Adalo Experts 101: Managing a Lead Pipeline for No-Code Freelancers

As a no-code freelancer, knowing how to build apps is only half the battle — you also need a steady stream of clients and a system to manage them effectively. Without proper lead management, promising opportunities slip through the cracks and income becomes unpredictable.

Adalo lets you build database-driven web apps and native iOS and Android apps — published to the App Store and Google Play — from a single no-code editor. Becoming an Adalo Expert means mastering not just the platform itself, but also the business skills needed to maintain a healthy pipeline of potential clients ready to hire you.

Before A Lead Arrives: Be Proactive

While Adalo—a no-code app builder for database-driven web apps and native iOS and Android apps published to the Apple App Store and Google Play—shares free leads with Adalo Experts, that doesn't mean the best practice to getting leads is to madly click refresh waiting for leads to come in.

There are some obvious things an Adalo Expert can be doing to proactively find leads.

Some quick examples are for Adalo Experts to make sure they have effective Adalo Experts’ profiles, keep all social media and websites up to date with a focus on conversion and take steps to become an influencer in Adalo thought leadership online in places like the Adalo Forum or by creating online content for YouTube, TikTok, the Adalo App Academy, etc.

Remember that clients often want to be with an Adalo Expert that has some form of social proof,  be mindful of how you craft your online presence and think of how you appear from a potential client perspective. Do you present yourself in a way that will make a client feel confident that this is the Adalo Expert to get the job done?

If you’d like some tips on hustling your first leads check out these Adalo Experts tips to finding paying clients on the Adalo App Academy.

Before A Lead Arrives: Be Organized

Getting set up with templates and processes before any leads arrive is a sure way to increase lead conversion, stay organized and not waste time.

A well crafted email reply template allows Experts to quickly and professionally respond to leads. The result should be faster response from the Expert with higher conversion from the prospective client.

An example draft template might read something like this:

Hi PROSPECTIVE CLIENT,

Thank you for reaching out to EXPERTNAME on the Adalo Experts website. 

I have seen your request to build an app with A, B and C functionality. These technical requirements are well within my skill set and I have built several similar apps.

Would you be able to schedule a call with me here where we can discuss this project more? (MEETING LINK).

Between now and the call it would be useful if you could fill out this questionnaire so I can arrive to our meeting prepared. (QUESTIONNAIRE / SPEC SHEET LINK)

Looking forward to hearing more,

NAME

Setting up an online calendar where prospective leads can quickly set up a time to talk with the Adalo Expert is a very efficient way of increasing conversion while reducing work. Google Calendar allows for setting up appointment forms easily and for free.

Other things to consider setting up include templates for project proposals, spec sheets, contracts and project management tools.

Finally, an obvious but often underlooked preparation step is to send yourself a few practice leads. Get a glimpse of the customer journey and make sure everything is working smoothly, for example that Adalo Expert incoming emails are flagged on your email client as important.

A Lead Arrives: Step One Is To Be Responsive and Professional

It’s a great thing when a lead arrives. But, like fishing, having a lead on your line is just the first step to reeling the lead in. Clients often send leads to different Experts to shop around: being the first responder to a client, ideally when the client is still having the Adalo Expert on their mind, is very important.

Having an automatic email response can be useful, but often clients can detect that the message was automated and then treat the lead less seriously. What is better is to find a way to get notifications when leads come through, then to quickly respond while including some personal client details so that the client feels respected and that they are working with a professional.

Use the templates you’ve set up for emails and calendar bookings.

Remember to be patient! Some leads are just unfortunately not going to be the right fit. But many leads need to be nudged and followed up with. A simple idea is to make a drip campaign using some software or something as simple as a Google Sheet. An example of a drip campaign flow might look something like:

1. Email 1: Thanks for reaching out: let’s go on a call! Here is a calendar link. 
2. Email 2 (next day): Here are some example of apps I've built to show my quality
3. Email 3 (2 days after): It’s free to go on a call and talk about your app. I’d be happy to help build a spec sheet together even if we don't work together
4. Email 4 (2 days after): Perhaps we aren't a right fit for now, but keep us in mind in the future.
5. Email 5 (7 days after): Hey it's been 2 weeks. We have recently expanded our team and are running subsidized app builds for our trainees. Interested?

Feel free to do things like adding the client on LinkedIn or Twitter, however, use your discretion. You want to be appearing to be professionally investigating a prospective client…. but you don’t want to be seeming desperate or invasive.

You’re In Contact With The Client: Negotiate Quickly, Professionally With An Eye On Closing

A client has followed up with you and has asked to go on a call or is chatting with you over email. Wonderful! Awesome! Now is the time to work to close the lead rather than celebrate prematurely.

Please don't seem desperate, unprofessional, disinterested, or like a robot.

Please do have prepared clear next steps and call to actions.

A great way to determine price is to use the Adalo App Calculator or to build a clear spec sheet with prices for each deliverable. Closing a deal is more art than science, however, there are many online courses to make sure that you are not missing any obvious negotiation techniques like ‘mythical fixed pie assumption’ and price anchoring. On the Adalo App Academy some of our Adalo Experts have shared their tips for closing deals with clients.

Be careful to not offer what you cannot produce. Happy clients who you ‘wow’ will share you with their friends, family and colleagues while clients that are disappointed may harm your brand.

The Client Said ‘Let’s Work Together’: What Do I Do Now?

Congratulations! Getting a client to a ‘yes’ is a huge step. Don’t pat yourself on the back yet though. A usual best practice at this stage is to sign a simple contract that clearly stipulates deliverables and is then signed online. A good contract provides clarity in the working relationship and serves as a master document to guide the relationship for both the Expert and the client.

A gold standard of what to fight for would be a project based fee tied to clear deliverables with partial payment of 30-50% upfront. However, an experienced and in-demand Adalo Expert might be able to demand more while a new Adalo Expert might want to be more flexible to be able to close the deal.

The Client Is Onboarded: What Now?

Managing your relationship with a client is a rich topic being addressed by multiple Adalo App Academy courses. Some important things to keep in mind is that clear, regular and thoughtful communication solves most challenges and that happy clients often open up more opportunities.

Remember that you are building your brand. Think about what it takes to give clients delight and deliver the type of experience that transforms every one of your clients into an ambassador that brings you more clients.

That’s all our tips for handling a lead for now. Remember if you have any thoughts on how to handle a lead that would be valuable to share with the Adalo Expert community feel free to share with the Adalo Experts team at experts@adalo.com.

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