Freelancers often find it hard to pitch a prospective client although the number of freelancers around the globe is growing, and will likely continue to grow in the coming years.
While some of that growth is attributed to economic conditions and technological advancements that make freelancing more appealing than working for a single employer, a little over half of all freelancers say they prefer working for themselves than taking a traditional job.
For these freelancers, it’s likely they started their own businesses because they’re highly talented at what they do and can make more money working for themselves than for others. They likely have several years of experience under their belt, have developed and honed their skills, and are highly self-motivated to get work done.
But then again, one thing that some freelancers might not be skilled at is pitching prospective clients. New business development skills are not often taught in school, and depending on the freelancer’s role prior to going out on their own, they may or may not have been exposed to in their previous positions.
So, how do freelancers go about convincing prospective clients to hire them? Here are a few tips for how to pitch a prospective client—and win their business!
Make It about Them
Businesses turn to freelancers not only to get a set of tasks done, but to solve a problem that they can’t solve internally or by hiring a full-time employee. That might be a certain skillset the organization is lacking, a technical challenge they’re not sure how to approach, or they simply want to find someone with a deep industry experience to help guide them achieve a specific business goal.
When you talk to a prospective client, it’s important to stay focused on the clients’ specific problems. The old saying in business is that when someone has a headache, they buy aspirin, not vitamins. As a freelancer, you need to sell the cure to whatever is ailing the client.
Don’t Be Afraid to Brag
That said, freelancers need to prove their worth to prospective clients and need to make sure that worth is clear. We’re often taught when we’re young that it’s impolite to talk too much about yourself. People who brag come off as overconfident, self-centered, and often less trustworthy.
But it’s essential to show you really can do what you’re promising to do. An old adage in writing is “Show, don’t tell,” and the same holds true for freelancing.
The best way to do this is to focus on the results you’ve achieved. That could be a financial result—your work increased sales by X%, for example. But if you’re a freelancer whose work doesn’t necessarily contribute to revenues or sales, it’s possible to find other achievements. Maybe you’re a web developer who can work exceedingly fast with a low rate of coding errors. Or you’re a writer who can produce a lot of content in a short amount of time.
Whatever it is that you’re good at, be sure to have examples and proof at the ready that highlights your best work.
Edit Your Communications
With so much communication taking place online these days, it’s common to see spelling, punctuation, or grammar errors all over the place, even on professional news outlets’ websites.
That might lead some to falsely believe that small errors aren’t important. But that reasoning is completely wrong. Regardless of what type of services you provide, having errors in your communications is a sure fire way to turn prospective clients off. That goes for proposals, but also emails. Sure, no one’s perfect and the occasional typo might sneak in. But spending a few minutes to reread your communications to clients before hitting send is a great habit to get into that could make the difference between getting hired and getting ignored.
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