Going Freelance / Finding Clients
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- jtb26
I've had the desire to go freelance for maybe the past 6 months, but I've been a little in the dark in terms of finding clients, or prospects. I suppose I just need to make a list of 100 clients I want and start going after them. It may be that I'm not cut out for it, but I'd like to think otherwise.
I was hoping some of the great folk on QBN would share their experience of making the switch, and how you went about getting clients off the bat.
- breadlegz0
I went from working for a small agency to starting my own business. It was pretty scary as I was being paid pretty well, but I decided I must try working for myself and getting the clients I want to work with.
There's tons I could share with you, so do you have any specific questions?
- jtb260
What was your preferred tactic for reaching out to potential clients, cold calling, advertising, or strictly networking.
Were you able to make a gradual shift - or did you cut ties with your employer and just go for it.
- breadlegz0
The tactic I used the most when I got going was networking. I had no budget for advertising and didn't have big enough balls to pick up the phone and do cold calls.
So I started out with friends who had dads with businesses (this was over 9 years ago, so there was no social media). One of the dads asked me to do a website for him. Then that led to brochures and leaflets.
I carried on that principle of asking people who they knew that ran a business and needed help communicating what they did.
I was very naive at the time, but I think that worked well for me because people didn't see me as a pushy sales person, just someone that believed in what they were doing.
- jamble0
Networking and referrals from past / present clients, colleagues, peers etc. It's all about word of mouth in freelance.
Don't waste your time cold calling (after all, who wants to be phoned out of the blue and told their current stuff sucks balls?) you won't get any joy, only frustration and dead ends.
You need to network and speak with local agencies about working with them etc.
- I got one of my very best clients from a cold call!boobs
- breadlegz0
Nowadays, it's a bit more organised, and we mainly offer SEO to people (but you could use the following for any service).
I have a free guide online that I get people to sign up for on how to get more traffic and sales online. Business sign up and I put them in an email sequence that gives them a bit more useful info and prompts to ask for a quote if they want me to help them out.
I get traffic to that site from LinkedIn, Facebook, SEO etc.
Then I also invite people on that list to come to seminars (ON SEO) and a % of those people end up becoming clients.
I still do the networking too. But because of the amount of time i've been doing this, happy clients are referring people without me asking.
Hope that's useful.
- jtb260
very useful -- thank for throwing in everyone.
- breadlegz0
Keep us informed jtb26
- SlashPeckham0
sign up with a dozen pimps (recruitment consultants) and spend the next two years working for all those great agencies and clients on your list. This should help you network whilst you spend your evenings/weekends/downtime on private jobs away from this. You should have a good idea on wether you have the character to stick this out but your portfolio would benefit anyway. You can go permanent and work on bigger things whenever you want but good luck with this, everyone should try it out during their forty year career (!) nice work btw :)
- Continuity0
I'd also suggest keeping your eye open for things like business networking events, relevent conferences and any sort of local/regional indsutry awards festivals. These are great opportunities to throw your business card around and talk to people.
(This is assuming you live in the kind of place where this stuff happens. If not, you might have to go a bit futher afield to the nearest big city once in a while.)
- breadlegz0
Here's my advice regarding networking (especially BNI):
- Moral of the story: you get out of it what you put in.Continuity
- Continuity0
Oh, another thing: try to make friends with other freelancers, both in your field, and in other related ones (copywriters, producers, etc) for potential overflow work.
- breadlegz0
@Continuity ... absolutely make friends with other freelancers.
There's a group on LinkedIn with a few on: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/F…
- woodyBatts0
I have been keeping a blog off and on about freelancing, I wrote about the system i use to generate work in the beginning. Now that i have worked with enough people most of my customers are repeats or via word of mouth. But in the beginning it was networking at Newstoday and $250 Craigslist jobs.
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breadlegz - Thanks!woodyBatts
- Bookmarked. That's a quality post, sir.Continuity
- Thanks I'll keep writitngwoodyBatts
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- raf0
Also... http://bit.ly/F4D8r
- desmo0
Ive been freelancing for the past 3 years and I have never once gone out to look for work on my own time. All my work has come through word of mouth. And has even come to the point where I can pick and choose what I want to work on.
All you have to do is network and do great work. People will pass your name around and work will start coming in fast. Once work starts coming in, you'll find it difficult to juggle everything.
Good luck!
- breadlegz0
desmo - yup. That's what happened to me. Then I started getting other freelancers to help me out with the work and it has grown from there.
- robotron3k0
fantastic post breadlegz! thanks!
- I will search for "dads with businesses" right away!robotron3k
- gramme0
Like others, most of my work has come through word of mouth. But none of that would have been generated if I didn't get social. A fair bit of my work has come through people I've met at my church. Then they have friends who own businesses, etc.
I've only gotten one client from my website, but he's been a good one. And I've gotten referrals from colleagues who were too busy or not the right fit for a client. I suppose scenarios like that are delayed gratification for getting involved with AIGA and other industry groups, although I never go to an AIGA event thinking I'm gonna get work. I just try to get out of my routine and learn about other people. Not easy for a creature of habit.
I agree with others about cold-calling. Balls or lack thereof aside, I think there's a valid reason people get cold feet about cold-calling. It's an invasion of privacy, and people with any sense of boundaries get uneasy when they have to barge in on other people's lives without any kind of introduction.