Winning business or clients’ trust is a huge hurdle to overcome for many freelancers. Quite often, freelancers receive some interest from a prospect, put together an offer or proposal, but then never hear back from the prospect again. Some might not even get this far.
While there are many reasons why a potential client might pass over a freelancer, there’s typically one reason why the client might hire them: They trust the freelancer.
Overcoming the trust barrier, that is getting a complete stranger to trust you with their business, is probably the biggest obstacle freelancers need to overcome in order to win clients. After all, clients don’t have an infinite pool of money or time, and they typically don’t want to roll the dice on someone who they’re not sure will perform to expectations.
Doing what it takes to win a client’s trust doesn’t come naturally to everyone. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to earn a clients’ trust—and their business. Here’s
Build Rapid Rapport
I don’t know if anybody’s ever told you that half the time, this business comes down to ‘I don’t like that guy.’
—Roger Sterling, Mad Men (S3, E5)
In any service business, clients need to like you before they buy from you. It’s really that simple. No client will ever work with someone they don’t like.
But how do you get clients to like you? You build rapport with them as quickly as possible. And how do you that?
The fastest way is to find something in common with them. Ask questions about their lives, their business, their interests, and try to discover what you have in common. Keep it light and don’t get too personal. Just be friendly and enthusiastic about their project and them as a person. This will help them feel comfortable and, ultimately, help them to decide to hire you.
Be Responsive
No one wants to send an email or leave a voice mail without getting a response. No one likes being left in the dark. So when a potential client reaches out to you, the faster you respond the more likely they’ll feel assured you’re up to whatever tasks they throw out at you.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you have to respond to all messages at all hours of the day. It’s important to set boundaries and expectations. But if you go more than one business day responding to a prospect, then there’s a good chance they’ll turn to someone else who responds faster.
Be Honest and Transparent
Honesty and transparency are possibly the two most important things you can offer a client as a freelancer. Obviously, lying to win someone’s business will likely backfire (especially if you can’t deliver), but it can also destroy your reputation. What’s more, covering up unpleasant facts or missing information can result in some unpleasant surprises, and will likely disintegrate any relationship you’ve built with the client.
Instead, be open and honest about every aspect of how you work with clients. Be clear in your pricing—what something costs and what makes the cost go up or down. Be clear about your policies on things like revisions. If you can’t complete a task by a specific time, be sure to let the client know, ideally earlier rather than when the deadline is looming. A high level of honesty and transparency will go a long way to ensure clients’ trust work, and more importantly, your work ethic.
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