Strategize to win more freelance design jobs.
Sites such as Elance and ODesk have made it easier than ever to find new clients as a freelancer. They’ve also stiffened the competition as you’re often competing against as many as 50 other freelancers for the same account. How do you win the freelance bidding war?
It’s all about personalization. Many freelancers have canned pitches that they simply copy and paste into each bid; however, buyers want to feel confident that you understand their project and care about helping them succeed. It only takes a few extra minutes to tailor your bid to each project.
Do you have a portfolio? Great, but that’s not enough. To fully personalize your bids, attach samples of previous work that are relevant to the projects you’re bidding on. You can still provide a link to your portfolio to demonstrate what else you can do.
Be friendly and answer any questions as soon as possible. Many buyers are on deadlines themselves and want to find a qualified provider as soon as possible.
Take rejection with grace. Even if you don’t win the project, send the buyer an instant message to thank them for considering your services and gently remind them that if they’re ever in need of your services you’ll be happy to provide an estimate. You’ll be surprised at how many clients you can pick up with this small token of appreciation.
All of these things take a little extra time, but no war is won without sacrifice. You’re demonstrating to buyers that you’re willing to go the extra mile, and you will impress those who can prove to be more beneficial to you. You’ll bid less but you’ll win more.
After all, wouldn’t you rather have a client who craves quality and is willing to pay for it than a client who craves volume and doesn’t value your services? Weigh in on this one.
