Freelancers: How to Build Trust Quickly With New Clients
Photo by Amy Hirschi
You’ve got a new client. Yay! You’re about to start your first project together.
What’s your first job? Establishing trust.
You want to make your new client comfortable that they’re in good hands. Yours.
They’ve seen your portfolio, read your testimonials, and now want to get going. Here’s how to get started.
Clients Want Reassurance They Can Trust You
In your first meeting, clients are looking for you to take the lead. They want to know that you have a process that makes sense to them.
They want to know that they can count on you to meet deadlines.
They want to be certain that once they’ve handed off the project to you, they don’t have to worry about it.
Here’s a tip: start by reviewing the client’s information before getting into your processes.
Reassure the Client by Going Through the Project Brief
Start the meeting by reviewing the project brief the client gave you.
This review reassures the client you understand the project.
As you go through the review, you may have some questions. Sometimes clients don’t give you all the details you need. Now is the time to ask.
Here’s a checklist to go through this process.
Review of the Project Outline
The outline should describe the project and include any relevant parameters that help define the scope. For example, if you’re writing an article, approximately how many words? If you’re developing a website, how many pages and what specific functionality? If you’re designing a logo, how many options will you provide for consideration?
This should have been in the client brief. This is your opportunity to confirm this information.
Confirm Target Audience(s)
Review the client’s target audience or ideal customer. This may be a broader discussion that includes the primary and secondary audiences in some cases.
Obvious examples of products with more than one audience include many grocery items where children have a say in purchasing. Do they need to be considered in the project?
If you’re marketing to a business audience, the person buying the product or service might not be the one using it. So, the purchaser and the user are both audiences.
Make sure you and the client have the same understanding of who you’re talking to.
Acknowledge Brand Guidelines
The client should have given you brand guidelines or a style guide. For writers, this might include information on preferred terms and language, tone of voice, brand personality, and specific writing dos and don’ts.
For designers, it would include colors, styles, fonts, and logos.
For web devs, you’ll want confirmation on technology platform preferences, specific tools, licensing agreements, etc.
If there are any questions about how brand guidelines should be applied, now is the time to clear it up.
Discuss Existing Marketing Materials
Will this project be part of an existing campaign or a family of materials? Often, it’s important to understand how a new project fits into an ongoing communications program.
This may mean reviewing related materials such as websites, social media, ads, and brochures. You’ll need to do this review before starting the project.
At my agencies, we’d sometimes write a review summary, especially if it was critical for the project.
How Important Is the Competition?
Are there competitors you need to consider? At my agencies, we often did competitive communications reviews as part of a new project briefing.
Sometimes the competition matters. Other times it’s irrelevant. It’s worth addressing, though.
More on competitive communications overviews here.
How Will the Client Measure Success?
It’s essential to understand whether there is a specific desired outcome. What will define success? How is the project being measured?
Are there obvious metrics such as sales, sign-ups, open rates, or likes? Or will success be measured later through research?
It’s worth discussing at the beginning to ensure everyone is on the right track.
You’ve Reviewed the Project—How Will You Work Through It?
After you’ve reassured the client you understand the project and asked any relevant questions, it’s time to review your process for completing it.
If you’ve submitted an estimate, you should have included much of this detail.
Here’s how to write estimates that win big projects.
Outline Your Workflow Process
Take the client through your process for the project. This might include any research you’ll do, project outlines that need to be approved, and first drafts of copy or initial layouts.
If the project requires approval at various stages before proceeding to the next steps, the client should understand their involvement and the need for approval.
Agree On How You’ll Communicate
Here’s where you may need diplomacy. You’ll have preferred methods of communication, for example, Slack. However, the client might like another platform.
Often our clients were large corporations that were accustomed to specific communication channels. We adapted to their channels.
You could try to push the client toward your preference, but I wouldn’t push too hard. The important thing is that you land on a solution that works for everyone.
I wrote about how to work with big companies here.
Review Your Terms and Conditions, Especially Around Revisions
You have to address how you want to handle revisions and what constitutes a revision. Our starting position was that it was a revision anytime we had to open a document to make changes. We didn’t care whether we had to change one thing or many things.
We did this to encourage clients to give us as many revisions at once as possible rather than getting them one at a time and opening the file ten times. That’s a formula for scope creep.
Want to avoid scope creep? Read this.
A reality check, though. Sometimes clients have “one last little change”. We did them without a fuss or extra charges. Be a mensch.
In addition to defining and counting revisions, we also reviewed how they would be submitted. Make sure you and the client agree on the communication process for revisions.
Some clients have specific tracking tools, others use Google Docs or equivalent, while others prefer email. Pick one and use it.
If you choose the right clients, you won’t have any problems agreeing to terms and conditions.
Outline Your Payment Terms
Don’t be shy about how you want to get paid. Your terms should include upfront deposits, milestone payments, invoicing frequency, and preferred payment methods. BTW, you should start every project with a deposit. Better that the money is in your bank account.
While some freelancers use payment platforms such as Paypal, Square, or Wise, others ask for direct deposit into their bank account.
Review this with your client now. You may need information from their accounting department. It’s better to get it now than chase after it when you want to submit your invoice.
Discuss Deadlines and Your Availability
Here’s where you’ll need some diplomacy. Let’s say you accept this project from a client but are also busy with other projects.
You may want to allude to your current workload and availability to let the client know you’ve scheduled them in but don’t have unlimited time.
It’s best for you if the project runs efficiently and doesn’t drag on forever. The client should appreciate that you have other work (same as they have other work) without feeling that you’re over-extended or don’t have enough time.
Also, it’s best if this project has a deadline that you both agree to. Having a deadline helps keep everyone on track.
Again, diplomacy counts here.
Acknowledge Any Confidentiality Requirements
You may be working on a highly confidential project, such as the launch of a new product. You may have to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).
It’s worth reassuring the client that you understand and will abide by the confidentiality requirements.
There’s lots more about working with new clients in my book, How to Start a Successful Creative Agency. It’s the essential business guide for graphic designers, copywriters, filmmakers, photographers, and programmers.
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