Freelancers: the Right Attitude is Everything
Meeting with clients? Listen 75% of the time, talk 25%.
Let’s talk about freelance attitude and how the right mindset can contribute to your business success.
This started on Twitter. Matthew Fenton quoted Brian Tracy:
“Approach each customer with the idea of helping him or her solve a problem or achieve a goal, not of selling a product or service.” ~ Brian Tracy
Matthew, who disliked selling, used this attitude shift to make his sales job easier.
To which Corrie Oberdin replied,
“This is why I always end up giving a lot of stuff away in my initial meeting because I’m like ‘OHHH! THIS WILL HELP!’ and ‘WHAT ABOUT THIS!’ Yes, I’m that way.”
Corrie’s post caught my attention. It was her attitude, even from the very first meeting.
5 Lessons from Corrie: Attitude, Listening, Using Your Portfolio
I DM’d Corrie, wanting to learn more about how she runs her business. Corrie works with non-profits and small companies in social media and content development.
Here are 5 things we can learn from Corrie.
1. Start Each Project with an Enthusiastic Attitude
Corrie:
“Is “enthusiastic” an attitude? :) I try not to get carried away, but I’m by nature an excited person. Ideas and sharing possibilities get me excited and enthusiastic, so that comes through naturally.
I never start with the idea that ‘Well, crap, this is going to be a lot of work,’ but with the tone of ‘This is going to be FUN’, even if I’m scared/nervous/worried about the work.”
While Corrie is enthusiastic, she makes sure she doesn’t take up all the oxygen in the room. That leads to listening…
2. Genuine Listening is a Superpower
I have a rule when it comes to listening and talking with clients.
I try to spend 75% of the time listening and 25% talking. That means I’m listening at least 3X more than talking. I use my 25% to ask questions to encourage the client to talk.
Even in her enthusiasm, Corrie seems to have a similar rule.
Here’s Corrie on listening and talking:
“I may start the meeting, but I don’t command it. I enjoy hearing from potential clients and looking at their answers to identify possible red flags OR green flags.
So, I ask about pain points, goals, and things they’ve tried in the past. Then I listen to what they say.”
Notice how Corrie asks questions. They’re all openings for the clients to talk. It’s all about them, not about Corrie.
Asking questions, being a good listener, and taking notes is a superpower. Clients and prospects will love you. You’ve made them feel like the smartest person in the room.
If you ever catch yourself thinking, “I’m talking way too much”, pay attention and make a change.
3. Use Your Portfolio to Tell Convincing Stories
In early meetings with potential clients, Corrie puts her portfolio to work. Once she understands the client’s pain points, she refers to similar situations in the portfolio.
This is something worth stealing. Think about this with your portfolio.
“I use my past work as storytelling for helping them envision how their social programs can be…
I’ll talk about a client who had a similar problem to the one they mentioned and how we solved it.
Storytelling helps them buy into things I find important about social. For example, right now, I’m requiring all my clients to have internal people to act as a backup to their primary social person to help prevent burnout.
Instead of just saying this, I introduce it with a story about clients similar to them who found they needed a backup. That creates buy-in for the process.”
Simple idea, right? Steal it, thank Corrie later.
4. Don’t Jump to Conclusions
Before you meet with the client, you’ll probably look at some of their current work. Typically, you’d review their social, website, and anything else you can find.
Based on that, you can easily come to conclusions about what they’re doing wrong and why.
That can be a big mistake.
Corrie said, “I try very hard not to draw conclusions about how they work or what they need. Ten years ago, I did that, which led to a lot of wrong assumptions. I look at what they’re doing but try not to jump to conclusions before we’ve talked.”
Sometimes, organizations have stellar talent, but the problems are with their approval processes or staffing issues. You’ll only uncover that by talking to them and reviewing their goals and processes. You won’t learn that in early conversations.
5. Start Engagements With a Paid Review
Take a lesson here from Corrie (and the world’s largest consulting firms). Before you jump into a project, before you even write a proposal for the first job, do a paid review.
This takes time (so you need to be paid) but ensures you truly understand what’s going on with the client. Often, in meetings, clients don’t tell you everything.
That means you’re in for later surprises when you discover all the things you didn’t know. A paid review at the beginning helps everyone.
Here’s Corrie: “My process involves doing a paid communications/social media review before doing a full proposal. My first proposals usually address what the communications review will include.
Then we’ll get together to look at the communications review and decide what the client can manage themselves and what they need my help with. This is a great ‘Get to know you’ process!
We’ll usually have a meeting, maybe even two. Since reviewing all of their materials is part of the paid process, I’ll usually look at their channels to make sure they don’t have anything they aren’t telling me about (this happens a lot).”
By the time Corrie starts the first project, she’s confident she truly understands the client’s situation and can make the most effective recommendations.
BTW, this is also a test for how the client will behave in the future. Some clients may not want to pay for a review, thinking you can just jump right into the projects. That’s a red flag you should note.
Here are some tips about money talk. I wrote how to talk to clients about money here.
Here’s more about Corrie Oberdin and her services.
Learn about working with clients to grow your business 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 Your 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.
For Anyone Thinking of Upgrading to an Agency
“I read this book and I recommend it to anyone who’s thinking about upgrading a freelancer life to an agency. Lots of useful advice. I wish I had this book before launching http://freshvanroot.agency.”
Rolf Mistelbacher, Founder & CEO, Fresh Van Root
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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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