How to Communicate with Potential Clients As a Freelancer

📖 Learning

Niku Mandal

Oct 4, 2021 — 7 min read

Let’s start with a question, how do you rate your communication skills? And do you know in between good communication and bad communication lies several jobs that you could have bagged? Had you paid a little attention to something as basic as the way you talk? The point is if your communication skill is not good, you cannot survive in this gig economy. As a freelancer and as a job seeker, the first thing you need to develop is good communication skills as it will help you to get more work.

Effective communication skills help your clients to understand you better. Thus, increases your chance of getting more work. It has been a proven notion that people tend to prefer clarity and simplicity over complex terms and references. And a good interaction is often the point of difference.

So how to become effective in communicating with your clients. Here are some of the effective ways to talk to your client as a freelancer. Let's take a look.

Effective Ways to Talk to Your Client As a Freelancer
1. Be a Good Listener
2. Be Professional
3. Talk Positively
4. Bridge The Communication Gap
5. Speak With Confidence
6. Do Your Research
7. Use Their Talk
8. Right Body Language
9. Respect Your Client
10. Wait For Response
11. Note How You End The Conversation
Conclusion
FAQs

Effective Ways to Talk to Your Client As a Freelancer

Tips on how to talk to clients

1. Be a Good Listener

Good listening skills are always valued in any kind of business interaction, under all scenarios and settings. What makes the difference though? It shows your client that you care about their business venture and are willing to offer your services. Also, you get plenty of inferences about your client’s needs and the demands of the job.

Always maintain eye contact and occasionally nod and say ‘yes’ or go on to mark your affirmation.
Take notes if required.
Know when is the time to ask questions and don’t interrupt while the client is speaking.

2. Be Professional

Coming across as too friendly, overtly casual or careless is not only frowned upon in a business setting but comes off as rude, reflecting your image poorly. Use the business lingo and professional terms whenever possible and keep your grammar in check. Also, try to be brief and stay on the point.

3. Talk Positively

One of the insider’s tricks to leave a good impression on the client is to use positive language during the interaction. Freelancing can be quite a tricky business to manage but maintaining a positive tone at all times is the key. After all, your client expects you to get the job done. Here is an example:

Wrong❌: It is impossible for the packages to arrive today.

Right✅: We are trying our best, but it seems rather hard for the packages to arrive today.

4. Bridge The Communication Gap

As a freelancer, you often don’t get to meet your customer. And under dire circumstances, this might lead to a communication gap in terms of understanding the context of the expected result.

Always reply and try to have a quick response time. Not replying would not only affect your professional relationship but is also impolite.
Initiate the conversation yourself to ask questions or share the work progress. Don’t depend on your client to contact you every time.
Be bold enough to lay your opinion in front of your client
Ask for their thoughts and opinion.

5. Speak With Confidence

You need to assure your customer that you are indeed the right candidate for the job. Retaining a sense of confidence as you explain your ideas to your client, leaves a good impression and increases your possibility of bagging the assignment.

You might want to come across as capable, trustworthy and responsible. By being confident of your previous works, you can check this off your list.
Maintain a comfortable tone that is reassuring and firm, but not impolite.

6. Do Your Research

Being a freelancer you must know the importance of leaving a good first impression. Doing your homework ensures just that. Before meeting your client, research their business, competitors and also the work you are expected to do.

For this, keep some additional time off and diligently go through all the material for which the meeting is scheduled. Jot down the key points you might want to ask your client about. This way you will not only understand your client better but will also be prepared to address all your client’s queries.

7. Use Their Talk

This method is probably the best-kept business secret. Pay attention as your client speaks to you and take notes where necessary. Repeat your client’s statements lightly, just to assure them that you are following what they are saying. You don’t have to be a parrot repeating every word they say but rather, think of yourself as a good listener who understands their client’s point and is reaffirming it from time to time.

8. Right Body Language

Your body language tells a lot about you. So, you have to make sure that you don't make the client feel uneasy. There are so many resources available from where you can learn about body language and how to improve it. Make eye contact as much as possible, you don't have to be a different personality. Just make sure that you are active during the conversation. If you are on a Skype call or video call appropriate body language will make your conversation more effective.

9. Respect Your Client

It is important to respect your clients in order to get things done smoothly. You should respect your client in their views and opinions. There is a saying "Give respect, take respect". So if you want to be respected, you need to learn how to respect others as well.

Many times it may happen that the client may lose temper or be frustrated because of the workload. In that case, you have to recharge and encourage them. This is the most effective thing that you can do to calm them down. You always have to be polite while communicating with your clients. After completing any project don't stop responding to your clients instead try to build a relationship. This will help you in the long run in your freelancing career.

10. Wait For Response

Don't try to message or email them too often. Because sometimes your client might be busy, so you have to keep patience. If the client stops responding to your messages then you have to find a better solution for the problem they are facing. You should also use easy words for better understanding because too many technical words may confuse the client. Last but not the least, wait for their message before responding especially if they are typing don't interrupt them. To become a successful freelancer you have to be a good listener.

11. Note How You End The Conversation

Take your time to draw the conclusion and maintain a positive attitude until the end. Remember, it’s the last few minutes to make your impression and you don’t want to ruin this. Ask your clients what are their thoughts regarding the discussion. Keep an open attitude and ask them if there is anything else you could do to help them.

Conclusion

Whether it is freelancing or any other business you need to have effective communication skills to share your ideas with your potential clients. If you are new to the freelancing field then good communication is the only thing that could help you to get more work and clients. These were some of the best tips that you can apply while communicating with your potential client.

FAQs

What does a freelance job mean?

A freelance job means to work independently rather than for a company. Freelancing is a type of job where you're self-employed. You are your own boss. You can say 'yes' or 'no' to any project.

How to communicate effectively with freelance clients?

Here are the effective ways to communicate with clients as a freelancer.

Be a Good Listener.
Be Professional.
Talk Positively.
Bridge The Communication Gap.
Speak With Confidence.
Do Your Research.
Use Their Talk.
Right Body Language.
Respect Your Client.
Wait For a Response.
Note How You End The Conversation.

How can I impress a freelance client?

Tips to impress freelance clients are as follows:

Communicate effectively.
Be Reachable.
Practice Patience.
Detail Your Invoices.
Stay Organized.
Be Honest.
Remember Your Client's Interests.

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