Pitching and the Decision-Making Styles of Clients
Although finding leads to new clients is perhaps the most critical part of getting work, there is another crucial phase – winning them over. Sometimes this takes the form of a simple email conversation, sometimes it is a get-to-know-you over coffee. But for those really important clients and larger jobs, you often have to pitch. Recently American sales performance company Miller Heiman have shown there may be a gap between how we pitch and how our clients actually make their decisions. Though Heiman’s research was written for sales organizations, the results are just as pertinent for freelancers pitching their ideas and plans…
According to Miller Heiman co-founder Bob Miller, there are in fact five distinct decision making styles found amongst executives:
12 Breeds of Clients and How to Work with Them
There are loads of different types of clients out there and chances are at some point you’ll get to meet all of them. So let’s take a look through some typical clients and see if you recognize a few of your own in there! Continue Reading
Being Available During Office Hours
This article has been translated into Spanish by Diana at Artegami.
One way to forge great relationships with your clients is to get in the habit of keeping your phone with you at all times and checking your emails as often as possible. Clients working office hours expect to be able to get a hold of you and will want a prompt response. One of the by-products of good relationships with clients is that they rely on you. Unfortunately that means that if you don’t get back to them promptly that relationship could be jeopardized.
Sleeping in until midday or catching that afternoon movie can become complicated if your aim is to keep similar hours as your clients. Really the only reason not to be available as far as a client is concerned is if you’re in a meeting. Part of the fun of being a freelancer is having flexibility and being your own boss, so you need to balance that with keeping your clients happy.
From experience I decided that if I missed a call for whatever reason I should call the client right back, even if it is just to give them a time I’d be able to talk in depth. It’s good manners and my clients knew I was eager to take their call. The last thing you want is for your client to feel they need to track you down or harass you in order to get in touch.
Get an Edge on the Competition
This article has been translated into Spanish by Diana at Artegami. Thanks Diana!
You’d be surprised to hear how often clients tell me they went with us not because of the quality of our work, but because we ‘spoke their language’. So many times I’ve heard them say ‘the other designers were intimidating’ or ‘we didn’t understand what they were talking about’. Or even worse; ‘they didn’t seem interested in our business’.
Most freelancers are so busy trying to prove to potential clients how creative they are that they ignore their clients needs in the most basic sense. Save your creative talk for people in your industry. Talk to potential clients about what you can do for their business. Discuss how you will help them:
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