Tag Archives: Freelance

Networking Tips for the Self-employed

September 11, 2016 By in Freelancing/Self-employed Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 54 Comments

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One of the best ways to position yourself as an expert, get new clients and grow your business is to network. You need to learn how to make strong connections with people.
When you network, you put yourself in the midst of people who are your potential clients, those who are in the same niche as you and those you can partner with. With this in mind, you need to make good use of the opportunity you have to network with people. Because of the importance networking has to freelancers and small business owners, I’ve put together a few tips to make each networking experience profitable.
1.    Set a clear goal or purpose for networking
Although networking can be fun and quite informative, you should not forget the real reason why you’re doing it. For this reason you need to have a clearly defined goal you want to achieve at the end of the networking event or meetup. This will keep you focused and encourage you to be strategic about what you talk about and how you conduct yourself to achieve that goal. But remember to have fun in the process. It’s not necessary to be so formal while networking.
2.    Master your elevator pitch
I first heard about the elevator pitch on a Pro Blogger podcast. I have mastered it since then and use it every day to sign up new clients. When you walk up to people or when people approach you, it is likely that they’ll ask you what you do for a living or what business you’re into. Make sure that you know you have your elevator pitch ready. An elevator pitch is a short description of what business you’re into, what you do, who your clients are and what you do for them.
Take time to plan and rehearse your elevator pitch before networking. You have 60 seconds to make a good impression, so make it count.
3.    Keep the conversation going with open-ended questions
Nobody likes an awkward silence, especially when you try to start a conversation with someone. Conversations that are engaging and memorable create a deep connection with the person you’re talking to.
Develop the skill of asking open-ended questions. Open-ended questions are questions that encourage people to answer with sentences.  They encourage a conversation unlike close-ended questions which encourage a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. When you ask open-ended questions you prompt the person to speak more and that keeps the conversation going, which is great for you.
4.    Always carry your business card
When you meet someone who is a potential client or someone you want to connect with in the future, it’s a good practice to share your business card with them. Your business card contains all of your contact details written in one place. It makes you look professional and it saves you the time you would have spent to bring out your phone, share your phone number and store the other person’s number in your phone. I never leave my house without some business cards.
5.    Be yourself
When you’re surrounded by so many accomplished people, there’s a natural urge for you to try to fit in so you won’t feel left out. However, it’s so much easier to just be yourself. Do not forget your true self all in the name of trying to impress a couple of people. Be real. Stay authentic, but polite. Those who will be your clients or friends will love and appreciate you for who you are.

 

How do you network? Do you have any tips to share? Sound off in the comment section please.

Thanks for reading.

How to Attract New Clients & Keep Existing Clientele

August 8, 2016 By in Freelancing/Self-employed Tags: , , , , , , , , 36 Comments

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As it is with all businesses, being able to acquire new clients and retain existing ones is a BIG challenge. Even freelancers face this same problem. However, attracting new clients poses to be more difficult and, often times, more expensive than retaining old ones.

For a freelancer, it is important to do both at the same time in order to guarantee a regular flow of income. Sometimes the time spent in attracting and retaining clients is more than the time spent doing the actual work. For some freelancers, putting up adverts to attract new clients is way above their budget. However, there are some inexpensive ways of doing this.

Here are some ways you can attract new clients to your freelance business.

1.    Get referrals

Word of mouth is so powerful! Every time you are hired for a job, do as much as you can to provide excellent service. Go the extra mile. When your clients like your work, ask for a referral. Your clients will be glad to refer you to people they know who would need your service.

2.    Guest post

Creating content for other blogs is a good way of showcasing your talent and expertise to thousands of people. When you show your level of expertise in the quality of your content, more people will be interested in hiring you.

3.    Build and market your portfolio

As you build your portfolio, showcase your work, and let the quality of your work speak for itself. You can showcase your work on your website or blog, if you have one, by simply creating a separate page for it. You can show off your portfolio on social media.

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Attracting clients is not all there is in the freelance business. You need to know how to retain them as well. Here are some ways you can do that.

 

1.    Always give quality service

What better way to retain your existing clients than by giving quality service? Quality service builds the know, like and trust factor in your freelance business. When you do a good job, your clients keep coming back for more.

2.    Take interest in your client’s goals and help your clients achieve them

Your client hired you for a specific purpose. Take time to find out what exactly they want to achieve and give helpful suggestions on how they can meet those goals. Your genuine interest in your clients will endear you to them and they will keep coming back.

3.    Keep in touch with your existing clients

After completing a project, some freelancers forget about their clients completely. This is not a good practice. Staying in touch can help you get hired again. Sending your clients eCards during holidays or simply an email to ask how they are doing and if there is any way you can help them is a good way of staying in touch. Give them incentives like promos or discounts to reward their loyal patronage. This gives you an edge over other freelancers who just forget about their clients because you wi’ll constantly be on their minds.

How do you attract your clients? How do you keep in touch with existing clients?

How to Negotiate a Higher Rate as a Freelancer

July 3, 2016 By in Freelancing/Self-employed Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , 44 Comments

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Any job you put in time, effort and expertise is valuable. Sadly, some clients tend to under-pay. As a freelancer, you don’t receive a fixed salary. The amount of money you make from a project depends on certain factors such as your experience, the number of hours you put in your job and the scope or extent of the project assigned to you.
From personal experience, negotiating my rates as a freelancer has been tricky. But negotiating a higher rate – even trickier. Negotiating a higher rate is something you take step-by-step. Here’s how I do it:

I take note of my minimum rate
You need to know the lowest amount you can charge for a project without suffering a loss. This is your minimum acceptable rate (MAR). Your MAR = (Annual living cost + annual cost / hours you work a year) + tax. This formula gives you an estimate of your MAR.
Have the figure handy. The MAR gives you the least amount you can charge for a project. Since you want to negotiate a higher rate, you need to make sure your rate doesn’t go anywhere near your MAR. So if your MAR is £50, you want to start negotiating from £150 for example, so you have room for negotiation.

Charge per project
When you charge per project instead of charging per hour you earn more money. There’s some sort of psychological effect behind charging per hour. The natural view a client has of charging per hour is that the project ought to be done within a shorter time and they don’t see any reason why they should pay for more hours. This makes them undervalue your work and look down on the quality of the project no matter how hard you work on it.
If you charge per project, the client feels that even if the project takes a long time to be complete, the project will be of value and they’ll feel more willing to pay. If you complete the project quickly, it’s a gain to you unlike charging per hour where you earn less when you complete the project quickly.

 

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Show your client their financial gain
Help your client realize that they’ll make more money from the completed project than they’ll pay to have it done. Sometimes, negotiating for higher pay is all about perception. The client at the time may be so focused on the short-term loss or expense that she misses out on her long-term gain.

Adjust the scope of the project instead of the pay
Sometimes a client may come with a budget of how much she can pay for a project. Instead of turning the client down, explain how much of the project their budget can cover. So instead of cheating yourself by accepting the project as it is, clearly tell your client the scope of the project you can cover based on what they are able to pay. So if a client is only able to pay £30 for example, explain what services you can provide for that price.

Name your price
Some freelancers and blogger are afraid of quoting a high price. They think that doing this will scare off their clients. This is often not true. Naming your price pushes you to find people who are willing to pay your rates for quality work. You find yourself attracting high paying clients and keeping them. Accepting any price offered means you will always be working for peanuts.

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comment section below please.

Happy Sunday.

 

 

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