Whether you’re a photographer, freelance writer, or graphic designer, there is one problem every freelancer encounters again and again: clients who are hesitant to buy.
No matter how beautiful your portfolio is, it’s not always easy to convince someone to buy from you. This can be especially true for freelancers who have just entered the workforce with little experience and a small client base.
In this article, we’ll walk through the most common reasons clients hesitate to buy from you and outline some solutions for fixing each issue.
1. Focus On The Benefits, Not The Features
People don’t buy features. They buy benefits.
A friend of mine has been thinking a lot about this lately, and her thoughts have helped me improve my own sales pitch for freelancing. She’s convinced that the key to being successful as a freelance professional is to concentrate on benefits rather than features.
Benefits are what make someone want what you’re selling. So, if you can focus your marketing efforts on highlighting the things that your clients want and need, then you’ll get them to make the decision to hire you over anyone else with similar skills and experience no matter how beautiful their website may be or how amazing their blog might look.
2. Don’t Ask Them To Hire You. Ask Them These Questions Instead
Once you’ve got their attention, it’s time to ask questions.
A lot of people in business don’t like asking a lot of questions because they think it makes them look inexperienced or unqualified (or both).
I’m here to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth.
You see, when you ask good, insightful questions, you’re not only learning things about the person you’re talking to and the job they need help with. You’re also proving yourself as an expert who cares. And this is critical if you want to convince someone to hire you instead of your competitors.
The best part? Asking a bunch of questions doesn’t take away from how qualified or “expert-like” you sound it only adds to it by showing off how curious and detail-oriented you are with every answer.
So remember: Instead of trying to prove how great your services are before even knowing what that potential client needs, put your energy into listening, asking questions, and learning about their business goals first (and then figuring out your value proposition together).
3. Use A Proven Sales Letter Structure To Sell Your Services
The third step to getting clients to pay you for your services is to use a proven sales letter structure to sell services.
There are two common sales letter structures: the PAS formula, which stands for problem, agitate,s, and solution; and the AIDA formula attention, interest, desire, and action.
The PAS formula goes like this: first you state the problem that your audience is facing (problem). Then you show them how painful that problem really is (agitate). And finally, you provide them with a solution (solution).
For example: “You need more clients but don’t know where those new clients are coming from. You’re always hustling for work and it’s exhausting. That’s why I created this 3-part copywriting training course that teaches you my secret 7-step process for getting all of the clients you want.”
If you use AIDA in your sales message, here’s what you do: first attract attention by appealing to their needs or desires (attention), then create interest by sharing compelling details about your offer (interest), and build desire by stating all of the benefits they’ll receive when they buy from you (desire) and finally get action with an irresistible offer a limited-time discount or free bonus gift and a strong call-to-action statement sign up now!
4. Get Clear On What Your Ideal Client Really Wants
One of the biggest mistakes freelancers make is not understanding their ideal customers Knowing who you’re selling to ensures your marketing and sales efforts are spots on!
If you’re selling freelance services, your ideal client needs to be more than just “the person who will buy my services.”
Here’s what I mean:
Let’s say you sell content writing services. A common approach would be to say your target market is “anyone that needs content writing services.” But this isn’t specific enough and will likely result in poor-quality clients or even no clients at all. You need to dig deeper into exactly who that person is so you can tailor your business and marketing message around them.
But how do you figure out exactly WHO your ideal client is? It starts with creating buyer personas for your business. Buyer personas are fictional representations of the type of people who might buy from you. They include details such as their age, job role, professional goals, responsibilities, interests, and challenges.
This allows you to put yourself in their shoes as much as possible and it helps ensure that whenever someone does stumble upon your website or reads a Facebook ad from you, they feel like YOU understand them on a deep level (because when someone feels like you get them, they are more likely to become loyal customers).
5. Rally Up Testimonials And Reviews From Past Clients
Testimonials and reviews from past clients are the next best thing to a referral. They’re an indication that the person doing the hiring can trust you to do a good job, and they’re also crucial in establishing authority (as we’ve explained earlier).
Ask your clients to leave honest reviews on your website, LinkedIn profile, social media pages, Google My Business listing, etc. You can also ask them to provide testimonials via video or audio snippets.
Have a system in place for gathering this feedback so you don’t forget after your job is done! If you have an online booking system that allows for feedback at the end of a service appointment, try setting up automatic reminder emails after the client’s appointment is over.
Put your testimonials front and center on your website and social media accounts. Consider adding a “testimonial” section or page where all of these glowing remarks can be collected in one place.
6. Describe A Problem That Absolutely Needs To Be Solved, Then Provide The Solution With Your Service
If you’ve ever bought a new phone, you may have been sold on a specific feature that the phone came with. For example, maybe your previous phone didn’t have good battery life and so you searched for one that had strong battery performance.
But while features are important, they don’t actually sell the product because they’re not what customers care about. Customers care about their problems being solved they want to know how your product or service will improve their lives.
There’s an old adage in marketing that says “Sell the sizzle, not the steak.” This is really helpful advice when it comes to selling your freelance services.
Instead of focusing on the service itself, which is like the “steak,” focus on describing the problem that needs solving and explaining how your service can solve it “the sizzle.”
When pitching potential clients, always start by outlining a problem that absolutely needs to be solved and then explain how your services can solve them. The client won’t be able to resist
7. Be Confident In Yourself And Your Abilities
You are the best at what you do. You want your customers to know that, so don’t be afraid to say it! When people see that confidence in someone, they’re more likely to trust them.
8. Show Off Your Past Work Examples
If you have any past clients or projects that showcase the quality of work you can do for prospective new clients, show them off! This will help potential clients understand what kind of work experience you have, which will make them more confident in hiring you for their own projects.
9. Keep Your Services Simple
The more time you spend on a project, the more money you’ll get paid. However, this isn’t always true when it comes to selling freelance services. The more complicated the project is, the harder it will be for potential clients to understand what they need from you. It’s better to keep things simple so that you don’t overwhelm them with options or details that they don’t care about.
10. Give Them A Sample Of Your Work
If someone wants to hire a freelancer but doesn’t know how great their work is, give them a sample of what you’ve done in the past so that they can see for themselves how good your work is. This can be in the form of an email or a document so long as it has some of your best writing in it and shows off what you can do.
11. Know Your Stuff
This is obvious but crucial: You need to know what you’re talking about! If you don’t know everything about your niche, how can you expect anyone else to believe that you do?
One way to build credibility is by becoming an expert on social media marketing topics like Facebook Ads or Google AdWords campaigns even if those aren’t your primary areas of expertise. Read up on other people’s blogs or articles in the industry until you feel comfortable enough discussing them with confidence.
12. Be Prepared For The Interview
The first step in convincing someone to buy your freelance services is being prepared for the interview. Before every interview, make sure that you have all of the information about the position available including any documents that might be required by the hiring manager, and have done research on the company so that you aren’t caught off guard with questions about it during the meeting.
13. Understand Their Pain Points
The first thing you want to do is understand the problem that your client is facing. You can do this by asking questions and listening closely to the answers. For example, if someone tells you that they need help with their website design, then ask them why they believe this is true. They might say something like “I’ve tried designing my own site, but it doesn’t look professional.” Ask them for more details about this experience and how it made them feel. People love talking about themselves and sharing stories, so you should be able to get some good information out of them.
14. Present Your Ideas
Once you understand what’s going on with your client’s business and what their goals are (i.e., why they’re hiring freelancers), then it’s time to present some ideas on how you can help them achieve those goals. This is where your expertise as a freelancer comes in handy because you know exactly what works best with different types of clients and projects.
For example, if your client wants more sales but doesn’t have much money to spend on marketing campaigns, then maybe you can suggest ways that they could increase traffic to their site without breaking the bank (such as guest blogging).
Conclusion
Now that you know the secrets to getting more clients and higher-paying jobs, it’s time for you to put these tips into action. Make sure your online presence is one that helps get you noticed, and adjust your pitch/cold email templates so they convey your value effectively. Don’t be afraid of rejection or silence there will always be another project around the corner, as long as you keep trying!
We hope this article has helped make sales a bit easier for you. If you found it useful, please share it with someone in need of some freelance work!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is It Possible To Convince Someone To Buy Your Freelance Services?
Yes, but there are factors that affect the possibility of success. Writing a great letter will increase your chances of getting a response, but don’t expect every prospect to respond with “Yes!” immediately or even at all.
But if you follow the steps in this article, then you’ll be well on your way to writing a great letter and increasing your chance of earning new clients!
What Are The Characteristics Of A Good Freelance Sales Letter?
Although each sales letter is different and should be crafted according to what the client needs there are some common characteristics that set apart good letters from mediocre ones:
They’re focused and easy to read. Good writers don’t waste time or space with flowery language or unnecessary rambling. Instead, they get straight to the point. So avoid using any filler words (like “um” or “uh”) when talking about your qualifications; instead, just say what you need to say with confidence.
They’re personable and friendly. While they should be professional, they shouldn’t be overly formal because no one wants their email inboxes flooded with stuffy emails that sound like they were written by robots. Instead, consider how you’d talk about yourself if you were meeting someone in person over coffee.
They show enthusiasm for the work at hand and express an interest in working with this particular client/company/person.
They highlight relevant skills and experience (which will vary depending on who’s reading it). For example: If it’s someone who needs help with marketing copy, then focus more on showing off your expertise in that area than on listing other types of projects you’ve done.
They always include a call-to-action: something concrete for the potential client can do next (replying back quickly is usually best).
How Do I Convince Someone To Buy My Freelance Services?
You need to be able to show them that you are the best person for the job. Make sure that you have a portfolio of previous work that you have done, so they can see that you have experience in this area and that you are capable of doing the work.
If they still aren’t convinced, then offer them a trial period where they get to use your services at no cost. This will allow them to see if what you say is true and if it’s something they want to continue using after the trial period.
How Do I Become A Freelancer?
You can start by learning how to write well and gaining experience in your field of expertise. Once you get established, then you can begin marketing yourself as a freelance writer or whatever other service you offer!
I am a content writer, and I love what I do! Writing makes me feel like the words are flowing through my fingers, and then onto the keyboard, like magic. My experience as a writer has taught me that writing makes me feel good, as well as helps others to feel better too!