Freelance Sales 101
Most freelancers suck at sales. Pro freelancers are really good at it. Here is a sales flow that works 100% of the time.
Freelancers often overlook the selling process. Yes, selling may seem awkward. When you sell, you may feel exhausted. When you're freelancing, you can hate the idea of selling.
However, the reality remains that a solid sales process is critical to the sustainability of your freelance business. Independent creatives who thrive in the freelancing market have a well-established sales strategy.
By the way, getting over the mindset that "sales are icky" is the first step toward controlling your sales calls. It doesn't have to be that way if you're focused on truly solving a common problem for your potential clients or if you believe in the value of your work.
So, once you've overcome the belief that sales are unethical or that you're "not good at sales," you can start preparing your sales calls.
Sales flow structure
The sales flow tends to go like this:
Research
Structure
Talking about pricing
Proposals
Negotiation
Portfolio specifics
Research
Nothing can be worse than joining a sales call and knowing nothing about the client you are speaking to.
Before the meeting, do your homework:
Check their LinkedIn
Website
Social media
People who work there
They won't mind, I promise.
Structure
It may appear challenging to structure your sales calls, yet they are all essentially the same.
Typically, the structure will look like this:
Introduction
Business & industry overview
Problem statement
Existing solutions (if any)
Potential ways to solve the problem
Next steps and follow-up calls
Pricing
The client may ask about pricing right away.
Explain that all pricing is custom, depending on the scope of work.
Ask if they had a potential budget and timeline in mind.
⚠️ You should have your pricing figured out before accepting any clients!
A good rule of thumb is that if clients are heavily objecting to your pricing, they will be difficult to collect payments from in the future.
If you want to learn more, I highly recommend checking Tom Hirst’s thread on pricing 👇
Pricing freelancing projects.
Everything I've learned.
A thread.— Tom Hirst (@tom_hirst) June 30, 2020
Proposals
Have a standard proposal format where you can add everything the client mentioned on your call.
Provide an estimated timeline and budget for the project.
Negotiation
A lot of people don't know this, but...
YOU DON'T HAVE TO NEGOTIATE WITH ANYONE!
If a client wants to work with you, they will pay your prices 😎
However, you are responsible for a part of this.
Based on the industry you're in
The types of firms you want to engage with, and
The type of work you're doing
You should price your services accordingly.
Portfolio
When preparing for a sales call, consider what the client is looking for.
If you have completed similar projects, be sure to link these right away and explain the results; if you have a testimonial from those clients, even better.
If you haven't completed any similar work in the past, there are two ways to go around:
Explain how you would tailor the past project to their specific requirements
Create a relevant portfolio piece (thank you, Captain Obvious)
If you don't have any related work – make one.
It doesn't have to be a fully-fledged project with all details.
5-10 simple screens showcasing the fundamental features can be enough to prove your capabilities and land a project.