Just like having too many keywords in the meta tags section will flag a site as spam, offering too many services can make a freelancer seem scattered. Clients have specific needs and they want to know whoever they trust to get the job done can meet or exceed their expectations. Small clients with small budgets are likely to hire someone who is a jack-of-all-trades with a general knowledge base but specialists are able to successfully reel in the big clients and the big bucks. Freelancers who fine-tune their focus will find they can work on projects that they are passionate about for a higher pay rate.
When a freelancer is asked, “What can you do?” a response like, “Anything,” might as well be saying nothing. Citing specific strong points and skills is more effective for sealing the deal than over-generalizing and over-asserting about abilities. Diversity of services is good only as long as there is continuity in the quality of work offered. Clients are impressed when areas of excellence are highlighted and backed up by proof of performance. Samples of second rate work to pad a portfolio should be shelved. Instead, freelancers who want to increase the number of slides in their sample section should speculate examples for the companies they are targeting.
Casting a wide net will result in catching more fish but typically smaller ones. Lots of little assignments will eventually add up to pay the bills but working like this requires a lot of juggling to meet many deadlines which can compromise the quality of the projects overall. By directly targeting clients with specific needs freelancers can hook the big fish, allowing them to focus on fewer tasks and perfect presentations resulting in exceptional work to offer as examples later. Design student and blogger Andrew Kim is an excellent example of giving the client what they want before they know they want it. He envisioned a new branding concept specifically for Microsoft and pitched the idea online. The concept went viral and within a year Microsoft as well as many of their competitors approached Kim with job offers. In the end he chose to work with the employer he was initially aiming for and accepted a position at Microsoft.
Kim said, "Working at a company is like getting married, it becomes a fundamental part of your life. I want to work with awesome people on awesome projects that I can get excited about.” That’s a big factor in why freelancers should choose their clients carefully instead of accepting every offer that comes along. It’s easier to deliver excellent work when a project evokes excitement and passion. Creating credibility with clients in a specific circle can open new opportunities for freelancers to establish their name as the go-to person for anyone in the business with similar needs. This allows them to pursue projects they are passionate about while banking experience that will let them charge more for similar services in the future.
Freelancers who feel like they’re scrambling from client to client need to step back and take a look at their portfolio to find the projects of which they are proudest. Focus future efforts on finding customers with similar needs and target them specifically. Take the advice Coach Klein gave The Waterboy, “Visualize and attack.” It works in football and freelancing.
Image courtesy of ddpavumba at FreeDigitalPhoto
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