Sep 10, 2009
Establishing a Client Base to Freelance
When it really comes down to it, if you want to go out on your own and do anything “freelance”, you only need one thing – clients. If you have clients, you’ll have work. If you have work, you’ll get paid. If you get paid, you’ll make it as a freelancer. Its as simple as that
When you are starting out, well to be honest, at all times through your career as a freelancer, this finding clients thing will be a big focus. The really good freelancers, contractors or consultants will never leave a job until they have the next one lined up. Therefore, the really good operators will have a constant source of income.
Finding the clients is the goal of anyone who wants to succeed as a freelancer. Several different client-grabbing strategies exist and we have outlined the most effective ones below. Certainly each individual will take to a method in a specific way. Remember that each method could fill a book’s worth of ideas, but here is a basic rundown.
1. Cold Contacting. Instead of the classic phrase “Cold calling,” this phrase is better in an era when methods of communication extend far beyond the telephone.
Cold contacting is the somewhat arduous process of blindly seeking clients for your services, whether by email blasts or random phone calls. The somewhat unpleasant part is the rejection involved, always a demoralizing feeling. After being rejected a dozen times or so, you might get one lead and have to develop that alone. You have to steel yourself for long days of battle, but if you can make it by cold contacting, you’ll be a giant success. Every other method is simpler and feed off the existence of better leads. This skill can extend to other careers.
2. Marketing and Advertising. The process of sending out your message through advertising will cost you, making it a tough technique for many to swallow. You find a place to reach your audience and draw up an ad. If you do it the right way, the hardest part will be done. Once they contact you, they’ve almost buying already and just need a little nudge for you to land a contract. Marketing in this manner has the potential to reach so many more people than cold calling.
Successful marketing and advertising requires an investment of time and money though. You need to research to ensure your campaign is positioned correctly. You need to test to find the mix of words, pictures, sounds and smells which will stimulate a positive reaction from your target audience. Until you find a campaign that works, your most important resources of time and money will constantly be drained. But when you find that one that works, its happy sailing for you my friend.
3. Referrals. Asking around for referrals is similar to cold contacting, except you’re contacting people you know first and asking for an introduction. That difference makes referrals much more attractive and much more effective. The number of rejections experienced is much fewer.
Using referrals means you need to contact your entire network to see if there is anyone your family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, friends of family and family of friends may know, who may need your services. Once you find people who need your services, you can use the person who told you about them, to give you an introduction and recommendation. The reason this works is that you are leveraging off the trust your friend has in you, and the trust your potential client has in your friend, to generate an element of credibility in your skills. That way, the potential client has a much easier time deciding to use your services, than those of someone that no-one has recommended
The ultimate referrals come from recent or current clients. No better testimony exists than someone currently working with you or a satisfied customer of recent times. Your credibility factor is unmistakable. Anyone with a real need for work would hire you.
4. Get Involved With An Organization Who Already Owns Your Clients – Back in 2003, I left the Australian Superannuation industry and specifically a company which made database software for all the major players in the industry. I did my own thing for a while, but then realized how much money there was to be made, contracting back to the superannuation industry. Instead of contacting all my old clients throughout the Superannuation industry, I contacted my old employer. Why not, they already had a relationship with all the clients I was going to speak to anyway. So we discussed some potential engagement models, and finally agreed that they find me work and take a percentage on every hour I charge their clients.
Using this method, I have filled up my calendar going for years now, contracting to my old clients through my old employer. I earn much more this way, for much less time, than I would have when I worked permanently for them. They love this situation too though, as they have no overheads for me, and don’t pay me when there is no work. They actually save money with the office space I no longer occupy.
Not all contractors and freelancers are as lucky as I have been in this case though. Quite often employers will not take back past employers on this basis, purely as an exercise in principle. (or narrow mindedness if your like) That should not stop you though searching out other organizations to set up similar, or different arrangements and joint ventures.
As you grow in your freelancing career, you’ll quickly learn that there is no absolute and perfect way to find your next client. All of the above are proven methods in their own right, but the most successful freelancers, consultants and contractors will use a mixture of some or all of the above. So try different things, experiment and make your own way with your own style. That after all, is what freelancing is all about.
Damian Papworth freelances because it gives him quality time with his baby daughter. He recently did some analysis on baby high chairs as he needed new high chair pads.
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