To Get More Gigs As a Freelancer, You Need to Know “why” You Will Be Useful to Clients
For a freelancer, one of the most difficult tasks is telling potential clients what you are going to do and why they should hire you, that is, your presentation in the elevator. It’s not just what you’re talking about, but why people can really care about it.
Knowing why you are doing something – why you started freelancing or your business – is the very first step in creating attention-grabbing presentations in the first place. This is certainly not a revealing idea , but we often forget about it on our busiest days. This article from Growth Lab summarizes this idea well:
Take some time to consider WHY you took the risk of getting out on your own and what value you offer your customers. After all, if you don’t know why someone is buying from you, your customers won’t figure it out on their own.
I understand that this is easier said than done. In the same article, you will find a template for a small writing exercise to help you figure it out. Draw three columns on a piece of paper. The left column is titled “Whom I Help”; in the middle – “Why am I helping them”; and the right column is “How do I help them.”
You can fill in the first two yourself. The first column identifies your target market. Chances are, you won’t be liked by everyone, so the hint will force you to narrow down your audience. The second helps to ensure that your own vision aligns with what you want to achieve. You are probably missing information for the third column.
This is where you want to know more about your prospect’s concerns. You can directly ask open-ended questions such as “What are your problems?” or “If I could cast a magic spell and make your problems go away, what would it look like?” create together unique presentations that truly resonate with the client.
Describe to them in your own words how their current pain will be resolved and how they will be better prepared to achieve their goals with your proposal.
And it makes your value proposition more compelling. Check out the article from Growth Lab for some specific examples.