By Richa Nasa

In this competitive market, attracting great talent isn’t easy. The best freelancers are in demand and busy. This is especially true given today’s social media and other online communication vehicles, where word travels fast and reputations can be made and tarnished quickly.

We need to stay aware and updated to know about the markets which are more in business. Freelancing work is not always very easy to find, it requires devotion of a lot of time and patience. After that it becomes important to take care that we make it a point not to lose our customers and for that we should keep improving our language skills and stay up to date with all hot domains in the market.

Communication is everything, especially when the client is remote. Conventional business wisdom tells us that it’s a lot easier to retain an existing client than to find a new one. Retaining clients (as opposed to finding new ones) allows you to amortize the time you put into finding the client in the first place, the time and effort you put into learning a new client’s style preferences, terminology and payment procedures, and so on. In scanning a few articles before writing this post, I found that large corporations estimate that it costs up to five times as much to land a new client than to hold onto an existing one.

It is important to be a master of whatever you do. It is possible to be good in many things but mastering all of them is nearly impossible. Let your client know you for one particular thing that will always make them come to you. Be the ‘go-to-guy’ in your niche. You should be very clear on what the client wants. This especially important with new clients. If something is not clear in their request, ask questions until you and the client are on the same level. This helps you to deliver work that meets and exceeds your client’s expectation. You should be totally professional. This gives you the strength to deal with all sorts of clients including the fussy or even difficult ones. Professionalism is vital even when breaking or refusing a deal. Another important thing is to become an expert in your niche. This is in the sense that you learn all there is to know about your chosen field. Continuously updating yourself about the development and changes in area make your services fresh and up to date and new and existing clients will love your work and want to continue with you.

You should keep in mind to maintain honesty with your clients and only take jobs that you will be able to handle effectively and deliver in the way and within the time your client wants. If your schedule is tight or full, let the client know. If the work is not delivered on time it will further hamper your image and you might not end up getting many cases in the future. It is important to maintain the credibility.

There is no harm in giving free advice to your clients. Sometimes the client may not be very clear on the way forward with their project. If you notice this or the client asks for your opinion, be liberal with your suggestions. If their question is not within your area of expertise, always suggest and introduce them to the right people who can help them out. However, always remember it is their project and you must write it for them and not for yourself. Avoid working using your guess work skills.

Another important point is to be a solution oriented freelancer rather than a problem inclined one. Let your clients know that you are there to solve their problems and their bad past experiences with other service providers. Always prove this by offering superior work. You should let the client know upfront how you go about your work. This includes delivery time, corrections/edits and what your rates cover and what is charged separately. This will avoid unnecessary future misunderstanding. Lastly it is important to remain connected with a client even after the project is over.

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