody who's listening and saying exactly that? Like, oh, I could never do that.[00:10:00] 

[00:10:01] Alefiya Khorakiwala: You can, you can, and there are many reasons why, but that's like a cliche answer. The other answer is I, I've, I've had like influencers that I want to work with, right? Um, they are on my dream list. So one of them recently has like 168, 000 followers on Instagram and a hundred, a hundred thousand plus followers on LinkedIn.

[00:10:27] There was no way I could get her attention with my mini 6, 000 follower account. So I had a plus client who was a LinkedIn So she has 178, 000 followers and she's like a big name. So I first emailed the second person who I wanted to get on the radar off and I really wanted to work with her because I adored what she did.

[00:10:49] So I emailed her, cold email, cold pitch, and I was, I was commenting on her profile, like genuinely because I enjoyed her content, but she didn't, I don't think [00:11:00] she ever, ever noticed me before this. So I emailed her, but obviously I didn't get a reply. And then I asked this first client that I worked with that, Hey, um, is she a friend?

[00:11:10] And then she said, yes. So I was like, and then I, I, I was genuine. And I was like, how can I get on the radar of this X person, even if it's paid? So that's why I kept my confidence up that I'm not that desperate. I don't, I don't want you to make that introduction. I I'm, I'm just looking for ways, like you're a friend.

[00:11:29] So you might know better. And immediately she made that intro, uh, but on LinkedIn and then she was like, okay, let's do it. Let's book a call. But even then. Some like, she was like, I'm traveling. I have some speaking, speaking gigs, but then we got a call and then she's like, it took almost 25 days to, to that call the process from email to that call.

[00:11:50] She, she literally said that this is how she met Elon Musk recently. And then she, um, she hit the spot to speak to her. So this is how [00:12:00] I operate. This is how, like, I like the resilience. I like that. You don't stop at the first step. And, and, you know, there is a very subtle difference in following up with desperation and following up out of admiration.

[00:12:16] So if you can make that subtle change from letting your clients know that you're doing this out of admiration and not out of desperation, like me, I have a mini boutique agency right now. Right. So. I get like, if someone is genuinely following me for a long time and they genuinely show that admiration and will always give them a chance to like, come and pitch me, or let's hop on a call.

[00:12:42] Let's see how you can help my business. And if it makes sense, sometimes I hire them immediately. Sometimes if not, maybe two to three months later, whenever a position opens, they're the first on my radar. In comparison to that, if someone says like, um, [00:13:00] please teach me. I want to be on your team because I want to learn.

[00:13:04] Uh, please help me. Like you write so well, just teach me. And then you're like, okay, I'm not willing to pay for this. And, but can you just be my mentor? That is desperation. And that's every, it repels people. Genuinely, if you're doing this out of desperation, you will repel clients. But if you're just tweaking that into admiration, you'll actually create that likability factor, even if, because at the end, even influencers or big six, seven, eight figure founders, they're humans at the end.

[00:13:35] And they love their products and they love their businesses. So if you can just make that genuine interest in them and their products, you'll have them.

[00:13:44] Andrea Elibero: I love the distinction there because this is something that, yeah, that I do with my clients all the time, right? Is the energetics behind what you're doing, and even if you don't feel naturally confident, because confident comes after you do things right? So [00:14:00] Cnce is developed. It's not a skill, it's not a thing that you have or you don't have.

[00:14:03] It's something that gets developed, but you can do things. to really change your energetics, to change your energy behind what you're doing, and a lot of this is mindset semantics, you know there's a lot of things that go, that go into it, and sometimes It is like I feel I get that the vibe from you that you're like, no, this is my thing, right?

[00:14:23] Like I like Like I'm good. There wasn't a lot that I had to develop on this area, but that's okay, right? That's that's you and there's other people that really do have to grow but it's really just taking those first steps and remembering that So, okay and checking in with yourself, you know It's like how am I feeling and where is this coming from?

[00:14:39] Because it's the same whether you're even creating like social media You You know, creating your content, reaching out to people, having your discovery calls, all of those things without the right energy behind it. That you're not going to do well because people 100 percent feed off of that like I can feel your energy right like on this call People can feel our energy when they're listening to this and it is [00:15:00] so important to come into that space like that For you getting on this podcast.

[00:15:04] We had connected in a networking event I don't even think we talked to each other or something and connected on LinkedIn and you're like, hey Like can I come be on your podcast? I said, okay. Sure. Like let's see, you know It was you asked for it and you got on the podcast. It wasn't that much effort You know, you didn't have to stalk me and do weird things like you just saw me I just said, Hey, like, can we connect in this way?

[00:15:21] And, and I said, sure. So I think that really speaks so much to the success that you've had is the willingness to do these things and to get out of your comfort

[00:15:32] Alefiya Khorakiwala: So I have, I have a lot of, a lot to say about this. So

[00:15:36] Andrea Elibero: please do.

[00:15:38] Alefiya Khorakiwala: the first, we'll come back to the asking part and reaching out part. Uh, before that you talk about energetics and why, and

[00:15:47] Andrea Elibero: Mm

[00:15:48] Alefiya Khorakiwala: know you talk about ups and downs on your PO podcast. So last week, last last week, I had a hundred per like, I emailed seven people, seven to eight people.

[00:15:59] [00:16:00] And I just to give context of the kind of people I email, email, these are published authors all have more than 70,000, 80,000 followers on LinkedIn. Uh, super big brands. Super big personal brands who will speak on stages, blah, blah, blah, who usually don't reply to any emails. And I had a hundred percent success.

[00:16:24] It replied with a hundred percent reply on cold pitches and almost like 70 percent people booked a call from that. So that was like super successful week. I'm not sharing this for the, that part, but the week after I met a friend and that week I was like, You know what? You know what, Satya? I just can't write my LinkedIn content.

[00:16:46] It's just because I've been from, I've been at this holiday and words aren't just coming. She's like, okay, let's have coffee and just put your brain out. And it took me almost four hours to write two to three posts. There are days [00:17:00] like that and then the week after I was sitting I have this habit of one email a day So I reach out to at least what like that Social media is different like the way I reach out for the podcast.

[00:17:13] That's that doesn't count. This is like specifically one email a day For either a speaking pitch or a client pitch, even if I'm booked out three months ahead, I still have this practice just so that I can be booked out like maybe a year ahead or six months ahead, whatever it is. I just have this practice, even if my pipeline is full. If my pipeline is extremely, uh, booked out like six months ahead, then my features will be more focused towards speaking. But if my pipeline looks like 30, 40 days, uh, fills, then it will be kind of acquisition and, uh, because we all know, like summer's a little slow months. I like to prepare for that way, way, way ahead of time.

[00:17:57] So I have that habit, but last week. I [00:18:00] was sitting as like, I don't know who to email. I really don't know. Like I have like the whole LinkedIn is filled. And I was like, I, it's just not coming. It's just not coming to me on who is the right person who I should email. And there are weeks like that as well.

[00:18:15] There are weeks where you just don't feel that whatever your marketing, whatever it is, you just don't have the words right on socials. You just don't have the words to write in. Or collaborations, whatever it is, but that's okay. This is just allow yourself. It's not, it's natural. And then don't force like what, something that I do is I don't force myself at that moment.

[00:18:39] That's when I know like, okay, this is something that my body or my system is trying to tell me. So let me switch to reading. So I read fiction at that time. Let me switch to something more creative, creative. Like, let's just, we just go down. I have a library library, uh, in my building. So it's just go down.

[00:18:57] Sit by the pool, enjoy that book. And [00:19:00] that's something that may relaxes me or just have, call a mass, have the spa day. But then automatically I see that the, okay, now three posts came, came out, I ha I had, suddenly I had clarity on who to reach out to. So that happens.

[00:19:16] Andrea Elibero: Yeah, it's very true. And it's a part of we're all human, right? It's a part of the human experience. So, and I find the same thing that it's like, okay, I'm not feeling inspired right now. The worst thing you can do is sit and stare at your laptop and try to force yourself, right, to do these things. And what happens for me, the best thing is to get outside to go in nature to walk my dogs to do something and just reboot.

[00:19:38] And when you're, you know, Purposefully not thinking about business. It's like when you take a shower and you have your best ideas in the shower. It's this, it's this thing that happens. So yes, beautiful point to that both. It is the, yes, you might be amazing at this thing, but that doesn't mean you're amazing at it a hundred percent of the time.

[00:19:54] All right, and when your things are a little bit off, then just take a break. [00:20:00] Without guilt and not force yourself to do these things because when you're forcing yourself, it's gonna feel forced. It goes back to that energy again. It's gonna come through.

[00:20:10] Alefiya Khorakiwala: I love when you said without guilt, because in my first year. Like for six, seven months in business, I used to work from 8am to 10pm because I felt guilty if I'm not working. And I was like, this is my first year. I have to be like, I can't be lazy. I like, if I'm not working until 10pm, I'm lazy. If I'm not writing that one more email, I'm lazy.

[00:20:33] If I'm not posting two times a day, only until I was crazy, like everything was hyper mode. And then. I almost like I, my health was messed up. It affected my marriage. It affected my relationships around me. I got so many hormonal issues and it was crazy. And, and then just when I decided that, okay, now I would only work for four hours, my husband said that, [00:21:00] okay, he will also work for two to three hours.

[00:21:02] We literally. Eliminated most of our work hours. I built a team and then now suddenly I had the income to support the team, to even keep, keep little for savings, to even work with the best brand designer that like was on my dream list to work with her. And suddenly I had the cashflow for that. I had, I could do things that were, that would have felt impossible in the first year, all because I was taking that time that those evenings to read those slow mornings.

[00:21:34] Those mornings to just do the skin care, which I wasn't doing for a year because I was like, no, no, as soon as I wake up, I have to be on, uh, like I have to open my laptop and do that. It's not healthy.

[00:21:46] Andrea Elibero: So, but let's talk about why a little bit deeper because this is really important because I think it's so common, and especially with service providers, to push yourself so much, because [00:22:00] there is, with entrepreneurs in general, but I work with so many, I am a service provider as well as a coach, I work with so many, my OBM went through all the things, and I hear all of these stories on this podcast, and burnout, right, so like what you're talking about is working so much and doing all of these things and doing it so aligned that it's switching over to this burnout phase and it's affecting your health and your life and everything, and I feel like A lot of times this hits service providers specifically because a service provider just really wants to give and, and please and get these clients and do the most and do all the things and not disappoint everybody and, and things like this.

[00:22:35] And plus there's a lot of, misinformation out there on business and how to run your business and all of this, plus the societal pressures, right, of, oh, I have to work, work, work. And that's, that's how I can create results. So I'm curious, like, aside from right, yeah, aside from, so there is this trap, right? Oh, no, like, if I'm not getting the results I want, that means I'm not working hard enough.

[00:22:58] So, [00:23:00] I would love to dig into a little bit more how you were specifically able to shift this mindset in your case, to shift from hustle, hustle, hustle, work 24 7 to, okay, this is not really working. So now I'm really going to step back and do this differently. What did that point look like for you? Hmm.

[00:23:19] Alefiya Khorakiwala: that pivot. I would like to talk about. Like you said, if I'm not getting the results for me, it wasn't that like, um, because I said, like, because my strong prime client acquisition is one of my strong suits. Very initially, like in the first three months of my business, we were already hitting seven K months.

[00:23:39] So the goalposts kept changing, but I don't, I don't know, like, why was it working until 10pm? If I had finished that one course, I wanted to do that other course. If I had collected 10 swipes, I wanted to do 20 swipes. If I had, I had been posting, Once a day. I wanted to do twice a day. So it was like the goalpost kept changing and changing [00:24:00] and I, I don't know, like the me, like when I journaled on that, it was because I was comparing myself to the people, like the peers who are literally 10 years ahead of me.

[00:24:13] Andrea Elibero: Yeah. Yeah. So

[00:24:14] Alefiya Khorakiwala: They are, they've been in the business for, yeah, they've been in the business for 10 years and I see them speaking on the summit or that X, Y, Z podcast or working with that X, Y, Z client. And I want that right now,

[00:24:27] Andrea Elibero: right,

[00:24:28] Alefiya Khorakiwala: them 10 years to get there. And I want this right now

[00:24:31] Andrea Elibero: right, right. And you also believe, and a lot of people believe that, like, oh, they can do it, I can do it, it's so possible, and not realizing that they have a whole team behind them, that they have all these years, you know, all of this stuff builds up, and they didn't just do this overnight.

[00:24:46] Alefiya Khorakiwala: Yeah. And

[00:24:47] Andrea Elibero: don't realize that. Yeah.

[00:24:49] Alefiya Khorakiwala: so, so what, what really like humbled me is going to their origins and then comparing my today with their, their first figure looked like.

[00:24:58] Andrea Elibero: So is that what you did? [00:25:00] You really went back and dug in

[00:25:01] Alefiya Khorakiwala: I went,

[00:25:02] Andrea Elibero: research on them?

[00:25:03] Alefiya Khorakiwala: I did that. I did that. Yes. And I had to, so here's where my overachiever, like I've been, Like academics wise, I've always been on scholarships or someone who holds the first or second position and it can really, really negatively affect your mindset if you're that, that person.

[00:25:21] Because everyone, all you've done well in your entire life is academics or you, like the entire identity around is this person brings trophies home or gold medals home or whatever it is. So if you're in that second, third position, In the industry or like, if someone writes a blog post and they put you on the third position, why am I not on the first?

[00:25:43] And this was like all a lot of journaling and self awareness led to this. But then I did that digging and I compared their first year to my first year. I was like, holy shit. I am five years ahead of what their first year looked like. [00:26:00] So technically I'm ahead of the race and I'm not behind. So even like I had to calm myself down.

[00:26:05] So that was the first step. And then the pivotal moment came when I, I was diagnosed with some health issues. And that's where like major, major, major reflection came in. Do I even want to run this business or continue running this business? If yes, not like how I've been doing that. So whatever it is, if it feels extremely difficult, I plug off at 4, 4 30 right now.

[00:26:29] Even if I come back, like sometimes I have this call. This is a post dinner call or sometimes I have to do some work, but in my mind, I'm recalling it every day that, okay, for 4 p. m. work is off, 4 p. m. work is off. So that now I feel guilty of working after four. So the whole shift changed. So now if I'm working after four, I'm not supposed to be doing that, but it's just.

[00:26:53] So that at least it's not by four by 5 p. m. I am my work.

[00:26:59] Andrea Elibero: hmm.[00:27:00] 

[00:27:00] Beautiful. And when you started to invest in a team and all of this, you were at a point where you were able to do this financially and leadership wise. You're she's smiling if you guys are listening.

[00:27:12] Alefiya Khorakiwala: I'm crying.

[00:27:14] Andrea Elibero: So so it seems that you're you did you decided you were determined listen something has to change.

[00:27:20] This is an important step in this change. I'm going to do it. Mm hmm. And It sounds like perhaps it was a difficult shift, but you did it before you were ready to do it. Is that

[00:27:30] Alefiya Khorakiwala: So I had my team. Yeah, I had my team before this whole shift happened. Like I had, I built a team from, I think I can say like three months of moments in the business. I knew that I can't do it alone. So I knew I need to have, like, then I started hiring for. Um, then I started adding different roles. Just a second.

[00:27:53] I I did that before and of course like I had mess up hires And people leaving mid [00:28:00] project and this is like this has been The most difficult thing i've ever done in business and it's not like it ever ends Recently, like last month I had a super big five figure project and like I vetted this person And we did a mini project before like too many projects before this so that I can trust this person with this project but literally mid project shitty work then harassed me and then emailed me for more money Uh, and then like threatened me To do XYZ things and I had to get my lawyer involved and then request the client for um, An extension like the client also said that okay.

[00:28:47] She wasn't on a vacation and she wants to extend so that like I saved the embarrassment on my end, but some of these things happen and it's so, so, so, so difficult. Uh, I have not figured it out [00:29:00] yet, and I'm still looking for experts who can help me that, so I don't have, like, good advice there. But here's the things that have worked a little for me.

[00:29:08] A is doing a paid or free test project. Do not hire people who are looking to be entrepreneurs. Like if you if you want long term service providers in your team if you're growing so do not hire entrepreneurs because They a they are not built to work work under someone and b They're just there for to learn and upskill and then they'll leave you.

[00:29:33] So, so we have contracts for three years, two to three years. And now, now my first question is, do you want to be an entrepreneur? Because if you, if you are, I wish you all the luck and I can support you in that journey, but you're not a fit for my team. Uh,

[00:29:50] Andrea Elibero: to add a couple of things in here because this happens to be one of my areas of expertise as an OBM that for so for anybody who's looking to bring [00:30:00] on somebody and you don't have to be, you know, super crazy far in your business. I did a similar thing. I had an agency after a few months because I was getting all these clients and that's a different story for another day, but.

[00:30:13] Now I know that in addition to the hiring, it's also having the processes and the systems and the SOPs all built up and just really having your back end set up. So, to support them. So that way things are not, everything is very clear. So having this process, having your business run in a way that where there's a framework and having your, your, uh, project management tool set up and all of these things.

[00:30:41] It's so, it helps so much when you're have this team member and two things that I always look for when I'm hiring somebody. And this is also, if you guys are like, Oh, what should I, what should I present on a call? It is proactivity and passion. So both passion for [00:31:00] for, and not just like, oh, passion for what they do, but passion for what the business is.

[00:31:04] So when I first started, I came from the nursing field. So I worked with a lot of health and wellness people. And they loved me because I'm like, Oh, yes, I love this. And so I'm so excited about being in their business. You know, that, that there was something there and that's how I got all these long term clients because I could see my passion and they could see that, Oh, this girl knows how to problem solve.

[00:31:22] You know, she's not going to sit there and wait for me to tell her what to do. So proactivity and passion. So little side note, I want to circle back to something cause I don't want to take up all of the time, um, client acquisition. I would love to talk more about this, your top tips. So what can you say?

[00:31:41] Cause you are. amazing at this, right? You have grown this business in such a short time. So I'm would love to hear advice that you could give for service providers in terms of what you do for client acquisition.

[00:31:55] Alefiya Khorakiwala: Okay, this is like one of my favorite topics. So, uh, [00:32:00] before we dive into the client acquisition, I just, when you said proactivity and passion, like before that team building conversation, and that's absolutely gold because my best hires have been people who are not the best at their skill set. Instead, they are the best at Like they're the most passionate.

[00:32:20] They are the most passionate about the work they do. And they have been the best hires and the best thinkers because they're always, they, they, they crave upscaling. They crave, um, support the grave. Like I have no team meetings every Friday where we are literally learning and I'm sharing growth stuff.

[00:32:40] And then the enthusiasm is there in their eyes, like they're like, okay, like fill me up, fill my cup up.

[00:32:46] Andrea Elibero: Yeah, and it's amazing, right? Like on your end, like I love it working with people like that. We'll go, yes, I'm going to help you grow, you know, I think it's great.

[00:32:54] Alefiya Khorakiwala: I agree. I agree. And like, yeah, anyways, but coming back to the client acquisition part.[00:33:00] 

[00:33:00] Andrea Elibero: sorry, we have too many things to talk about. go back to

[00:33:04] Alefiya Khorakiwala: we might record a season episode two. Anyways, coming back to the client acquisition part. Coming back to client acquisition. Um, my biggest step is that identify your top five clients and first like meditate on it or just believe in your mind that it's possible. Like, even if your service, like, if you're good at your work, that has to be like a prerequisite.

[00:33:30] Like you have, you have to be the absolute best at what you do. And if you're not like, even if you don't have experience, but just like, you know, I shared that the quiz project, I did not have the experience, but I still wanted to make the absolute best quiz that even the ones who are expert in quizzes haven't done that.

[00:33:48] And I was willing to do whatever it takes to do that. So,

[00:33:53] Andrea Elibero: from a place within you of just passion and excitement, it sounds like as well. Is that accurate?

[00:33:58] Alefiya Khorakiwala: yeah, agreed, like [00:34:00] just having that, that, that obsession with my, my work, the creativity and marketing, I genuinely love it. I'm not in it just for the money or just for the growth. I genuinely enjoy it and I, I want to be the best at it. So that has to be one thing. Obviously, but the second is like, whoever it is, like, if you're a SAS copywriter and you really want to work with motion, even if it's like a super big brand, just believe in yourself that you can do it.

[00:34:30] And then the second part is do whatever it takes to get on their radar. Like if, even if it takes like a hundred different approaches to get on their radar, do it. So my earliest success I can attribute to working like reaching out to influencers and. Doing like for one client, I almost worked at a very, very, very discounted price because I knew that if I get her results, her name will [00:35:00] be enough to get me the next 10 clients.

[00:35:02] And it did, it did, it really did. And then for the second client

[00:35:07] Andrea Elibero: Yeah. Okay. Go ahead. Go ahead. Yeah.

[00:35:09] Alefiya Khorakiwala: for the second influencer, I reached, like, I called her and I said that let's work on a performance basis. If I get you 150k on your launch, then only I will get paid my fees. So, A, confidence in my work. Again, like, I, I knew my shit. I was not winging it.

[00:35:28] Because I see this with junior copywriters and people who are just starting. They don't know what they're doing. They feel like, Oh, I'll whip you upwards. I'll add, I'll 3x your revenue because that's what they've been told to add in their headline. But they don't know that if you don't know that, then.

[00:35:45] You, you can't be that confident in your work. So like right now, if I hire Andrea and I tell her like hire the next three people for me and manage my onboarding offboarding, she can, she can do it in her sleep. Like you, you have to be [00:36:00] good at good at what you do, but when you are good at what you do, like take, I think I took, it took me six to eight months to transition from bakery business to this business.

[00:36:09] And in that six to eight months, I was just studying. Studying day and night, books, resources. I think I hand wrote a hundred sales pages. From top to bottom just to be good at copy. So that that's like you can't discount on that part But once that is done you do whatever it takes to get on on the first five clients radar And then use their name as a leverage to get the other other clients.

[00:36:38] Andrea Elibero: Yeah. I bet. You can't overstate the networking when you're working with these amazing clients and you do a great job. The referrals and the networking, all that, that cannot, the importance of that cannot be overstated in any scenario.

[00:36:53] Alefiya Khorakiwala: That has what what's been Like, you know, the domino effects of working with one big name [00:37:00] is crazy. It's wild. Like one referral from them can. Can like literally change the course of your business. So whatever niche you are in, like, I'll just give you an example. I was only working with personal brands before, like when I was working with four funnels, but now I, I will be working with e commerce businesses as well as SAS, as well as law firms, medical, medical firms and all that.

[00:37:30] And now I don't have any expertise or any connections in this and I'm in the building phase. So it will be like, uh, A total from scratch starting. Like I will be working with personal brands, which will serve as the bread and butter for like six months for the next six months, but now I want to work with these e commerce clients and blah, blah, blah.

[00:37:49] So I will repeat the same process, like, which is a big name brand that I can like, whatever I can take to get on their radar, even if I have to travel for a conference, even if I have to pay [00:38:00] to pay like the CM was power, our session to be on their radar. Whatever it is that will, that will take to get me there, I will do it and then use their name as a leverage to get the next 10 clients.

[00:38:13] Andrea Elibero: So I want to clarify one thing is that when you're doing let's say if you're like oh I'm gonna book a power hour you're not necessarily pitching them right you're just telling them about you or asking them you know getting their services but they get to know you in that point is that accurate?

[00:38:26] Alefiya Khorakiwala: Uh, no. So yeah, of course. Um, but I also like, before the call, I will make the point that, hey, I am looking to get in this niche and I, I, I, I don't want to be like, I just don't want to pick your brain or have a coffee chat because I value your time and I want to pay for your hour. So it's, it's necessarily not like I don't need marketing help.

[00:38:50] I just need networking advice or how to best like crack in the e commerce space or whatever it

[00:38:56] Andrea Elibero: Okay, beautiful. So you're, you're being upfront to be like, listen, I'm booking this [00:39:00] time with you. I'm happy to pay and I'm looking to network. You're not necessarily saying, Hey, I'm booking this time so I can pitch you. You're saying a booking this time because I want to break into here. And then once you start chatting with them, and then they love you because you have this amazing magnetic, passionate personality and you're amazing at what you do.

[00:39:17] Alefiya Khorakiwala: Yeah. So I hardly ever pitched that person that I booked the call with. I would always use the approach that. Hey, I'm looking for XYZ things, and I know that you are a leader in this space. So can you connect me with the next five? And many of many times this approach leads to, Hey, I need to help myself.

[00:39:36] They will be like, they will silently raise their hand. Like, can you do this for us? Like, okay, yeah, sure. I can do this for you. And then can you also make the connections?

[00:39:46] Andrea Elibero: Right. And I love that because one, you're authentic, you're being honest, because nobody likes to be misled. I once had somebody book a discovery call with me for my services, and they got on the call and they pitched [00:40:00] themselves. And I think that's the only time I have ever been so angry at my business.

[00:40:05] And we're borderline rude to somebody because I could not I could not believe the audacity. I was so offended that they would waste my time like that. So I love What, what you're saying is that you're up front, you're honest, and you're telling them, I'm looking to network. This is what I do. Can you connect me?

[00:40:22] And they're like, Oh, and then you kind of plant that seed naturally. And I think that's really cool.

[00:40:28] Alefiya Khorakiwala: I don't think it's the first time I've heard that. Like I've heard many business owner complained that they had, and that's why, what I'm saying is I'm not looking for their free time. So that's also something, a unique thing to talk about is I have a client acquisition budget, which I don't think any service providers or like rarely few service providers have. So like

[00:40:52] Andrea Elibero: Yeah, I have not heard anybody like service provider or seven figure coach. I have never heard anybody say that they have a client acquisition budget.[00:41:00] 

[00:41:00] Alefiya Khorakiwala: yeah, you have to, so here's how it works for me. So. Before my, my service used to be 14, 000 package, but right now I've shelved that offer and I only do quest funnels. So if my offer is like almost four figure or five figure offer, I will at least have a 10 percent client acquisition budget for that. And how that budget rolls in is can I pay for a power hour?

[00:41:24] To get on the radar of the right person, can I enroll in two memberships, which some memberships are like 150, 150 each just to get sometimes the, the, the people in the membership are not my ideal clients, but the owner of the membership is.

[00:41:41] Andrea Elibero: Hmm.

[00:41:41] Alefiya Khorakiwala: I was like, okay, I want to be on the radar and how can I be on the radar?

[00:41:45] And the best way to respect people is to like pay them. Right. So how can I be on the radar? Okay. Uh, membership budget, then speaking budgets, like, okay, if I want to speak on this podcast, who can be the right person to connect us and if I [00:42:00] can pay them to connect me with them, so also a budget there, so just having, or I've not tried this yet, I used to do it in my bakery business, um, I, I will be trying that after my own quiz goes live around December or Jan, so pay that.

[00:42:18] Running ads to your services. So, so you need to have that budget because most service providers complain that, okay, I don't have clients. Like, do you have traffic? That should be your question. Instead of saying, I don't, do I have, like, why don't I have clients? You're the right question is why don't I have the right traffic?

[00:42:36] Because if you're good at good at what you do, you just need more people to see your goodness. And that is how you work on your PR, your marketing, how you get on the radar of the right people. With your time, with your money. Yeah.

[00:42:52] Andrea Elibero: I love hearing different perspectives because everyone you talk to has a different way that they, they approach these, these things. And I love hearing your perspective on [00:43:00] this because I feel like, you know, this can resonate for people. So it's not everyone wants to go out there and just be, I don't know, like, some people love attraction marketing some people you know there's different things that people love doing and I feel like you're taking networking and you're really optimizing it.

[00:43:16] And being really targeted with it. And it's really smart. So instead of just hopping into all these random things, you're like, no, you're like, I want to work with this person. I will say, I'm going to add one story in here because I accidentally did this. When I, when I first became an OBM, uh, there was a, this, and I work with like kind of spiritual people, um, As well, and there was this kind of famous, well, famous in the community, like spiritual person, and she had come, I was living in Miami at the time, and she had come to do this live event, and I went, I joined her thing, and I was like, oh, you know what, I'm really curious about her, her business, like, was running.

[00:43:50] So I just asked her, I said, oh, I'm curious, you know, who's on your team, what do you do, and, and how does it work, and, and that was it, you know, she told me, and that was it, and I was in her membership community, and [00:44:00] she reached out to me, And it was like, Oh, you came up to me and you know, and I wasn't pitching anything.

[00:44:04] I just connected with her. So this speaks to the power of what you're doing.

[00:44:10] Alefiya Khorakiwala: other thing I totally agree. Like, you know, people just want to have people on their radar, which they can use whenever they're ready. And sometimes you have to be upfront and like, people can't see, like, if I don't have awareness about, um, briefs, okay. Maybe I'm just recording looms for my team and I have no idea about briefs, but if someone who is like literally an expert in briefs comes up to me and saying, let's say you can literally save 10 hours a week of your time if you just hire me and let me do the briefs for it.

[00:44:45] I was like, okay, I never knew about that. Thank you. Thank you for pitching me. And that's, that's how. Whatever you're selling, if you can just break it down to that particular client, research their business and break it down, like this is what you can [00:45:00] expect. This is why I feel like you used to hire me and just being genuine around it.

[00:45:05] If people see that your pitch is not templated, if people see that you've researched their business for around 30 to 60 minutes,

[00:45:12] Andrea Elibero: Mm hmm. Mm

[00:45:14] Alefiya Khorakiwala: I literally listen, like if I'm pitching X person in the evening, I've listened to their podcasts in the morning, the recent podcast. So I have their voice in my head.

[00:45:23] I have something mutual to talk about and then They just know that this is not a template. This is, this is like genuinely a person writing across the world and writing to me. And if you're not getting a client out of that, you will get a reply.

[00:45:40] Andrea Elibero: Let me ask you, so this will be the last question, because I want to be respectful of your time and everybody else's time listening to this, because you had talked about cold emails and cold pitching, and I feel like this is the bane of most business owners existence, is getting these emails, getting these messages, these cold pitches.

[00:45:57] And, but this has been successful for [00:46:00] you. So I would love for you to share. A couple of things to speak briefly around this because I'm personally fascinated by this because they annoy me. I will tell you the truth. I'm just like, why is this person reaching out to me? Like, I don't, you know, like I get, you know, I have, I have a YouTube channel and I get all these emails like I can optimize your YouTube.

[00:46:18] I see this and they look at it. They show, you know, they do their best and I'm like, I don't care about, you know, like, I just delete, delete, delete, delete. So I'm so curious about, about the cold emails and how it's successful for you. Yes.

[00:46:31] Alefiya Khorakiwala: you a question. What are you struggling with right now? The most, like if someone can change one thing in your business, what are you struggling with most right now?

[00:46:41] Andrea Elibero: I would say that the thing that I'm working on is really clear messaging,

[00:46:47] Alefiya Khorakiwala: Okay. Uh, and how is that? Like, how is that impacting your day to day life? Like, is it taking time from your family? Is it taking time to work on the projects you love? Or like, [00:47:00] is it, um, limiting the effort of, like, is it limiting your potential to work with more clients? What is it doing right now?

[00:47:09] Andrea Elibero: right? So I, so, so for me, I know that, oh, I'm this amazing coach and you know, I had like, I know I get results, like it's amazing. Okay, great. And in terms of marketing, this is a skill that I am building and I know it's so important in terms of getting the messaging really, down so that way I can actually express how amazing, you know, the transformation and all of that.

[00:47:28] So it takes extra time and yeah, I think that I would be able to have more clients if I would hone in this skill even more. Right,

[00:47:40] Alefiya Khorakiwala: I would, I would like literally get to the point of, of what you really need and what you've talked about on your recent podcast or whatever it is. So I'll get to the point where you're genuinely sharing a struggle. So here's how that's different from something you, so I believe in.

[00:47:56] Going from zero to one, like if you have a website and if [00:48:00] even if you have a shitty website and I'm a website Copywriter, I will not put you because you don't need it. You already have one and you believe that you've spent your blood Tears and whatever sweat on this and you're not looking to another service provider demeaning you or bringing you down for something that you spent like The hard work around that.

[00:48:21] So usually cold switches are approaching this way. Hey, you have X you're not, you're like, this is shitty. So hire me to optimize that. That doesn't work that, that, that all puts people down. That doesn't work, but imagine like you genuinely need that messaging help. And it would be a dream if someone with the right budget that you can handle comes up in your inbox and shows you exactly what to do.

[00:48:44] Like how to fix your messaging and breaks it down that week one. I'll do this week two and and then Show paints a picture of what it will look like like, uh, you'll have more time for your kids You you won't be working evenings to get your messaging, right? You will [00:49:00] be able to work with two more clients by the end of the week September, November, because of this optimized messaging, you'll be able to create social media reels around it because now you have so much more content.

[00:49:12] And here is how I've done for X five different OBMs and worth a chat. And so like the, the key here is maybe like one, one of those testimonials, you know, that person. So the person that the person who's pitching, you know, that person who has shared that testimonial and much more chances are that you'll say yes.

[00:49:36] Andrea Elibero: That, I think that the thing that you hit on that most people don't do is that you are pitching to people who are connected to other people that you know, or that you've worked with. So now they automatically trust you more because like, Oh, you worked with this person who I know. And

[00:49:56] Alefiya Khorakiwala: started with.

[00:49:56] Andrea Elibero: is genius.

[00:49:57] Alefiya Khorakiwala: You work with big influencers [00:50:00] and then you work, then you, you wait, you build your way down instead of going, like, instead of building your way up, you build your way down. Okay. Now everyone knows this person. So whoever I will reach out, they probably know this person. And that's the first thing.

[00:50:14] But the other thing is also about struggle. Like if you don't want to work with influencers and if you find that really difficult, I'll give you my example. Like when I was struggling with design. Not having a good design brand stopped me from pitching to podcasts. Stop me from creating carousals. Stop me from showing up in the best way.

[00:50:35] I wanted to like have

[00:50:36] Andrea Elibero: Hmm.

[00:50:37] Alefiya Khorakiwala: gigs and X, Y, Z, and that was affecting my entire business and the growth of my business. If a designer came in and just shared that, okay, like based on the personality or the way you write on LinkedIn, I feel these can be your brands. And here's a mock up. Here's like, let me just do like this one mock up for you and we're to chat.

[00:50:58] I'm like, yes, [00:51:00] I need this. Let's do it.

[00:51:02] Andrea Elibero: It's a very intentional, yeah, way of pitching where it's so personal and you obviously put in all of this effort. So you're not just sending a gazillion pitches a day that are super generic. It's really, really thoughtful.

[00:51:13] Alefiya Khorakiwala: Yeah. And that's, and that's where, you know, that whole ickiness wipes away. That's when you don't feel like, Oh,

[00:51:20] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:51:20] Alefiya Khorakiwala: this person in my inbox.

[00:51:23] Andrea Elibero: Right. Yeah. Amazing. Beautiful. I think. Okay. I think that you really highlighted the how cold pitching can be less icky, how it can feel good. And I feel like that is, that's just really great because It does feel so icky for so many people that doesn't mean that it does that it has to be and I think that's That way with so many things right you can take what's out there and improve it and make it better and you can write the email It's almost like you're creating a social media post where you're speaking to all these people, but you're personalizing it You know to that person that you're emailing and you're just being so [00:52:00] direct about it.

[00:52:00] So I think that that's really cool one last question because I think I could talk to you for six hours, but we won't do that, is your top top scaling tip that you would love to share for service providers who are growing their business.

[00:52:18] Alefiya Khorakiwala: Uh, yeah. Before I share that, I want, I want to share a little bit about cold emailing and we talked a lot about that. But here's the thing that you don't need to follow my advice just because it worked for me. If like you generally as a service provider hate writing cold emails, if that just feels like a lot of effort to you and you have to take, like you feel like, Oh, okay.

[00:52:42] Cold email works for client acquisition. I have to find three courses who teach me on that. It will probably not work for you even after those four, three courses, because you generally need to find something that you really like. really, really enjoy. I really, really enjoy writing these emails. Like [00:53:00] I could literally build a business around that.

[00:53:02] If I ever have to shut down my quiz business, I would start a cold emailing business. I genuinely enjoy it. And that's why it feels easy to me. That's why I enjoy it. And you probably doing all the tips that I shared. Some of you listening, you might not be able to do it because It's just not your personality type, or you're not that extroverted, or you know, it's just not in you.

[00:53:25] But speaking could be for you, creating mock ups could be for you, attending conferences could be for you. So you need to find your thing, and there are a million ways for client acquisition, you just need to tap into what works best for you.

[00:53:38] Andrea Elibero: Yeah, a thousand percent. And it's something that, and thank you for sharing that, because I think that's such a good point. Um, I'm asking all these questions because, like I said, I haven't talked to anybody who's done it well. So I think that it's really important to know that there's a good way to do it.

[00:53:52] And alongside that, that, yeah, my service provider clients, when it's the same thing, like when you're creating your offer suite and [00:54:00] you want to focus it on things that you're amazing at, that you love doing, and that you're passionate about, because that's going to come across, your marketing is the same.

[00:54:06] You don't have to do it. All the things. But you need one thing on each piece, step of your funnel that you're excited about, that you can really lean into, and that you're passionate about, and you feel confident in, or you know you can build that confidence in. And so, yes, thank you for pointing that out, because, like, super, super important to know that.

[00:54:23] Yes.

[00:54:34] Alefiya Khorakiwala: get on your dream client radar. And then like having, knowing when to outsource things, like don't force yourself, like if you're a service provider, you will do all the things. If you're not good at designing, outsource designing, and The last tip is that in the first three years have these two mindsets.

[00:54:57] A, the first mindset is profit is not my [00:55:00] goal. And that could be like, some people say like, no, I don't agree with it. I said, that's fine. But if you're chasing profit in the first two years, you will hinder your growth because you will need to invest in your skillset. You will need to invest in the people.

[00:55:14] You will need to invest in networking and all this requires money. And. The profit will come as a result for that. But if you're still, if you're being Cindy and not Cindy, but if you're like, okay, in that saving mode that, okay, I need to say for my future in the first three years of my business, it will probably not help you grow your business the way you want it to.

[00:55:36] So that's first thing. The second mindset is, um, learning before earning. So you really want to focus on being the best before. Or before you want to focus on earning the best money in the industry, and it can go hand in hand, the more you learn, the more you earn, [00:56:00] but your approach should be earned first, learn first, then earn.

[00:56:06] Andrea Elibero: Amazing, such unique perspectives as well. So thank you so much for sharing that. And how can everybody stay in touch with you? And if there's anything else that you want to share, please do that now.

[00:56:18] Alefiya Khorakiwala: Um, I think I spoke a lot. I'll give the, the readers, whoever are cooking or jogging a break, and then they can go back to their day. Um, you can find me on LinkedIn. I'm literally like, Always hanging out there. You hear back from me within 24 hours. Uh, and if this goes live around Jan, then my quiz.

[00:56:45] Andrea Elibero: Mm. Amazing. Thank you so much for sharing everything, as you know, because we've gone so long, it's been so great to chat with you. And yes, please, everything will be linked in the show notes, of course. So please go and hang out with Aleffia [00:57:00] and thank you so much.

[00:57:02] Alefiya Khorakiwala: Awesome. 

[00:57:05] Andrea Elibero: Thank you so much for joining us today. I really hope you found inspiration and insights from today's episode. You know, scaling your business intentionally and from the inside out is a transformational process, but I'm here to support you every step of the way. Head on over to dancingleafsolutions. com slash resources for free tools to help you do just that.

[00:57:31] And thank you again for being a part of the Soulpreneur Scaling Stories community, your presence and dedication to growth, inspiring me every day.