If you’re a freelancer, it’s important to attract good clients that are the right fit for you so both parties can thrive, prosper and flourish.
At the beginning of your freelancer journey, you may find ideal client acquisition challenging and could end up taking on all the work offered to you, even if the client isn’t the right fit.
If this is something you struggle with (or wish to avoid), here are some considerations to take into account to attract your perfect dream clients.
Review your marketing message
If you are unclear about who your ideal clients are in your marketing communications, then you’ll most likely attract clients who aren’t the right fit.
Even if you don’t have a niche, it’s helpful to create an ideal client persona or avatar to know exactly who you are targeting (and why). This may well change over time, but it is good to have it in place at the beginning of your freelancer career.
In your marketing message, are you specific about who you are targeting? From your website, social media presence, and other digital and print media assets, is it clear who your ideal clients are and the service/transformation you offer?
For example, if your ideal clients are high-ticket business coaching clients already turning over 1 million and want to increase sales by 10% (thanks to your help and expertise), do your communications specifically highlight this?
Also, how (and where) does your service or skill set fit into their transformation journey?
Zeroing in on your marketing message, your ideal client, your positioning in the market and how you help will go a long way toward attracting your ideal clients.
Qualify them before you ‘meet’
If you get leads from your website or social media, a good way to filter ideal clients is to ask them to complete a brief questionnaire before they get on a discovery call or have a one-to-one meeting with you.
This way, you’ll know what they are looking for beforehand and, most importantly, if you can help them or not.
You can ascertain their needs and also any deadlines. For example, if you are a freelance graphic designer and your prospective client needs a super fast turnaround on visual resources for a last-minute holiday promotion (think Black Friday), it may be that you can’t fit them into your schedule at this time.
Another benefit of having a call or in-person meeting is that you’ll be able to see if you are a good fit and have the right rapport. You can also better identify any ‘red flags’. In addition, you can also find out if the person has the authority to hire you – and what the ‘chain of command’ is if you do go ahead – who will you be corresponding with – and when, as well as payment terms and conditions.
These are all points to consider to ensure you are the right fit, processes align, and things go smoothly.
Include prices or a price range on your website
If your service has a known cost or price, then consider displaying this on your website.
If you work on a project basis rather than hourly, or your service doesn’t have a fixed price, consider including a price range.
Knowing your prices (or at least a ballpark estimate) in advance will filter out clients who aren’t the right fit or haven’t got the budget to spend.
You might also want to state your payment terms and conditions, for example, if you require a partial or full deposit in advance.
Ask for client referrals
Ask your current clients (or ones you’ve just worked with) for referrals within their network.
If you like working with the client, it’s likely that you’ll also find similar clients with the same ethos within their network.
You can even add a message asking for a referral to your final client invoice.
Clients will be happy to refer good freelancers to their network as it looks good on them, too. Word of mouth is a powerful and effective way to get clients.
Although there is always the possibility that now your current clients have found gold, they want to keep you all to themselves!
You can also ask other freelancers in your network if they know of any good clients to work with – or if they have an overflow of work you could help them with – or even ask them to refer you to anyone who might need your help.
Have client-friendly systems and processes in place
Having client-friendly systems and processes in place can not only streamline your business and take care of tedious and time-consuming tasks but also help make you come across as easy to deal with, trustworthy, and professional.
A slick client onboarding process, as well as good invoice software so your clients can pay you via a range of online payment gateways in just one click, can go a long way to attracting the right clients to your business.
Invoice Ninja is a leading free invoicing software for small business invoicing, online payments, tracking expenses and billable tasks. It also includes attractive, professional invoice template designs you can customize with your logo and brand colors.
Try it for free here.
Take care of low-hanging fruit
If you already have a client you love to work with, it’s worth considering if there is anything else you can help them with and maybe forge a longer-term relationship (and more pay).
For example, if you are a freelance translator, could you also offer a blog writing package to help with your client’s marketing in their target language?
Identify areas where your client could need your help and offer solutions to their problems.
If you like working with them, the feeling is likely mutual. Plus, searching for and hiring reliable freelancers can be time-consuming for clients.
So it’s better for them to work with someone whose work (and processes) they already know, like and trust.
And it also means you don’t need to search for a new client.
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All the above can help take your freelancer business to the next level so you can attract better clients and increase your earnings potential. If you know of anyone else who might benefit from reading this – please share. Thank you!
