The truth is that being "irresistible" to potential freelance clients doesn't have to be difficult.
You simply need to emphasize the EXPERIENCE that you're delivering them.
As creatives, we’re often operating at the heart of a business’ brand + identity expression…and the role we fill for our clients is SO much more than the end products/services that they walk away with after working with us.
So just as much as we’re tasked with driving tangible results for the client, it’s also on us to make them FEEL taken care of, confident, and clear on what the future holds. Clients will commit to you when they see you’re committed to them. 🙏
These 3 areas are some of the biggest gaps--and easiest fixes--I see in how freelancers can better serve clients.
1. Make your positioning entirely about the client.
Everything you say to a prospect should be centered around their business problems, ideal transformation, and future state after working with you.
As blunt as it may sound, clients don't care that much about your credentials. Having been on the hiring end of the freelance sales cycle before, all I'm really looking to know about a freelancer is if they fit into my project vision. This means I'm pretty much only trying to assess how you can solve my problems and deliver the exact product that I'm looking to create.
As such, all information you share with prospects in the sales cycle should give them a vivid visual of how you fit into their business. Instead of giving them a run-down of your alma mater or resume, you should be telling them the end result of those combined experiences and perspectives: the work that they're seeking, done well.
2. Prove why you're the perfect fit for the project.
Underscore your credibility and share your "signature approach."
Every sales call I lead is centered around one goal: proving that I'm the only freelancer the client needs to get the job done. To do so, I rely on two tactics:
1. The first is emphasizing my credibility and track record in direct relation to their project goals. This either takes the form of:
a) speaking to how I've worked with clients in their specific industry (showing that I'm familiar with the unique challenges they're faced in business), or
(b) showing past project examples that parallel the end result they're seeking. In this way, your portfolio can back your claims of competence.
2. The second tactic is one of the most effective tools I have in my "freelance sales" arsenal: it's simply sharing the "signature approach" I take as an expert brand consultant.
For my business, I break out my typical brand strategy consulting engagement across the three standard "phases" I walk clients through to arrive at an end outcome. Putting this in practice, I keep a signature "Lumina Services" PowerPoint deck saved on my desktop for easy access on sales calls. Whenever a prospective client asks about what they can expect process-wise, I'll pull this deck up to screen share how I break down the average project engagement. Clients absolutely LOVE this, because it gives them a strong sense of exactly what they can expect by investing in me. I genuinely believe this is the #1 way I out-perform my competitors to win the work.
3. Be easy to work with from the get-go.
Providing a seamless, frictionless pre-sales experience is the easiest way to guarantee clients you're great to work with.
Even with how straightforward this tip is, you'd be surprised how many freelancers miss the mark of providing a good sales experience.
Through the experiences I've had in hiring freelancers, I can tell you with confidence that if you nail a few essentials of client experiences, you're well on your way to standing apart as a freelancer of choice. Key areas include:
+ Flexibility: Especially when it comes to timelines and scheduling meetings, remaining accommodating to the client's preferences and needs is a really easy way to demonstrate that you can plug into their existing processes and frameworks with ease.
+ Over-communicating: When in doubt, I've always opted to provide more detail than necessary in client communications. In my opinion, a client should never be in the dark about what they can expect as the next step in the project, so keeping them as up-to-date as possible is always a priority for ensuring satisfaction.
+ Over-delivering: The simplest method I can recommend for impressing clients is finding all possible opportunities to exceed their expectations in every touchpoint you have with them. In the sales process, this could mean using an automated calendar booking system like Calendly to streamline scheduling a call, or using a transcription service like Otter.AI to share a post-call recording with the client.
Remember: the client wants YOU to be the perfect match for the gig.
Nobody wants a long and drawn out freelancer search process. They want as few calls as possible to find The One, so if you can cater to their needs, share your proof of success, and be seamless to work with, you’ve got the gig.
