Tips For Freelancing Successfully In The Client Support Arena

Want to branch out on your own, travel more, and find a flexible work schedule? Then freelancing is the right fit for you.

As a freelancer, you’ll need to network, reach out to previous employers, connect with people in your field, and use every resource available to you in order to find clients. Once you’ve built a solid client base and established a strong working relationship with those who rely on your services, then how do you go about earning their trust? 

In this article, I will share some tips on how I’ve been able to successfully build my business as a freelance client support specialist.

7 Tips to Succeed as a Freelancer | Expert Talk – YouTube
Takeaways
1. Prioritize customer service secrets to excel in client support.
2. Explore freelance customer service agent jobs for online income.
3. Be mindful of online etiquette to protect your freelance career.
4. Enhance communication etiquette for effective client interactions.
5. Gain insights into the freelance chat support career for success.

Choose Clients Wisely

Take the time to get familiar with any potential client. Even if you’re in a pinch, don’t be afraid to ask relevant questions that may help you decide whether or not they are a good fit for you.

Consider what this particular client is looking for from a freelancer and how you will best serve their needs. The better match you are, the more successful your collaboration will be.

Once again, trust your gut! If something doesn’t seem right about the project, or even worse, if it seems shady or unethical in some way, just pass on it altogether and move on to less problematic clients.

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Offer Stellar Customer Service

There are quite a few challenges and challenges to being in a client-support role, but being proactive about your business can help you exceed expectations. So, let’s look at some ways of getting the most out of your job as a support agent.

The best way to get more done is by knowing your limits and asking for help when you need it. In this way, you can ensure that you’re able to do things right the first time and show clients gratitude for all the wonderful things they’ve done for you. Don’t just rely on others; be willing to take responsibility when something goes wrong and then figure out what happened to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Learn How To Charge For Services

There are many ways to charge for your services, but when you’re just starting out, it’s best to start small. When you first get started, you will probably be working a lot of hours in order to make ends meet. However, once you have established yourself in the industry and have built up a network of clients, it’s time to start charging for your time.

The best way to go about this is by setting rates based on what other freelancers charge for similar services. You may also want to consider charging more if you offer extra services or work with more difficult clients (like remote work).

When setting your prices, think about how much time each project will take and how many hours are required per month so that you can get an idea of how much money should be made per project. Then add a little bit extra so that there’s some room for growth (or increase in demand).

Figure out how much time you’re spending on client-related tasks each week.

Once you have all that data collected, consider similar freelance jobs in your area, and see what their hourly rates are. Then take all of this into account when deciding the right rate for your services. Remember: there’s no right or wrong number it’s just what makes sense for your situation!

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Offer Support On Your Own Terms

While you need to be ready for all sorts of questions about the product, there are ways to manage this. Make sure the client knows how to contact you, but also that you have a system in place so they aren’t waiting around for answers.

If you work best with email, tell clients that your schedule doesn’t allow for live chat or phone calls and give them away to reach out via email if they have more in-depth questions. If writing isn’t your thing, make sure they know how often they can expect communication from you and what form it will take (phone call? text message? etc.).

Think About How To Market Your Services

There are a lot of ways to market yourself as a freelancer. If you work for yourself, getting your name out there is the key to success. It’s not only the best way to ensure you get paid for your services, but it can also help you land more clients and make more money.

A few things that will help you get noticed are:

Branding. Choose a name that describes who you are as an individual and what type of service you provide. If your brand is like “The Doctor Who Loves You” then it would be the main point in marketing for that company so employees know about their work with them.

Consider What Resources You Will Need

If you’re a freelancer who’s just starting out, you may have a lot of questions about when it makes sense to rent or buy equipment. There are many potential benefits to renting (space, speed, flexibility) and owning (customization), but before you make your decision, consider these important factors:

Cost

In most cases, renting is less expensive than buying. When renting, you’ll be able to get the equipment that best suits your needs at the best possible price, which means you can spend more time worrying about how to stay profitable as opposed to budgeting for new tools.

Risk

If equipment breaks down or becomes obsolete before your contract ends, you won’t be stuck with a bunch of obsolete tools on your hands. Renters should also take into account the risk of software or hardware failures. 

What if something breaks during your contract? Is there a plan in place for updating or replacing this piece of software? In some cases, it’s better to buy rather than deal with an upgrade nightmare.

Space

When renting furniture, space can become an issue. You don’t want furniture taking up valuable real estate in your office; instead, try setting up desks and chairs around existing furniture so that there is plenty of room for storage underneath; for example, under tables where there are no drawers already. 

This will leave plenty of room under the tabletop so that books and other things can be placed underneath when not in use. It’s also wise not to leave any furniture positioned too closely together where someone could trip over a chair while trying to get to their keyboard.

Defining boundaries will help keep everyone safe while creating an open working atmosphere that lets employees focus on work rather than worrying about tripping over chairs.

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Do Your Research On The Type Of Freelancing You Plan To Do

To be successful as a freelancer in the client support arena, it’s important to do your research so that you can know what clients are likely to hire you. Doing so will help you find out who your potential customers are and what they’re looking for.

Certain types of businesses may be more likely than others to hire freelancers. For example, if you work with web design clients, then smaller nonprofit organizations might have less of a budget than larger companies. However, they may still need help with website maintenance or social media management on an ongoing basis.

Find The Best Method For Organizing Your Work

The most important thing is to find what works for you. This might mean experimenting with a few different methods before settling on the right one. 

It’s true that most client support freelancers get by with a simple calendar and email inbox, but if that doesn’t work for you, try something else! Perhaps a physical planner, or an electronic spreadsheet? Don’t be afraid to make use of note-taking apps and other tools. 

The best way to ensure regular payments from your clients is to stay organized, so if you have an unconventional system for keeping track of deadlines and communications, don’t worry about it as long as it works!

Set Up A System For Communications With Clients

The biggest cause of dissatisfaction and disappointment on either side is poor communication. You need to make sure that you are communicating with your client regularly enough so they can feel secure knowing their product is in good hands. 

People don’t like to be left in the dark and will almost always respond poorly if they are not given adequate information about what’s going on with their order. So, figure out how often you’ll want to update them (every day, every week, after the first draft is written) and let them know when they should expect an update.

Even more importantly, ask questions! If you have any doubts about anything at all, clarify it immediately so there’s no room for confusion or misunderstanding later on. This also shows confidence and demonstrates that you’re someone who takes initiative a definite bonus in any business relationship.

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Deliver On Time, Every Time

Being reliable and meeting deadlines are key to becoming a successful freelancer. When you’re just starting out, you may be tempted to say “yes” to everyone and take on as many projects as possible. However, if you’re constantly missing deadlines or delivering poor quality work, word will get around. You’ll damage your reputation and ultimately hurt your business in the long run.

Make sure that every project you complete is delivered on time. If you know a deadline will be difficult to meet, tell your client right away so they can adjust their expectations accordingly. This might mean asking for an extension or turning down other clients to make room in your schedule.

Do Whatever It Takes So That You Can Hit Those Deadlines

Be responsible when working with clients and be sure to follow up after any assignments

While you may be smart and talented, the best freelancers are also responsible. Clients appreciate punctuality, so always make sure that you are on time for meetings. 

If you have a deadline to meet, be sure to communicate with your client if there is any chance that you will not be able to meet it. 

You need to manage your time effectively and ensure that you don’t take on more work than you can handle at one time. In other words, don’t over-promise or under-deliver.

Finally, it’s important not to lose sight of the importance of communication in your business relationships with clients. Remember: they’re hiring freelancers because they don’t have enough people working for them in their own company to get all the work done. 

So it’s essential that when they have questions or feedback about something you’ve done for them, you respond quickly and professionally. And if there’s an issue with what has been delivered or promised? Take responsibility for it and fix it before someone else does!

Be Wary Of Jobs That Offer Unrealistic Rates Or Fast Turnarounds

With clients, always be wary of jobs that seem too good to be true. If a client is offering an unrealistic rate for a project with a fast turnaround, it’s best to keep in mind that the quality of work you’ll be able to produce will suffer as a result. This is particularly true when it comes to content creation and writing projects.

Another trap freelancers can fall into is working with clients who try to get free work out of them before they make the official hire. I was once offered 45 minutes of my time for free as part of an interview process. 

The thing is if my potential client needs me to spend half an hour just answering their questions before they decide if they want to hire me or not, there’s probably something wrong with their priorities, and even worse, what happens if after all that time spent on their interview process I don’t get the job? In these instances, it’s better to politely bow out before investing too much time in the project.

Create A Vision Statement And Mission Statement 

Create a vision statement and mission statement as well as set goals for yourself when you start out so that you can measure progress later down the line.

A vision statement defines what an organization or person wants to achieve in the future. A mission statement explains how that’s going to happen. 

A mission statement is more about “how” you are achieving your vision than “what” you are achieving. For example, Amazon’s vision is “to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online”. 

Its mission statement reads: “We aim to offer our customers the lowest possible prices, the best available selection, and the utmost convenience” a clear explanation of how they are going to achieve its vision.

If nobody knows that your business exists or why it exists, then your business will not be successful. Creating a compelling brand story around a powerful vision is key to creating an engaged audience of loyal followers who love your brand and want to share it with their friends and family.

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Final Thought

If you follow these tips, you can still freelance successfully.

You can be a successful freelancer in the client support arena and have a lot of fun doing it. Here are some tips to get you started:

Build up your experience base first. You don’t want your first freelance gig to be your last. Get experience working as an employee in the client support industry before you try to go it alone. There are advantages to being an employee at first, like getting paid even when work is slow, and learning which clients might not be worth your time.

Be prepared before going into business for yourself. Have an idea of what kind of resources you’ll need, where the money will come from (for example, savings or a spouse that works), how much you hope to make, and how many hours per week you’ll need to work in order to do so, and how long you think it will take for your new business venture to generate steady income.

Find good clients who understand what they’re getting into when they hire someone on a contract basis instead of employing someone full-time or part-time. It’s important that both parties know what the arrangement entails. You may need a lawyer or two for this one!

Further Reading

Here are some additional resources for further reading on freelance success:

iThemes: Freelance Success

This blog post provides insights and tips for achieving success as a freelancer, covering various aspects of freelancing, including client management, productivity, and marketing.

Medium: Launching Your Freelance Career: A Roadmap to Success

This Medium article offers a comprehensive roadmap for individuals who are starting their freelance careers. It covers essential steps, from finding clients to setting rates and building a portfolio.

Forbes: Freelancers: Nine Tips for Building Your Client Base from Scratch

Forbes presents nine valuable tips for freelancers who want to establish and expand their client base. The article discusses strategies for networking, showcasing expertise, and providing exceptional service.

Frequently Asked Questions

To help you begin your journey as a freelance professional, I’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions for your reference. While I cover the basic concepts below, I recommend that you spend more time researching these topics to get a more complete understanding and find out which approach works best for you.

How Do I Find Clients?

There are all kinds of different options for finding clients. You can start by reaching out to companies directly that already use live chat agents, or check out websites like Upwork or Fiverr. You can also advertise on social media or in local newspapers and magazines, or just try reaching out to people who might need help with their website it’s really up to you!

How Do I Price My Services?

You should base your pricing on how much time it takes for you to complete a task and what the average rate is for similar tasks in your area. You can always ask other freelancers how much they charge for similar things and see what kind of range there is. Then go with whatever feels right for both parties involved!

What Are Some Ways That I Can Market Myself?

Marketing is one of the most important parts of being a freelancer you have to tell people about yourself in order to get work! Some ways include: posting on social media (especially LinkedIn), setting up your own website, and sending emails out to potential.

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