I have been serving business clients as a creative freelancer (with mixed results) for almost twenty years, and as far as I can tell, there is nothing struggling freelancers like more than complaining about “bad” clients.
Clients who offer “exposure” as a substitute for pay.
Clients that underpay, pay late, or don’t pay at all.
Clients that micromanage them.
Clients who don’t respect them.
Complaining about clients is a lot of fun! And as someone who has struggled a lot, I have spent a lot of time doing it, and maybe you have too.
While complaining about my clients may have made me feel better, it didn’t help me make more money.
“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our tolerance.”
-Mike Shreeve, adjusting a famous quote by Greek lyrical poet, Archilochus for his own purposes in a recent episode of The No Pants Show podcast.
Struggling freelancers love to complain about clients, but not many will give much thought to the ways they are failing themselves.
I started the comic strip/blog post series #FreelancingFAIL because I wanted to create a funny way to discuss things we as freelancers often do that make it hard for clients to choose us, and ways to overcome them.
The first episode addresses the habit of Making Excuses, and what you can gain by breaking it.
The second teaches the massive benefits of practicing empathy in your business.
The third episode suggests what to do if your offer flops because no one wants to pay you for it.
This episode is all about the importance of thinking and acting like a professional. I used to cringe at that word, because I didn’t want to become a corporate drone.
Being professional does not mean being stuffy or “corporate”. It simply means projecting an image that people and businesses TRUST, and want to give their money to.
It starts with how you think about yourself.
HAVING A HARD TIME GETTING CLIENTS? BEWARE THESE UNPROFESSIONAL MINDSETS
There are some paradigms you want to avoid if you want to build a business around your life, instead of being stuck:
- THE HOBBYIST only works when they “feel like it/feel inspired/feel motivated,” etc. Expects it to always be fun or easy. Good luck with that. No matter how much fun your work can be, it’s not always gonna be like that, so don’t depend on it!
- THE EMPLOYEE cannot tolerate risk, doesn’t offer comprehensive solutions, can’t promise outcomes, and doesn’t really care anyway… They’re just here for the paycheck. Feeling entitled to other people’s money and security is a mind trap. See “Know How Deals Work” section below if you’re feeling entitled.
- THE VICTIM doesn’t take responsibility for anything, is always at the mercy of others, constantly kicked around by cruel fates, an angry God, or whatever political party they didn’t vote for.
- THE PERFECTIONIST never accomplishes anything because they are waiting for just the right time and conditions. But don’t worry, they’re working it all out in their head.
If any of that sounds like you, you’re gonna want to listen to Mike’s advice about the barrier between you and the business that you want.
You want to shift your image away from these unprofessional mindsets to project the image of a business.
Jay-Z Gets it.
In the Diamonds From Sierra Leone Remix, Jay-Z drops the proverbial jewel:
“I’m not a businessman, I’m a BUSINESS, MAN!”
It’s not about wearing suits and ties (or even pants). It’s about thinking and acting like the face of a business. It’s about improving your understanding of why people spend money, and how to get more of it coming your way.
Embracing this shift in mindset (and taking actions based on that shift) will improve results for your business, and outcomes you deliver to your clients.
So, here are five aspects of being a business that you can totally master. They aren’t necessarily hard to do, but they are easy not to do.
So making sure YOU do them will make you the obvious choice for prospective clients and customers.
Because the majority of your competitors definitely aren’t doing them.
1) BASIC COMMUNICATION WITH CLIENTS
“Sure, there’s likely to be a few genuinely bad clients out there who don’t know what they want or are just plain rude,” says WordPress developer and freelance writer Brenda Barron, “but the vast majority of web development stress is related to miscommunication.”
This tends to be true across disciplines, so no matter what your primary skill set is, all freelancers would do well to regularly sharpen their communication skills.
- LISTEN FIRST: Start out with your clients by asking lots of questions, and by taking good notes. If possible, make forms your client can fill out. If you want, fill out the forms for the clients who hate paperwork. Make sure to define the scope of your projects, manage expectations, set budgets, and lay out your boundaries.
- REPEAT IT BACK TO THEM: Periodically repeat back to the client what they have said to you. “So you’re saying you want to increase sales by 5 percent. Is that right?”
- PUT IT IN WRITING, OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN: Always write all the important details down and have the client agree to it. For example, after a phone call, send an email summary of what was discussed. Bulleted or numbered lists are great, because they can be read at a glance.
- REMIND THE CLIENT WHY THEY CHOSE YOU: Don’t be shy about communicating the value you’re giving the client. Remind them of the areas where you’re going the extra mile for them, so they see the full value of your work. If you know what results you are delivering for the client (traffic increases, sales, leads, etc.), submit reports that are easy for them to read.
2) ASSERTIVE MARKETING
Instead of just waiting to be discovered, create a marketing strategy for getting clients.
Again, communication is key.
Learn how to talk to strangers in such a way that they can see how your expertise solves their problems, so they can buy your product or service without even having to think about it too much.
Whether you use an inbound strategy like The Client Getting Faucet method, or an outbound method like sending cold emails, studying your desired ideal customer and creating messages based on the problems they are most concerned about will set you apart from the competition.
But don’t just do it to see if it works. Do it UNTIL it works.
According to Salesforce.com, it takes 6 to 8 touches to generate a viable sales lead.
In fact, this article from the Online Marketing Institute suggests your marketing should make 7 to 13 touches before a lead is “qualified.”
Almost half of your competitors will NEVER follow up with their prospects, even though 80% of sales take 5-12 contacts to close!
Frequency — doing whatever method you choose as often as you can — is the not-so-secret sauce to making it work.
In psychology, it’s called the mere-exposure effect or the familiarity principle: the phenomenon that causes us to develop a preference for things that we are exposed to repeatedly.
In marketing, it’s the Know, Like & Trust Factor.
You can nail this by making sure you do sufficient follow up.
3) KNOW HOW DEALS WORK
Making deals is an ever-present reality of modern life. Contracts, terms of service, privacy policies, and all the legal things are just deals we make.
We offer things we have in exchange for things we want or need.
Too many freelancers think of making deals as a battle they need to win.
This is not the best way to think about it.
After all, is defeating your client on a mental battlefield a good way to start a relationship?
Agree to give your client what they need in exchange for what you need.
In his internationally acclaimed, award-winning book Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People, G. Richard Shell reminds us that “all deals that close are win-win deals. The two sides would not agree to a proposal unless they thought agreement was better for them than no deal.”
Make up your mind to:
- Be straight with your prospects.
- Only work with prospects who are being straight with you.
- Have tough conversations to determine if these things can be done.
- If not, part ways.
You can only trick, hustle, and scam your way through this life for so long before your reputation is ruined. Whatever kind of business you have run in the past, the work to reclaim your integrity can start right now.
Instead of overpromising results you can’t deliver to get money, promise a result you know you can deliver to someone who wants that result.
Don’t be greedy about it, but make sure you charge enough to allow you to do an awesome job every time. If you deliver high quality (from your clients’ perspective), at a sustainable rate, your business will stay profitable.
4) BE A FAUCET, NOT A DRAIN
“Some people, every time they engage with others, are an energy drain. They take persuading, cajoling and enthusiasm to get going, and require ever more of it to keep going.
“And some people are a faucet, an endless pipeline of possibility, potential and forward motion.”
Make up your mind that you will be a source of positive change in every relationship. Provide value everywhere you go, to everyone you encounter.
Sometimes you will give value away, and often you will be paid for it. But whatever you do, be known as a faucet, not a drain. Being a faucet of value will attract prospective clients to you, so you can choose who you want to have a deeper relationship with.
5) DON’T BURN BRIDGES
“You’ve got to let go of your problem clients to make room for your ideal clients.”
Sometimes, a relationship just isn’t going to work, and that’s okay. The best thing for both parties is to let go of a relationship that is not a good fit.
But that doesn’t mean you should ambush the client.
Here’s some suggestions for making it a smooth transition:
- Give them sufficient notice, so they can prepare for the transition.
- Help them tie up loose ends. If they know you are leaving, they can prioritize the remaining work you’re doing on your way out.
- Help them locate your replacement.
A QUICK RECAP: MAKE GETTING CLIENTS EASIER
Get a handle on these 5 Elements of Professionalism to make it easy for clients to choose you:
- Basic Communication: Make sure everyone is understood and appreciated.
- Assertive Marketing: Use strategies that motivate your prospects to a decision.
- Know How Deals Work: Seek to meet your needs by meeting your clients’ needs.
- Be a Faucet, Not a Drain: Because everyone likes to be energized.
- Don’t Burn Bridges: When relationships end, make sure to close them cleanly, and on the best terms possible.
But remember that you don’t have to go it alone.
The No Pants Project offers access to top notch coaching and a ton of tools to build your own 90-day plan to achieve a full-time, profitable freelance business that allows you to offer professional-grade value while being true to your authentic self. Check it out here to see if it’s right for you.
