As the gig economy is growing, many freelancers these days find it challenging to consistently generate good leads.
Especially for the ones who are just beginning with their career. Generating new business is one of the hardest parts of freelancing.
Along with being really good at what you’re doing, you also need to go out there and get more leads.
It won’t matter if you are perfect at what you do until you start to market yourself and people have heard of you.
Being a freelancer is not easy.
While businesses have their sales team, you’re on your own through this whole process.
How do you get leads?
To grow your network and get more leads, you need to
- Identify potential clients
- Approach them
- Convince them that they need you to solve their problem
When that is done, you get those contracts signed.
Freelance lead generation is difficult because you’re looking for prospects who value your work and adhere to the payment deadlines.
Finding new qualified clients is a time-consuming process. You need to invest in attracting new ideal clients.
While there are numerous ways available to find potential clients, the point is to figure out what works the best for you.
Start with creating a list of characteristics of your ideal clients and figure out the niche that you want to target for your lead generation.
Once you have this ready, you’re set to enter the highly-competitive market.
4 Strategies For Freelancers To Generate Quality Leads
Leverage the opportunities online
Experienced freelancers say that they have got the best opportunities by staying active on social media.
It’s one of the most effective ways to generate business without spending a lot of money and by investing your time.
You’ve got your target audience online, stay online consistently, and know where to look for the kind of leads you’re seeking.
For example, if you’re a digital marketer look for LinkedIn or Facebook groups to join in or participate in forums like Quora. Stay online by regularly sharing your relevant experiences, knowledge, tips on these groups.
Doing this will help you establish yourself as an authority in your niche and a trustworthy person. Remember that building relationships is crucial to get new leads.
Look for referrals
One of the best ways to get leads for your freelancing business is by leveraging your existing network and asking for referrals.
Some of your clients have probably been in the trade for a long time and have an extensive network of people who are likely to require your services.
Satisfy your clients and there’s a high chance that they’ll refer you to their network.
Due to this, leads generated via referrals have the highest conversion rates.
Don’t feel awkward asking for referrals. Customers need to be reminded that you’re looking for opportunities and would appreciate a referral.
Try and seal it before your project with the client is over, as you are fresh in their mind at that time.
Through asking for referrals, you can stay in contact with past clients and get repeat business from them along with getting new leads.
Cold Calling/Emailing
It’s time to start pitching to new prospects.
One of the most reliable ways to do it is through cold outreach. Search and lookout for people who you think will be interested in your services.
Send them an email or call them directly.
When doing this, make sure to be specific about what you want to tell them and about the action plan to follow.
When sending a cold email or doing a call, you can use a template pitch that you’ve perfected.
However, ensure that you modify it to address the person you’re sending the pitch. This will show that you want to work with the client and will help you stand out from your competition.
Be consistent with this and make it a daily habit. Start by deciding on a number of how many pitches you are going to send daily.
Once this becomes a habit, keep a track of how many daily pitches to prospects are getting converted into clients.
Whatever you do when pitching, don’t make these mistakes.
Have an updated portfolio
Your portfolio is a website you built and showcases your work to prospects.
A lot of times, your portfolio will be the deciding factor on whether the client wants to hire you or not. Keep your portfolio updated with your best work.
It should be a snapshot of your personality and working style. Make it available on various websites and platforms to attract leads.
This is an effective way to get leads without you approaching the client.
(Ideal for any introvert!)
Reflect through your work how you can solve problems which a potential client may be facing.
Your portfolio is a reflection of your expertise and skills. However, you should also be focusing on how the portfolio adds value to your clients.
This is a way to advertise yourself, but also keep evolving it to fill in the gaps of your target market. You can do this by
- Understanding the existing gaps
- Evaluating how your services will solve those needs
- Creating tangible content like blog posts, designs, case studies, etc.
When doing your freelancing portfolio, make sure you don’t make these mistakes.
In A Nutshell,
Get leads for your freelancing business by understanding what strategies work best for you and then work on it consistently everyday. Be persistent and have patience, you’ w’ill surely thrive in this environment.
