Being a freelance web developer, I rely very heavily on my personal and business connections and relationships, and odds are that you do too. Having a lot of connections and/or references and friends “in the business” can be extremely helpful to anyone, but it’s really what and how you interact with these people that makes all the difference. Today, we’ll have a look at some of the strategies one may use to increase the success of their company and/or business as well as their productivity.

Making a Great First Impression

Oh how cliche it is, “first impressions are everything”. We all know its true, our first impressions we make with a perspective client will make all the difference down the road? But in todays world, where people don’t always meet face to face, how does one ensure a great first impression? There are a few tools and tricks to ensure your success.

The First 30 Seconds

You’ve got about 30 seconds (maybe less) to make a great impression on this person. How do you look? Is it appropriate? A pin-stripe suit might be overkill for a simple discussion over lunch. What is the first thing you do? A confident smile and firm greeting say a lot about yourself. Now, do you take the time to ask them some questions about themselves? People want to feel as if what they have to say is important, take some time and have some good ol’ small talk with them. Ask if they’ve eaten or how their day has been. It is the small things like this that make all the difference later.

The Next Five Minutes

So you’ve had a nice little talk and ordered a iced mocha latte or your other favorite over priced drink, and now what? Do you have a plan? A great thing to do before meeting with any potential client/customer/connection is to draw out key points you would like to discuss that day. Make a flow chart of which topics you would like to discuss, and how you will react if it does (or doesn’t) go as planned. Having points and topics in your head before meeting gives speaks highly of your confidence and vision, as you will come off with a person with a plan.

Honesty is Key

Our story continues, and your now in the very thick of the meeting, and its your time to shine, your time to prove that your up to the task. So how do you prove it? Most importantly, be realistic. Do not make promises you cant keep. People like it when they feel others are on the same field as them and are being honest with them, tell your client any reservations you may have. Let them know of any possible pitfalls, and more importantly, let them know your plan to handle the situation should it arise. In addition, its OK to be the expert! You’ve worked damn hard and spent years (most likely) doing what you do, so let them know! Theres absolutely nothing wrong with sharing your expertise, just try not to come off as boasting or egocentric.

Get Out That Card!

Odds are you have a business card. Who doesn’t? However, the odds that your client will remember and hold on to your card is not as high. Quite frankly, a piece of paper with your name and number on it just isn’t enough anymore. Get creative! Make them remember you by your card, after all, that card represents your entire business and reputation. There are plenty of resources for getting creative with your cards, check out some of these if you need some ideas:

• Creative Business Cards
• Even more examples of making creative business cards.

Communicating Online

As I noted in my previous post, Mistakes I’ve Made as a Freelancer , email is fantastic but also impersonable. Just because email, skype, and similar styles of communication are convenient, doesnt mean your client wishes to sent in front of the computer checking email all day. Do you ask your clients/acquaintances how they prefer to be contacted? It might be worth the extra phone call or lunch meeting, if it means you land the job.

Networking Online

Ah yes, the one you all knew would be on the list. Online Social Networking. The phrase itself is almost cliche even now. For the sake of this article, I will only cover a few of what I believe to be the most important factors when it comes to social networking and communicating with you clients socially online.

Do NOT get on every social networking site that exists

I can’t tell you the amount of times I have heard a businessman or woman talk about their myspace page in relations to business. It’s really hard not to laugh. Dont get me wrong, there are some fantastic sites out there for social networking, such as LinkedIn.com , but you have to be careful. Nothing screams unprofessionalism like a 45 year old respected businessman with his own myspace, facebook, and friendster accounts trying to promote his business.

Be Available

Can your clients get in touch with you quickly if they need to? If they send you an email, can they expect a prompt response? Clients and future customers feel secure in knowing that if they need help, its right around the corner. Join Skype and let them know your skype idea so they can immediatley contact you. Skype is fantastic for businesses and people that work from home, I highly encourage checking it out if you do not use it already. Let them know your email, and even more importantly, check it often and reply quickly!

What do you do?

What are some of your tips? How do you use your relationships and connections to increase your success? Do you find yourself using any of the techniques above (or do you disagree with any)? Let us know what you think!

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

Hindsight is always 20/20, and this is especially true when it comes to the world of freelancing. If I had a few cents for every mistake and/or error I made during my time as a freelancer, then quite frankly, I wouldn’t be developing websites. Luckily for me, I have been able to persevere and learn from these mistakes. So, don’t be like me (I’m over rated anyway). Take a look at some of the things I did wrong and turn it into an opportunity for yourself to do things the “right” way.

1. Not Charging Enough

I take solace in the fact that so many freelancers make this mistake, especially when first starting out. Lets be honest, in our line of work its very hard to know exactly how much you and your time are worth. Times that by market forces, the current economy and people’s budget, and setting an hourly rate just might make your head spin. When I first started out, I would write down everything the client wanted done on a piece of paper, and then I would try to “guesstimate” how long each part of the project would take me and then charge that by my hourly rate. There was one huge problem, I always estimated under and ending up cheating myself out of well deserved money.

My Solution

I decided to stick with charging an hourly fee, and the first thing I did was increase my rate per hour. Next, I decided that many more factors were going to need to go into my final quote price, factors like: my cost of living and rent, spending money, money needed for my business, length of conference calls (in the case of clients that liked to talk for an hour or more) etc. I was worried I may have lost some potential customers with my rate increase and came to the conclusion that this risk was one worth taking. Theoretically, if I double my rate per hour and lose half of my customers, I still make the same amount and for half the work. In addition, start quoting your customers over how much you think it will really cost. This may sound counter- intuitive, but its not. If worst comes to worse, and it ends up costing all of what you quoted, then no worries, you quoted them that price anyway. If however, you come in under-budget (which should happen more often than not if you are over quoting slightly) then you have a happy client on your hand that is more likely to become a return and/or loyal customer. If you are looking for a resource to help you develop a rate, check out the freelance rate calculator .

• DO increase your rate if you feel you are being cheated.
• DO over quote slightly to allow yourself some wiggle room.
• DO NOT only take in project specific factors, keep in mind all of your life expenses and cost of living.

2. Application Hesitation

I have given my second mistake a fancy name, which is really translates into simple confidence issues that many of us have. In fact, I still find myself struggling with what I call “application hesitation.” This is where you find yourself not applying to a job or freelance opportunity because your not sure if you can handle it. If you are a chronic narcissist you can move on to number 3. Do NOT confuse this with being under-qualified, which is a good reason for not applying. For example, recently there was a job posted for a freelance designer for a website/forum. I was very interested in the job, but noted at the bottom the forum they were designing for was a forum I had only designed for once (note that I have designed for many other forums, and they are all similar in layout). In the end, I didn’t apply, using the excuse “they probably want someone who has worked with that forum many, many times.” Looking back, I should have taken that job. I should have applied, told them about what I have worked with in the past and my credentials, and told them I was willing to learn their forum system as well. I really had nothing to lose anyway. So don’t let your moments of insecurity stop you from landing a great job. Fake the confidence if you need to until you have it.

• DO apply to jobs you feel you are qualified for, even if you are not familiar with every single system they are using. Be sure they know you are eager to learn
• DO NOT apply to jobs that you are not qualified for. If a company is looking for a star designer (which you are), who is great with flash (and you have never even used it), then an application probably is not necessary.

3. Making Phone Calls

E-mail is a great way to communicate with your clients. It’s fast, convenient, but very impersonal. There are just some things that you can pick up on when actually talking to that person. Meeting in person is even better if you can. Starting out as a freelance designer, I rarely, if ever, gave out my telephone number to my clients. After all, I started freelancing to get out of the corporate environment and do things on my own time. I quickly realized, though possible, it was much more difficult to get the customers “visions” and desires for their future website via email. This is because some people have a hard time putting their thoughts into written words. When I finally got over my “phone phobia”, I noticed that I had a much easier time understanding the clients goals and wants. In addition, a phone call really adds a personal touch to your services. Your client will be more inclined to think of you as a reliable and friendly person, and know if there is an emergency they can contact you. Of course, no one wants to be contacted all the time by a worried client, so make sure you layout some ground rules about how contact and customer support will work throughout the project and after the said project is finished. Be warned if you offer hosting to your clients and hand out your number to them, you might have to increase your monthly minutes on your cell phone plan.

• DO offer your phone number to clients (if you host clients websites, you might want to rethink this), it adds a very personal touch to your services and gives the client a feeling of security.
• DO call your clients once a job is agreed upon to get a better understanding of what they envision, this will make it more likely that your client becomes a satisfied customer.
• DONT blame me if you have a client that wont stop calling you because they cant get “that one code thingy to work”.
• DO voice any and all concerns/disagreements you have about the clients project. Try to be as clear and objective as possible.
• DO be open to criticism and disagreements from clients and peers. Constructive criticism is the only way to truly improve your skills and realize where your weaknesses are.
• DONT take it personally! Odds are the client just wants what is best for their project, and wants to see it succeed (even if you disagree with their tactics).
• DO take note of what clients dislike about your projects, if they don’t have anything negative to say, then ask them what you could improve on. Write these down every time you have a new client and compare them to improve yourself and your skills

4. Taking too Many Breaks

Guilty as charged. Not that we would ever bill a client for time spent surfing Digg or watching daytime television, but this is really one of my worst habits. Perhaps this would be better demonstrated through a timeline:

• 12:00pm-Start all programs needed for clients website (ftp, photoshop, textmate etc)
• 12:01pm-While waiting for programs to load, click the stumble “just one more time”
• 1:00pm-Realize what time it is and start work on clients project
• 1:30pm-Snack time
• 1:40pm-Get more snacks
• 2:00pm-Back to work
• 4:00pm-I think Oprah comes on, but I would have no idea. Really, I don’t….(channel 7).
• 5:00pm-I think Oprah ends. Time for a break.
• 8:00pm-Continue working, whoops forgot to check my email, check that. While I am at it check every possible email, forum, blog and anything else I am socially a part of, you know, just in case.
• Midnight-Finish work for the day, check test site in IE 6, followed by string of unrepeatable obscenities.

As you can see, there is room for improvement. The point is, just because we work from home doesn’t mean that we should act like we are at home all the time. After realizing that a lot of things around my apartment were serving as a distraction from my work, I used a spare room to setup a separate office containing only my work computer, client documents, and any web design/programming books. If you don’t have a room setup only for web design or development, I highly recommend doing so.

5. Taking Things too Personally

Every freelancer has experienced the client from hell. Or the client who just refused to like or appreciate any of the work you have done. Who doesn’t feel upset or even insulted when they have worked so hard on a project only for the client to say “I don’t know, its just ok.”? Other times, the client really wants something on their website that you know just wont fit or shouldn’t be there. Take for instance, the dreaded “marquee” tags. This is one of those moments for me, when I need to just step away and relax for awhile before replying and/or communicating with the client. It allows me to put my personal feelings and ego aside and see where the client is coming from. I eventually learned to voice any concerns I had about the clients idea, in a clear and respectful manner . If the client still wont budge, swallow your pride and do as they wish. Remind yourself that they are paying you , so its your job to provide them with what they want, even if you disagree. And if its that bad, rest easy knowing you don’t have to include that project in your portfolio. Why not share a mistake and/or experience you have had with us and what happened?

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©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.