Now, there are three keys you need to nail down in order for you to be a successful multiple six-figure Selangor web design freelancer. First is your mindset, second is your clients, and the third one you’ll find out if you read this post.
Perspective Shift
Let me break down this perspective shift into two parts. The first part emphasizes outcomes rather than services. This is new, perhaps, to some of you, especially those of you who work under titles like logo maker, website builder, or copywriter.
It’s a shifting of mindsets away from thinking of yourself as a service provider to thinking about yourself as a solution provider. Every time any client hires you, there is something they want to solve.
It’s not just a service they want; they pay you so that they could attain an outcome or benefit. People often ask, “How much should I charge for a website?”, but the answer can be all over the map.
The value of a website may be zero, or it may be worth $100,000, depending upon the size of the problem it solves. If you fail to consider this prospect, you might fall back on some arbitrary price, such as $2,000 for a website or $500 for a logo.
But clients might pay $20 for a logo, and if that logo doesn’t solve their problem, they’ll still feel cheated. Another client will gladly pay $20,000 for a logo that does solve their problem. When a business hires you to write copy for a sales page, they’re not just paying for words.
They could do that with AI tools or through hiring someone off of Fiverr. Quite simply, the reason they hire you is to solve a problem for them; however, it’s that history of success in an area that will back that up.
When you focus on outcomes-such as increasing sales-you align your work with their goals. Ask the client, “What is the outcome that you want? What are current results, and what does your vision of success entail?”
Let’s go to the second mindset shift-your work as an investment. It all starts with really understanding the underlying reasons why anyone would hire you in the first place.
Generally, there are three main reasons people hire you: they want more clients, they need to make more money, or they have a personal need. There’s nothing wrong with someone paying you money to salve their ego, but at least you need to be aware that these are the only three that you’ll usually encounter.
If the client wants a new logo just because, that’s simply saying they don’t consider it that big of an issue, and may not value your expertise in the process.
Most client work originates from a belief that your services will produce tangible results in one of these areas. It pays to identify the type of problems you really enjoy solving and go after those types of clients over and over.
This process of niching down enables you to become more skilled and efficient, thus commanding higher pay and expertise within that area. In other words, you are not selling services.
You’re selling solutions and outcomes. You must shift your focus away from detailing your work and onto what problems you solve.
Plus, hiring you should be framed as an investment, not a cost. If you position your work in this way, your clients will feel more confident in their decision to work with you.
The Clients
Now that we have covered some of the basics, let’s move on to the heart and soul of your freelance business: your clients.
One of the biggest questions finds its basis in how to find clients.
If you conventionally think of looking for clients, you find yourself fighting in a very noisy market with several others striving to have their voices heard. In most cases, when prospects go public with what they need, this invites competition into the fray.
This whole scenario creates one big mess in which differentiation becomes a bit of an issue and results in lower prices. Instead of seeking new leads, why not create your own clients?
That puts you in the driving seat, whereas everyone has a problem, and most people probably don’t even know what their problems are. The trick is to find out who your ideal client is and exactly what their problems are that you can help with.
Solve the same problems many, many times, and you start to spot a potential client who doesn’t know they need you. Position yourself in both online and offline locations where your ideal clients would be.
Sometimes, people think they need a website, but what’s really going on is that something entirely different lacks copy or branding.
Offer insight in questions and clarity that positions you as the solution to the problem they didn’t know they had. That is how you differentiate and thrive as a freelancer in today’s competitive market.
The most important thing is the icebreaker, and when you do this, let the conversations be casual in nature, meaning that you show you are genuinely interested in them, not pitching or selling your services.
You can start these conversations on platforms such as Reddit, Facebook groups, forums, business groups, or at meetups locally.
Ask them questions like, “How’s business?” or “What problems are you experiencing?” By asking them this, you will find out what is on their minds.
They may say, “We’re having an issue with staffing or visibility,” which would allow you to say, “I can help with that,” if it falls within your services. And if that need isn’t within your wheelhouse, be honest and upfront.
You can always refer them onto someone who can help, but if it is within your wheelhouse, you’ve then positioned yourself as the expert in that moment.
This will make the potential client feel that it was meant to be, and many times they may want to proceed with the conservation.
When this is the case, always try to follow up privately, whether you met them online or physically. Taking the conversation private aids in setting a more serious and professional tone of committal.
Not all of those conversations are going to convert to clients, but all of them will be an investment in your biz dev. The momentum breeds from this process, where you work to create rather than find clients.
In time, as you start building your reputation, clients will begin searching for you instead. But early on, you’ll want to lean into this approach for growth. This may be a good time to address the other critical issue: pricing.
Pricing
Many freelancers, when asked by clients, “How much do you charge?” panic because they have not given it any consideration, and immediately utter a price.
And quite frequently sell themselves short. Take a second to catch your breath from responding so quickly.
Breathe a minute and consider your worth. If your solution can help a company generate $100,000 in new revenue, that’s worth far more than a solution that only yields $200.
You have to be really clear about your worth before you can confidently discuss pricing with clients. While there are no hard and fast rules about pricing, there are a few key points that can be helpful to guide you.
Set a minimum level of engagement so that you can know the types of clients and price ranges you want to work with.
Also, remember that being a freelancer, you are offering some specialized skill. Specialists normally get higher rates because their work requires expertise and precision.
Based on this, you would need to calculate your average cost of living in order to get your rates.
Figure out how much you need to make per year, break that down into monthly targets, and work your way backward to determine how many projects or hours of work will help you hit that goal.
Now, speaking to the pricing models themselves, two stand out in particular: The first is value-based pricing.
Instead of an hourly charge that either punishes you for efficiency or frustrates your client when things take longer than anticipated, charge based on solution value.
If a client was trying to close a $90,000 revenue gap, for example, your solution was worth more than a few hundred dollars. It’s always better to discuss the ballpark figure upfront in the conversation, so that you and the client have one mind about pricing before you’ve wasted too much time detailing.
Another very viable pricing model is the subscription or retainer model, which works out best for ongoing projects like digital product design.
In this, the client pays for a block of hours, an example being 30, 60, or 100 hours, which you use to complete tasks until those hours are consumed. It particularly works for projects like mobile apps and web apps because, in such projects, the outcome is hard to predict.
One helpful tip is always to have upsell and downsell options prepared. If a client feels your $10,000 price for a website is too high, offer them a more budget-friendly option with fewer services-which means downsizing.
If they quickly agree with the price, upscale and be ready to upsell, adding some other services to the project to complement it.
First, there is one final set of tips that can enhance your freelancing journey.
You need to automate as many processes as you can in order to save your time and effort. Documenting your workflow not only helps you scale more easily when you bring on employees, but it saves time when other employees look for a step-by-step method.
Overusing tools is another way to keep overhead low. Most important, though, is sticking to a schedule-even though this is often one of those flexibilities in freelancing that will allow it.
A routine will help you stay on track. Of course, it is just as important to schedule downtime so that there is a healthy balance between work and life. You’ll want to find a balance for your inner maker and manager, too.
Creative work takes deep focus, so you need to make time for when you are not bogged down with e-mails and other administrative tasks.
Build Your Own Network Of Specialists
And finally, building your network of other specialists-like web designers and app developers-will be the key to referring clients to trusted collaborators or even bringing them into larger projects and creating more opportunity for growth.
That was a bit of an overview on pricing strategies and freelancing tips. Let me know what you think in the comment section below.
All the best with your freelance business, and I hope you are crushing it!
0 Comments