As a freelancer you need to take absolute responsibility for everything in your business. You must be able to win clients, you must price your services appropriately, you must ensure you complete your jobs and therefore get paid. The whole cycle starts with the first point though, you need to learn to consistently win clients.
Finding clients when you start freelancing is extremely important. Without clients, you will not make any money and you will quickly run out of money. You may as well just work a 9 - 5 job. But finding clients will be integral to your entire career as a freelance contractor. You must always find a way to close your next client to ensure you earn your next pay packet.
There is not one best way to win clients. There are many many different methods you can try. We have summarised some of the main ones here but you are pretty much only restricted by your imagination and your tolerance to rejection. Here are some ideas.
1. Cold Contacting
Before the internet, the sales tactic was called "cold calling". There are so many new forms of communicating today though that cold contacting is a more appropriate term.
Cold contacting prospective clients is a hard gig. It means approaching and pitching to people you have never met, who don't know or trust you and who were not expecting your approach. Its basically a numbers game. You need to approach enough prospective clients that you find they ones who say yes. If your pitch is good enough you will be successful, you just need to get past all the "nos" to get to the "yesses". You will probably need a very thick skin as there will be plenty of nos too.
2. Marketing and Advertising
This is the most expensive method of client acquisition. It simply entails that you put a sales message somewhere where your potential clients will see it and do it in a way that will make them call you. If you get this right, half the time the client has already made up their mind to use your services, before they've called you, so you do not have to sell at all. Another big benefits of this type of client acquisition is that you can reach a much larger audience, than you can cold contacting people.
And it is not as easy as spending a bit of money either. There is so much advertising out there, you must do your homework (or pay someone else to) to get it right. Some things you need to consider include location, capturing attention and your message. You need to put your advert where your target audience will see it. You need to create it in a way your audience will take notice and you must structure you message so your audience understands, takes action and calls you. This is quite a complex process. Getting it wrong will cost you. Getting it right could make you.
3. Referrals
Similar to cold calling techniques, using referrals depends on you spending time and contacting people, rather than spending money. The success rates are typically a bit higher than when cold calling though, so its a bit easier to take.
In a nutshell, referrals are about networking. Networking skills are really important no matter what job you have, but are even more so if you are freelancing. You are not being professionally responsible to yourself if you are not networking. It is basically a two way communication street. It is from your network that you pick up information about organisations who may need your skills and it is through your network that you are introduced to those people with a recommendations from someone you both trust. The recommendation based on trust is the critical part of the referral, this is where you'll win business over your competitors.
4. Use A Placement Service
This marketing technique depends on you asking yourself the following question "Who already has a relationship with my prospective clients?". Make a list. A placement service does not have to be a professional placement service, it can be an industry related organization you set up a joint venture with. If you can isolate organizations that already have your clients on their books, you might have an easier task if you sell yourself to that organization and get them to place you with your clients. I did this once with an ex employer of mine. I just paid them a percentage of what I earned, which I was happy to do as I had no marketing expenses anyway.
As you grow in your freelancing career, you'll quickly learn that there is no absolute and perfect way to find your next client. All of the above are proven methods in their own right, but the most successful freelancers, consultants and contractors will use a mixture of some or all of the above. - 31979
Finding clients when you start freelancing is extremely important. Without clients, you will not make any money and you will quickly run out of money. You may as well just work a 9 - 5 job. But finding clients will be integral to your entire career as a freelance contractor. You must always find a way to close your next client to ensure you earn your next pay packet.
There is not one best way to win clients. There are many many different methods you can try. We have summarised some of the main ones here but you are pretty much only restricted by your imagination and your tolerance to rejection. Here are some ideas.
1. Cold Contacting
Before the internet, the sales tactic was called "cold calling". There are so many new forms of communicating today though that cold contacting is a more appropriate term.
Cold contacting prospective clients is a hard gig. It means approaching and pitching to people you have never met, who don't know or trust you and who were not expecting your approach. Its basically a numbers game. You need to approach enough prospective clients that you find they ones who say yes. If your pitch is good enough you will be successful, you just need to get past all the "nos" to get to the "yesses". You will probably need a very thick skin as there will be plenty of nos too.
2. Marketing and Advertising
This is the most expensive method of client acquisition. It simply entails that you put a sales message somewhere where your potential clients will see it and do it in a way that will make them call you. If you get this right, half the time the client has already made up their mind to use your services, before they've called you, so you do not have to sell at all. Another big benefits of this type of client acquisition is that you can reach a much larger audience, than you can cold contacting people.
And it is not as easy as spending a bit of money either. There is so much advertising out there, you must do your homework (or pay someone else to) to get it right. Some things you need to consider include location, capturing attention and your message. You need to put your advert where your target audience will see it. You need to create it in a way your audience will take notice and you must structure you message so your audience understands, takes action and calls you. This is quite a complex process. Getting it wrong will cost you. Getting it right could make you.
3. Referrals
Similar to cold calling techniques, using referrals depends on you spending time and contacting people, rather than spending money. The success rates are typically a bit higher than when cold calling though, so its a bit easier to take.
In a nutshell, referrals are about networking. Networking skills are really important no matter what job you have, but are even more so if you are freelancing. You are not being professionally responsible to yourself if you are not networking. It is basically a two way communication street. It is from your network that you pick up information about organisations who may need your skills and it is through your network that you are introduced to those people with a recommendations from someone you both trust. The recommendation based on trust is the critical part of the referral, this is where you'll win business over your competitors.
4. Use A Placement Service
This marketing technique depends on you asking yourself the following question "Who already has a relationship with my prospective clients?". Make a list. A placement service does not have to be a professional placement service, it can be an industry related organization you set up a joint venture with. If you can isolate organizations that already have your clients on their books, you might have an easier task if you sell yourself to that organization and get them to place you with your clients. I did this once with an ex employer of mine. I just paid them a percentage of what I earned, which I was happy to do as I had no marketing expenses anyway.
As you grow in your freelancing career, you'll quickly learn that there is no absolute and perfect way to find your next client. All of the above are proven methods in their own right, but the most successful freelancers, consultants and contractors will use a mixture of some or all of the above. - 31979
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If you are looking for jobs for your business or profession, Gnifrus Urquart has organized plenty of helpful hints which will see you through.
