How Freelancers Can Close the DealWithout Seeming Too Pushy

Does the thought of selling make you a little sick or
anxious? If it does, you're not alone.

Most freelancers started their freelancing business to do
something they love and are good at. Often we work in creative fields like web
design, graphic design, programming, or writing. We may not even think about sales
as being part of our job, but it is.

Every time we close a deal with a client, we've sold our
freelancing services. Selling is what keeps our freelancing businesses afloat.
Yet many of us struggle to get clients to commit.

If you're like many freelancers you have no sales training.
You probably have prospects you know are interested. They seem like a good fit
for your services. But the process seems stalled. What can you do to turn those
prospects into clients?

This tutorial goes into more detail on how to close a
sale. It provides you with effective
closing techniques to improve your sales effectiveness and help you to get more
clients.

Before we talk about closing techniques, it's important that
you have the right mindset to sell. George N Root III describes the sales
mindset in his tutorial, Do
You Have the Mind of a Sales Professional?

He emphasizes
understanding the customer's point of view. He alsospecifically mentions
the importance of listening. If you adjust your attitude to focus on these two
areas you reduce the chances that you'll seem to pushy or annoy your prospect.His points are excellent.I'd like to focus on two in particular for the purposes of this tutorial.

Now let's take a look at some closing techniques.

1. Give Prospects a Reason to Buy

You've qualified your prospect. You know they're a good fit
for your services. You know they're interested. And nothing is happening.

Merely being interested in your product or services is not
enough. You have to give your potential client a compelling reason to buy your
services. If they have no good reason to buy your services, they won't. It's
that simple.

There are two common methods salespeople use to give
prospects a reason to buy:

1. solve a problem
2. create urgency

Let's look at each method separately.

Solve a Problem

One good way to give your prospects a reason to buy is to
solve a problem for them. Of course you can (and should) start to learn about
your prospect's needs by asking questions.

But keep in mind that many prospects will not tell you what
they really need. The reasons for that vary, but they include:

• Embarrassment. The prospect doesn't want to admit to
  having a problem with their website, existing programming, or any number of
  other problems.
• Lack of
  knowledge. The prospect knows
  there's a problem, but they aren't sure exactly what it is. They need help to
  discover their problem.
• Given up. The prospect knows there's a problem.
  They even know what it is, but they don't know it can be solved. So, they don't
  bother to mention it.

To discover your prospect's true problem so that you can
solve it, you need to become a bit of a detective. And you need to really
listen to what your prospect says.

After asking what problems they are experiencing, try also
asking more general questions. For example, a web designer might ask:

If you could change anything about how your website what
change would you make and why?

A writer could ask:

What is the one message you'd like to get across to your
readers that isn't currently being conveyed?

With both questions, you invite the prospect to share their
problems with you. Plus, you give yourself an opportunity to solve those
problems.

Mark Suster, writing on Inc.,
calls these problems "pain points." Finding out your client's pain
point is so important that Suster says
in his article,

Pain is a reminder that unless your prospect has a need
to solve a problem, they are not going to buy a product.

You can read more about Suster's thoughts on pain points in
his article, How
to Identify Client Pain Points.

2. Create Urgency

Should you create urgency to sell your freelancing services?

Okay, so you've presented a solution to your prospect's
problem and the prospect still won't budge. Is there anything you can do?

Maybe.

If the prospective client isn't in a hurry to sign on the
dotted line, creating urgency may help.

At this point, many people make the mistake of turning to high
pressure sales tactics. But high pressure tactics can backfire. So, watch out.
Be careful about creating urgency in ways that pressure the buyer.

Here are some better ways to create urgency:

• Help the prospect to understand why buying now
  is better for their business.
• 
  
  Run a limited time offer.
• 
  
  Look for hidden objections.

If you've done all you can and you still can't close the
deal, the prospect might have an objection you're not aware of. Hidden
objections are often the true reason why deals don't close.

3. Discover the True Objection

If your potential client often brings up questions and
objections and doesn't seem satisfied with your answers, there may be a deeper
objection that they aren't expressing. They may even be withholding that
objection deliberately.

Discovering what that hidden objection is can be tricky. It
involves a lot of careful listening. You need to take some of the steps you
originally did to discover the prospect's problem.

Because many freelancers will read this tutorial,I
want to address a common misperception. Many freelancers immediately jump to price as
the main hidden objection. But price often isn't your prospect's main concern.

There are several other hidden concerns your prospect might
have:

• Trust. This is a big one. The prospect
  doesn't want to hurt your feelings by admitting they don't trust you to do the
  job, but they have some doubts.
• Time. The prospect doesn't have the time to
  support you on the project or even examine your proposal, but they won't admit
  it.
• Authority. The person you're speaking to may be
  fully sold on your services. However, they might not be the decision-maker who
  can approve the deal.
• Need. You may think you qualified the
  prospect, but sometimes a prospect appears to be genuine when in fact they have
  no real need for your services.

If you suspect that one of these common, hidden objections is
the culprit, there are ways to find out for sure.

For example, if you feel that trust is an issue, share your
testimonials and portfolio with the prospect. Use the testimonials or the
portfolio as a starting point for conversation. You could say something like:

Do you have any questions about my work experience?

If you suspect you're talking to the wrong person, it might
not be wise to come out and say that. Instead, you can say something like:

Is there anyone else we should bring into these
discussions?

With this question your contact doesn't have to admit that
they don't have the authority to make the final decision. They are free to name
the true decision-maker without embarrassing themselves.

If you suspect the prospect doesn't really need your
services, you can ask (for a web designer):

How do you think an updated website would make a difference for your business?

If they're not really your prospect, they may admit that they don't think an updated website will make any difference.

4. Ask for the Sale

Freelancers, especially, tend to hesitate to ask for a
sale.

It turns out that freelancers aren't alone in their
hesitation to ask for the sale. According to an article by John Treace writing on
Inc., even professional sales
people have trouble asking for the sale. Traece lists "Fear of asking for
the order" as one of the 4 Things Salespeople Fear More Than Anything Else.

So, fear of asking for the sale is pretty normal. If you
struggle in this area, here are three ways to help you let the client know you want
the sale:

1. Be
   interested. If you're interested
   in your prospect's business, that sets you apart from freelance competitors.
   Many of themare mainly interested in getting a paycheck. Your prospect
   will appreciate it if you go the extra mile to learn about what they do.
2. Be helpful. If you see a way to be helpful to
   your prospect, do it. This could mean forwarding an article to them that you
   think they will find interesting. It might even mean introducing them to
   another client or prospect.
3. Be direct. Your prospect is not a mind reader, so
   just ask for the business. You could say something like, "I'd really like
   to work on this project with you" or even "when can we get
   started?"

Of these three techniques the direct approach is the most
important.

There have been times when I was sure a prospective client
wasn't ready to close, but I've asked to do the work anyway. And they've
surprised me by saying "yes."

Asking for the sale pays off. Literally.

If you have a chance to
meet with your prospect in person, do it.Grant Cardone offershelpful advice for face-to-face salesin his12 Commandments for
Closing a SaleonEntrepreneur.
Cardone's includes practical advice such as "always carry a
pen" and "remain seated."

5. Follow Up

Follow up is important when you're running a business. It
can mean the difference between regular work and struggling to find your next
client.

Yet many freelancers I know fall short in this area. They
complete a project and they never contact that client again.

Don't be like that.

You need to follow up with two types of contacts:

1. those who bought your services
2. those who did not

Following Up with Former Clients

When you close a sale, you're not done selling. You have to
provide an excellent product or service to keep this client happy.

Once the project is finished, take steps to stay in touch.

Staying in touch with a client is partly about strengthening
your relationship with them. It's also about keeping your name in front of them. Here are
some ways to go about meeting both goals:

• Connect with them on LinkedIn. Acknowledge
  anniversaries and work announcements.
• Follow their blog. Once in a while, share and
  comment on interesting posts.
• Invite them to opt-in to your email newsletter.
• Ask them for feedback on the project you did for
  them.
• Introduce yourself to new contacts within the
  company.

Quick Tip: If you're
planning a newsletter for your clients and prospects, here is a selection of some of thebestemail newsletter templatesonEnvato Market.

Following up with Prospects

Even if you've followed all the steps above, your client
still may hesitate. Now may not be the right time for them to buy.

That's okay. If you have a good relationship with the
prospect, stay in touch using some of the techniques listed for staying in
touch with former clients. The more prospects you communicate with regularly,
the more likely you are to have steady work.

When a prospect fails to buy, many freelancers (myself
included) have a tendency to give up on them. Even if they were close to buying at
one point, we move on and the prospect never hears from us again.

If you're doing this, you could be losing business.

One good example that illustrates the importance of staying
in touch is from my own experience. A few years ago, I wrote about a software
tool for an article. The tool wasn't a good fit for my own
business, but a contact from the software company reached out to me. Even now,
after several years, I still hear from that contact from time to time.

If I'm ever in a position where I need a tool like the one
they sell, guess which one I'll probably buy?

Above all, don't take the failure to close personally. Even experienced sales people sometimes fail
to close a deal. Just move on to the next potential project.

Know When to Walk Away

An important part of closing the deal without seeming too
pushy is knowing when to stop communicating with a prospect.

Here are some examples of when you should end your
relationship with potential customers:

• They tell you directly they aren't interested. Always
  respect requests to be removed from your mailing list.
• They change positions. If your contact works for
  a company that has no need of your services, it may be time to remove them.
• Too much
  time has passed. If it's been over a year and the prospect hasn't shown even a
  tiny bit of interest, then it's time to move on.

Your Takeaway

By offering a solution to your client's problems and asking
for the sale, you can learn to close more deals and get more gigs. Good sales
skills are essential to a healthy freelancing business.

If you struggle with sales, it's a good idea to learn better
selling techniques. Practice and try some of the suggestions found in this
tutorial.

Resources

Graphic Credit: Handshake icon designed byFission Strategyfrom theNoun Project.