Working as a freelancer means many challenges for you. You have to be a great ambassador and salesperson for your own work. When you are that closely involved it can sometimes be hard to keep the right focus. In this article I will try helping you out by sharing some useful tips on some things you should pay extra attention to if you want to be a pro when it comes to selling your brand whether it is a product or a service.
Be Positive :)
Picture by Robert Aichinger
When you are trying to sell a design/service/product you have to remember to smile. It sounds very easy, but it’s also an easy thing to forget. By being in a good mood and talking in positive words, you can affect the client to feel the same way about what you have to offer. Clients soon notice it if you seem to love what you do and be a positive person. It’s contagious!
Be satisfied
Picture by Jos van Galen
By always doing your best, you will be able to present offers and samples that you are satisfied with yourself. This makes everything easier to sell, as clients pick up any attitude you have towards your own work (like mentioned in the previous point). Selling something you really believe in is always easier. Anyone can tell when you love what you do!
Never take feedback personal
Picture by David Duncan
Even though you are the creator of what you’re trying so sell you have to remember to not take all feedback personal. We all do good and less good pieces of work and we can all become better. Clients have different preferences to what they like. Something that’s being very much-loved by one client, can be disliked by another. This doesn’t have to mean that it’s a bad piece of work though. Always aim to use all feedback in a constructive way.
Don’t sound like a “know-it-all”
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Make sure to adjust your language to fit whoever you’re talking to. If you use too many difficult words and terms you could end up pushing an interested client away from you, and you don’t want that.
Give all clients something unique
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As all clients are different you can often win extra points by fitting what you offer to suit that client. It doesn’t have to be huge changes from your original service/product but it can mean a world of difference. It can be simple things as adding an extra feature to a solution, changing settings and colors or downsizing something. By being able to custom-fit something for a client they will feel more special and better taken care of. It’s always important to make the client feel that he’s being heard. This might just be that final touch that will sell your product and have clients come back over and over.
Know your field
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You have to keep updated on what going on in your niche. Not only will clients notice, but this can separate you from the less serious competitors. By gaining a reputation as being someone who knows their field you will quickly get new clients as the rumors spread fast.
Give something extra
Picture by Charles Thompson
When you calculate an offer to a new potential client, adding something extra for free is a huge bonus for them. By throwing in free business cards, extra pictures, a month of free support and so on you can earn the value of this back many times.
Use a set-up that is easy to understand
Picture by Chris Baker
Make sure that the offer you give is easy to understand. Don’t add too much information and never leave any important parts out. Include every cost to avoid an unhappy client that gets a bigger bill than he signed up for. If you can’t set 100% the price for everything its a good idea to add a point informing of a possible 10% ± change in the final price.
Give deadlines (even if you don’t have the work yet)
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Make sure to also tell the client exactly when you expect to have finished his product. Every piece of exact and correct information added to an offer will leave you looking both honest and professional. Both two abilities clients value a lot.
Show the ability to adjust
Picture by Zsuzsanna Kilian
Always be open to make adjustments to a project along the way, and tell this to the client beforehand. This shows good will from your side from day one and can be a strong force in your sale.
Be human
Picture by Ariel da Silva Parreira
Never give the impression of never having made any mistakes, it’ll seem cocky and unappealing. Instead of putting that mask on, you should be honest and mention how you always aim to do better at everything. Tell them that you appreciate all kinds of constructive feedback and that you are flexible.
Showing your portfolio
Picture by Guillermo Ossa
No matter how good you are with words, they can never fully replace showing your portfolio. This way clients can see examples of your previous work and see what you are capable of. Putting hours into having a good and versatile representation of your work in the portfolio is definitely worth it as it can give you extra sales. A portfolio can also give clients new ideas to things they would want to order from you.
Make sure the portfolio is accessible for later
Picture by Omar Franco
So you’ve made a great portfolio, but remember that it needs to be easy to show too. My tip is to have three versions:
- One that you always carry around with you to meetings
- Another one online as part of your website
- and a third one as a pdf file that can easily be mailed to someone
Have references
Picture by Ratnesh Bhatt
In a market with many competitors that clients can choose from its always a good idea to have some references. These, along with your portfolio, should represent the versatility of your work. Good older clients can help you make new deals just by being there as a reference. Never underestimate this.
No pressure
Picture by Bob Smith
Always give the client time to think through your offer. If you push too much to get an answer you can also here push the client away from you. No one like people who put too much pressure on them, so don’t do that mistake no matter how excited you are.
Give the client some time to think over things and compare it to other offers, then contact them. If they think another offer is better, offer adjustments if you can and/or ask how you should improve to maybe be a better option the next time around.
Don’t forget to share your input via comments section.:)
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