10 Steps to Your Next Freelance Client

OK, so you've pounded the streets, knocked on doors, and schmoozed 'til you're blue in the face... and it's finally paid off! You've landed a meeting with a potential freelance client! You polish up your folio, practice your hand-shake and iron a shirt. But one question remains: what will you actually do in the meeting?

Will you provide your client with a quote?
Show her potential design ideas?
Step her through a 500-slide PowerPoint presentation titled "The Value of A Website in Business Today"?

I've been at these sort of meeting hundreds and hundreds of times, so today, I'd like to offer the following 10-step plan -- it works for me!

1. Be Prepared

Your client will make her decision on whether to employ you to build her site (if she hasn't already) in the first 7 seconds. That's not the way it should be -- but that's how it is. If you go into the first client meeting armed with this knowledge, you already have a great advantage.

So maintain good eye contact, use a firm handshake, and give your client a big smile, along with a "Nice to see you!" ...and that's your 7 seconds accounted for!

2. Have a Business Card Handy

When you pull your folder out of your briefcase and the client sees that it has her name, address, date and time of meeting printed on the front, they'll immediately think "Well he is organised. And he's noted the date and time of the meeting - he must be very busy (and therefore very good)!"

Next, hand over your business card. It gives a real air of professionalism to your approach, and sort of acts as 'insurance'. The card tells the client who you are and where your offices are located. It shows that you're a true professional who's serious about their work, as opposed to a fly-by-night rip-off merchant.

Now you pull out your best possible pen to write with -- I use an old fountain pen and clients love it.

3. Don't Mention Prices

Mentioning prices up-front is a bad idea. It can see you tied to low rates that you might have mentioned off-the-cuff for the duration of the project.

It can also put a potential customer on guard -- if you can quote a price before you even know what they want, then the client may ask whether you're really focused on providing them with the best possible solution for their specific needs, or you just want to land the job. So don't go into any detail on expenses --- if and when the question comes up, tell her you'll get back to her with a fully itemized quote in a certain timeframe.

In a similar vein, don't show the client potential designs you think she might like at the first meeting. If she hates them she won't choose you as her designer. It's better to gauge what the client likes and dislikes, as well as her needs and requirements, long before you start showing her design ideas.

So what can you do at this first meeting? Think of it this way: you're on a fact finding mission, nothing more.

4. Reassure and Reinforce

First off, you should reinforce your client's buying decision. "Thanks for your time Mary. You've certainly made the right decision in deciding upon a Website to promote your business. They really have become a business imperative these days -- and they're a tremendously cost effective asset when you compare them to just about any other marketing tool."

5. Question your Client

Ask questions, questions, and more questions. After that: more questions! You're a Needs Analyst at this meeting, so you need to know everything about the client, their organization, how the site will be used, and by whom.

Tell your client something like this: "Well Mary, what we need to do at this meeting is to establish exactly what you want your Website to involve. I'll certainly provide some recommendations on what features it may need to have, and what it can do, and together we need to establish the best way to achieve your goals. And your key goal is to make more sales, is that right?" That should get the ball rolling!