Freelancers: How To Compete To Get New Clients
As a freelancer, it’s tempting to look for new clients where you think you’ll have no competition.
For example, let’s say you create videos. You go through your list of prospects and find that many of them don’t have videos. There’s nothing on their website or YouTube. You think that videos would work well for them.
Just looking at their business, you can come up with a dozen ideas. And since they haven’t been making videos, you could get in there without competition, right? Sounds like an ideal prospect.
All you have to do is connect with them and show them how videos would work for their business.
I used to think that and then wasted a lot of time learning why it doesn’t work.
Educating Amateurs is a Waste of Your Time
Let’s say you contact one of these prospects and talk to them on the phone. They seem interested in what you have to say. You ask for a meeting, and they say yes. Great, right?
Here’s what will happen in that meeting (spoken from experience).
You will educate them all about videos. How they can be used on their website, put up on YouTube, integrated into bigger campaigns, etc.
You’ll show them some videos from your portfolio. They’ll say wow, that looks interesting.
They’ll ask you how much they cost, and you’ll say it all depends. A video can range from $X to $XXX. They don’t say much to that. (It’s more than they thought.)
They’ll ask how long it takes to make a video, and you’ll give a similar answer to cost: it all depends.
They’ll ask about the results you can get from a video, and you’ll say… it all depends (of course).
And after a bit more talking, they’ll close the meeting by saying thank you very much, that was informative. We’ll talk about it internally and get back to you.
You’ll walk out feeling pretty good.
And you’ll never hear from them again.
You’ll call a few times to follow up, but it doesn’t go anywhere.
Why? What went wrong?
Hint: You just spent two hours educating amateurs. In all their years in business, they’ve never made a video. They may be great marketers in other areas, but when it comes to videos, they’re amateurs.
Don’t Try to Convince People to Use Your Service Offering
By now, everyone knows that companies use videos in marketing campaigns. This is not new. But for some reason, this “prospect” hasn’t done that. Perhaps they’ve thought about it but haven’t pursued it.
So, when you met with them, your first goal was to sell the whole concept of making a video.
And if you were successful in doing that, your next job would be to convince them to work with you.
Do you see how hard that is? You’re trying to talk them into doing something they’ve never done before. They have no idea about the process, costs, or how to market it.
This would be like pushing water up a hill. In the worst-case scenario, they’ll come up with a dozen reasons why they shouldn’t do it. (Too expensive, no guarantee it will work, etc.)
Freelancers: Find New Clients Who Already Use Services Like Yours
It sounds counterintuitive, but it’s much easier to find a client who already works with people like you. In my case, as a copywriter, I wanted clients who were experienced in working with other writers.
I didn’t need to convince them they should hire a professional writer. They were already doing that. I only had to encourage them to hire me.
Why did I think they might hire me?
Here are 7 reasons why clients might have hired Andy Strote as their writer:
“We are busier than ever and need to add another writer to our resources. Maybe that’s Andy.”
“We don’t like our current writer. The writing isn’t as good as it used to be. It’s time for a change.”
“Andy comes highly recommended. We could try him on a few projects.”
“In our meeting, Andy showed us an impressive portfolio. Very convincing!”
“Even in our first meeting, Andy seemed to understand our business. He’s obviously done his research. We liked that.”
“In fact, Andy has experience in our industry. That would make working together so much easier.”
“Andy was very pleasant on the phone and in our meeting. He seemed like the kind of person we’d like to work with.”
Competition Is Good. Compete To Win New Clients
How do you compete with others who provide the same services you do? Look at my list of 7 reasons again.
You might not have to compete. They may be overloaded and need to add to their team. Contacting them was good timing on your part.
They may not like who they’re working with now. They’re ready for a change. (That’s how I got one of my biggest clients.)
Even if they like who they’re currently working with, they may give you projects based on a good recommendation. (That’s how I got another long-term client.)
You’re impressive. You have a strong portfolio, you did your research before the meeting, you presented well, and you seem to be easy to work with.
The cherry on top would be if you had highly relevant industry experience.
Don’t Compete on Price
Notice that nowhere did I say to compete on price. Don’t do that. Although you may be very price-conscious, price is not the deciding factor for most clients. And by the way, if they keep going on about costs, it may be a giant red flag. If all they want to talk about is getting the best price, this is not the client for you. Pay attention!
Here’s what clients value most in a freelancer.
If they want to talk money, let them know that when they give you a brief for a project, you’ll provide them with a detailed estimate. Each project is different and should have an estimate based on the terms of the brief. Learn how to increase your billing with detailed estimates.
One Big Freelance Lesson: Find Professional Clients and Compete to Win
As a freelancer and in my agencies, I wanted professional clients with real budgets. I would rather have fewer clients with ongoing work than the constant hustle of churning amateur clients.
I didn’t want clients who weren’t sure they should market or didn’t have a dedicated budget. I never wanted to talk clients into doing something they weren’t sure they wanted to do.
I wasn’t afraid to compete. I knew my job, had a strong portfolio, and got along with people. I made sure I was easy to work with. So, with that, I would take my chances.
Looking for new clients? There’s much more in my book, How to Start a Successful Creative Agency. It’s the essential business guide for graphic designers, copywriters, filmmakers, photographers, and programmers.
Buy the Book Here
Over 300 pages and 23 chapters, available at Amazon (Paper & Kindle), Kobo (ebook), Apple Books (ebook), and Gumroad (PDF).
The book is packed with useful information to help creatives start and grow their business.
Learned More From Andy Than Anyone Else
“I can honestly say, I’ve learned more from Andy than anyone else, and working with him has undoubtedly been a contributing factor in my own success.”
Simon Burn, sdbcreative.com
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This chapter covers essential areas such as Clients vs. Projects, Corporate Clients vs. Small Business Clients, How to Create an Opportunity Document, Benefits of Finding a Niche… and much more.
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