📊 Summer 2024 Contract Rates: AI vs. Manual Proposals

Our data shows that AI-generated proposals achieved higher close rates than manual ones, proving their effectiveness in securing deals:

But that's not all! Check the connects consumption:

• Connects per Reply: AI used 226.99 connects per reply, while manual proposals needed 308.90.
• Connects per View: AI took 99.20 connects per view, compared to manual's 191.75.

So, AI proposals not only get better results but also save you valuable connects.

🛤️ $10 Million+ on Upwork: Codemotion Case Study

I know many of you missed our interview with Yaroslav Golovach, founder of one of Upwork's biggest agencies, Codemotion.

So, I decided to share some key takeaways, as their relevance never gets old. You can watch the full interview here (in Ukrainian; English subtitles).

Yaroslav started Codemotion in Ukraine with just five people and a $20 contract on Upwork in 2017. Fast forward, and the agency has earned over $10 million, built a team of 100, and become one of the most respected on the platform.

This success stems from strong strategies, a focus on what matters, and hard work to keep clients happy.

🎖️ Reputation and Feedback Management

From the start, Yaroslav knew that reputation was everything on Upwork. Their first contract was only $20, but they didn’t care about the money. What mattered was making sure the client was happy and leaving a great review. They even went so far as refunding money when things went wrong, just to keep their reputation clean.

“Our goal was to build a solid reputation. Even if something went wrong, we would refund the money. It was all about keeping the client happy and getting good feedback.”

Key Points:

• Client-first Approach: If a project didn’t go well, they would refund the client to make sure no bad reviews were left. This built trust and respect with clients.

• Using Top-Rated Perks: Codemotion made the most of Upwork’s top-rated agency perks, which allowed them to remove bad reviews up to 10 times. This kept their rating high and helped them attract more clients. (This option is no longer available on Upwork)

🎯 Focus on a Niche

Codemotion achieved their success by honing in on specific skills instead of trying to cover everything. Yaroslav emphasizes this approach with his "100 Points System," where every action on your Upwork profile can either add or subtract points, impacting your profile's appeal to clients. Every Action Counts – each element on your profile can add points, subtract points, or have no impact.

Examples of Actions and Their Points:

• Nice Photo: Adds 10 points.
• Effective Profile Description: Adds 10 points.
• Quick Response to Job Postings: Adds 10 points
• Goal: Accumulate 100 points through various actions to enhance your profile’s attractiveness to clients.

“The more specific your profile, the better the response. Clients don’t trust profiles that try to do everything.”

Key Points:

• Specialize: Codemotion focused on 5 to 6 profiles, each targeting specific technologies like JavaScript, React, and Python. This specialization ensured they matched with clients looking for those exact skills. For instance, continuously winning and delivering on React.js projects makes your profile more likely to be matched with similar jobs, improving your visibility and ranking in talent searches.

• Profile Optimization: Using the 100 points system, Yaroslav advises optimizing every detail, from the photo you choose to how quickly you respond to clients. Every action is a chance to score points that improve your odds of getting hired, aiming for a total of 100 points to effectively move to the next stage in the sales process. 

⚠️ Taking Risks

At one point, Codemotion had 30 out of 35 team members working for a single client. When that client started pulling back, Yaroslav and his team were faced with a huge risk. Instead of letting people go, they made a bold decision. They kept everyone and went all out, finding new clients to keep the business afloat.

“It was a risky situation. We could have fired people, but we didn’t. We spent day and night finding new clients, and it worked. We went from 35 to 50 employees in just a few months.”

Key Points:

• Big Risk, Big Reward: Instead of cutting people when the client left, Codemotion chose to keep the team and hustled for new work. The risk paid off, and they even grew the company.

• Crisis Management: Yaroslav highlighted the importance of being ready for crises and reacting fast. Keeping calm and staying active in tough times can turn a bad situation into a growth opportunity.

🧠 Learning from Mistakes

In 2021, Codemotion grew fast, expanding to 200 employees. But when the market crashed in 2022, they realized they had grown too quickly. They ended up with 50 developers on the bench, costing the company a lot of money. Yaroslav had to make the tough call to let people go to keep the business alive.

“We expanded too fast in 2021. When the market crashed, we had 50 developers on the bench and no work for them. We had to let them go to survive.”

Key Points:

• Don’t Overextend: Codemotion’s mistake of growing too fast taught them the importance of not overextending. They had to scale back to survive the downturn.

• Adapt Quickly: Yaroslav stressed the importance of adapting fast when the market changes. Holding onto too many people without projects can be a huge financial drain.

🪑 Zero Bench Strategy

One of the biggest problems for agencies is having too many people on the "bench"—team members who don’t have active projects but still need to be paid. After the market downturn in 2022, Codemotion adopted a zero-bench policy. They only keep project managers on standby because they are essential for running things smoothly.

“We no longer keep a bench. We only keep project managers on standby because they are crucial for the projects. We sign agreements with clients that allow us to adjust quickly when work stops.”

Key Points:

• Zero Bench: Codemotion doesn’t keep people sitting idle. They’ve set things up so that they only have people working when there’s a project for them.

• Project Managers are Key: Project managers are the only ones kept on standby because they are essential for keeping everything organized.

🤝 Sales Before Hiring

Growing a business isn’t just about hiring more people—it’s about making sure there’s enough work to justify the growth. Yaroslav made sure that Codemotion only hired new people when they had enough projects to keep them busy.

“Don’t hire people unless you have work for them. We grew the team when we had clients ready. We didn’t hire unless the work was there.”

Key Points:

• Sales First: Codemotion made sure they had enough clients before they expanded their team. They didn’t just hire people without a solid sales pipeline.

• Avoid Overexpanding: Yaroslav learned from mistakes in 2022 when they grew too fast. He warns other agencies not to let ambition drive their hiring decisions—focus on having steady work first.

Codemotion’s journey is a masterclass in how to succeed on Upwork. Their story is a reminder that success doesn’t come easy—it takes smart decisions, hard work, and being ready for the next challenge. If you want to grow your agency on Upwork, follow Codemotion’s lead: Stay focused, be ready for anything, and always put your clients first.

🌪️ Healthy Upwork Pipeline: Front-End (React.js)

• Niche: React.js Development (Front-End)
• Upwork Agency: Top Rated Plus
• Lead Generation Budget: $3.5k

React.js is a highly competitive niche, similar to Node.js, especially since they are often used together in the MERN stack. The level of competition is intense, and the LRR for landing contracts is nearly identical between these two technologies. To stay competitive, you need to adjust your approach in several key ways. During GigRadar's last event, Tamara Levit shared some small but crucial details that can greatly impact your lead generation efforts.

Watch the recording of the event and check the full article here

Tamara highlighted specific details that most people overlook, which can make all the difference in a crowded niche like React.js. Here’s what you need to pay attention to:

💡 Expand Your Keyword Search

Don’t limit your job search to just "React." Add variations like "React-js," "reactjs," or even common typos. These variations can help you find jobs others might miss. Use multiple keywords in your scanner to cover all possible versions of the term.

💡 Avoid Generic Proposals

In this niche, clients are especially tired of receiving the same, boring proposals. To stand out, you can either try a more unique, personal approach. Otherwise, go the opposite route with a simple, direct "default" style like: “Hi, I am Ann, a senior developer from Colombia. Test both approaches to see which works better for your target clients.

💡 Find a Niche Within the Niche

React may be crowded, but smaller areas within React, like Redux, tend to have less competition. Focusing on these sub-niches can help you find more opportunities. Set up scanners that specifically target sub-niches like Redux to catch less competitive jobs.

⚙️ GigRadar's New Feature: Flexible Bidding Terms

Before, all bids were tied to your profile rate, whether hourly or fixed price. Now, you’ve got options to set your bidding terms how you want! Just hit the auto-bidder tab in the scanner and check out the Bidding Terms field:

For hourly jobs, choose from these strategies:

• Profile Rate
• Constant Rate
• Bid in Range

Column 2

🔖 For fixed-price jobs, pick from:

• Client Budget
• Constant Fixed Price

❤️ GigRadar Community

HAPPENED: Sales Pipeline – Lead Generation, Stages, and Forecasting

Meet Daria Prylipko, Founder of IT Sales Hub and Sales Director at Petcube. With over 11 years in IT, she’s helped businesses grow, led teams to success, boosted efficiency by 60%, and spoken at over 50 international events.

🔔 Agenda:

• How to build a solid sales funnel and forecast revenue
• What conversion rates to expect at each stage
• Tips for lead generation on LinkedIn and via email
• ABM/ABS strategies explained
• How to safely automate your outreach and work with Upwork

#help-channel Insights

A gentle reminder that in our community, you can find insights and seek answers for any Upwork and agency-related questions. Don't fall victim to scammers on Upwork by checking it out!