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Do You Have To Have Experience Before You Can Gain Experience?
When you’re just starting a new business endeavor – whether freelancing for the first time, switching careers, or providing a new service – you don’t always have evidence that you’re capable of succeeding in the endeavor. However, prospective clients and consumers will typically want to see examples of your work before they feel comfortable taking a chance with their health, financial resources, or websites.
And that makes sense, doesn’t it? Who among you would like to be the first patient seen by a new dentist? Who among us would pay for new acne treatment in the dark, not knowing whether or not it will cause our skin to burn? Who wants to sign up for a web design course that turns out to be an old blog article from 1999 that has been repurposed?
Proof of your experience and successful work in the past is the most compelling argument you can make to convince them that you are capable of meeting their needs. As a copywriter, I know that providing clients with access to examples of my previous work helps them feel more at ease. It doesn’t matter how polished the proposal is; what conveys the message that “your website is in safe hands” is the testimonials and links to previously completed projects. The same may be said for any service, program, or course.
How To Persuade Your Client With Zero Experience?
But if you don’t currently have any evidence to back up your claims, how can you possibly persuade potential new customers that you can supply what they need? How can one gain experience if one has never done something?
This puzzle is known as the “Permission Paradox,” which states that to show a prospective client or customer that you are capable of helping them, you need their permission.
How to reassure potential new clients that working with you is a safe bet even when you can’t provide any evidence of this (yet)
Some people believe that if you do not yet have the necessary experience, you should simply make it up. Let’s say you’ve already completed the task. Say that you have satisfied customers but cannot share the work because of “privacy issues.” All that is important is your confidence in your ability to complete the task at hand. But is it?
Here’s Why I Disagree:
When you perform a service for another person, you are laying the groundwork for a relationship founded on trust. If you want it to be something more than a one-time occurrence – if you want the person to listen to your advice, hire you again, or promote you to others – they need to believe in you. It’s similar to how some people lie about their age, height, or how well they play tennis when using dating apps. You are going to have your lie exposed. It would make no difference if the two of you were an excellent complement.
A customer’s expectation that you have some first-hand experience is not an unrealistic one by any means. Imagine a pilot saying, “I’ve never flown a plane, but I’ve read the instructions.” Wheels up!” I’m sorry, but I can’t accept.
You shouldn’t resort to deception to get someone to use your services. Even if you don’t claim that your entire portfolio is locked up in some top-secret, time-traveling bunker, you could still be able to secure a yes. (Yes, you guessed it; this is an allusion to Dark.)
An Improved Method Of Attracting New Customers
Some alternative phrases to use if you’re confident in your abilities but lack concrete evidence to back them up are:
Take them to step by step through the procedure. Explain in detail what actions you will take at each stage of the process and how those actions will bring about the outcome they seek. Connect to something you HAVE done in the past and demonstrate how that experience applies to the present predicament. Take, for instance, the following statement: “This is the first time I’ve given this course in this style, but I’ve used this strategy with customers hundreds of times and gotten these results…”
Refer to those considered to be experts in the field, and show that you are knowledgeable by demonstrating that you comprehend what the experts have done. Use statistics and case studies to demonstrate that you understand why their strategy was successful, and describe how you intend to apply it in this situation.
Give the customer more say in the process. Assure them that you will contact them frequently to determine whether or not they are satisfied with the service, and ask for their approval before moving on to the next stage of the process. No surprises. (If you are selling a one-to-many offer, you can consider offering a money-back guarantee as an alternative you can.)
Be truthful, and consider the bigger picture. Would it be possible for you to invite them to test the beta version? How about framing it as an opportunity to put a fresh proposition through its paces? Offer them an “introductory rate” in return for some constructive criticism to encourage them to try out a newcomer and potentially save some money.
Four Steps To Follow To Get Your First Freelance Copywriting
In my opinion, there are four stages you need to take to successfully get your first freelancing job and launch a successful career as a freelancer. These are the results:
- Specify your skill as a service
- Identify your ideal client or target market.
- Create your resume and your online profiles.
- Clients should be made aware of your offerings.
Specify Your Skill As A Service
In the abilities area of your resume, all you need to do is list the various technologies and methods you know about. However, you need to determine what kinds of things in the actual world you can do with each of those skills.
Make it clear to the customer what you can accomplish for them so they can make an informed decision.
Your skills can include:
- Web development
- Graphic design
- Digital Marketing
- Data Analysis
Your services may include the following:
- Developing high-performance websites and web applications from start to finish on the web.
- Develop stunning visuals and digital artwork for websites, videos, and printed materials.
- Giving individuals and small and medium-sized businesses assistance in marketing their goods and services via the internet.
- Crunching numbers to find patterns and answer important business-related questions so that decisions can be made with more information.
Identify Your Ideal Client Or Target Market.
The purpose of this entire blog post is, in essence, to provide a solution to the question, “How do you get your first client?”
There is no such thing as a successful freelancing career without clients; nevertheless, this does not imply that you should approach or offer your services to anybody and everyone. You won’t benefit anything from this; instead, it will make your frustration much higher.
After completing the first stage, you should research to determine who is interested in receiving that service.
The following are some examples of some of our clients:
- Web development: neighborhood shops, gym owners and instructors, academic institutions, hotels, and entrepreneurs (hot right now)
- Data Analysis — Data-driven startups/orgs
- Developing ML models and applications (DevOps)— businesses that provide both platforms as a service and software as a service.
Who Should Not Be Considered Ideal Customers (At Least Not For A First Customer):
- Franchise businesses
- MNCs are multinational corporations that are closely guarded and operate in stealth mode for the benefit of their clients (such as ZS, E&Y, and Deloitte, among others)
Pro-Tips:
- When looking for a web development company, look for one that is independently operated.
- To be successful in data science endeavors and prospects, you need first to ensure that you have a solid grasp of the fundamentals. Helping students with their projects through online resources such as Codementor is recommended.
Create Your Resume And Your Online Profiles.
After figuring out your niche and ideal customers, it’s time to set up your shop. Your portfolio website (strongly encouraged) or profiles on sites like LinkedIn, Upwork, Toptal, or AngelList are all excellent examples.
Web page showcasing a person’s work
Note that your goal is to earn the other party’s confidence so that they will entrust you with some of their business.
How Can You Get Someone To Believe In You?
Describe your career background as a starting point. Online portfolios are one viable option for this purpose.
Create your narrative by going into business for yourself if you don’t already have one. You can use free, widely-available website templates to create examples of your work, or you can offer your services pro bono to a potential client.
A portfolio site is sometimes misunderstood as a digital resume.
Rather than serving your own needs, a portfolio site should cater to the needs of the clients you hope to attract. It needs to highlight your offerings by:
Provide examples of your work, such as websites, applications, reports, conference presentations, etc. It’s best to make some examples if you don’t already have any. Create and host dashboards/websites to demonstrate your ability to complete projects successfully.
Get recommendations and testimonials from people who have worked with or hired you in the past.
If you have never held gainful employment before, one helpful piece of advice is to offer to complete one or two small projects for potential clients at no cost. I have completed two or three volunteer assignments without payment in exchange for referrals.
I’ve found great success in using blogging to spread my message. It helps to build trust with your audience and peers. The blog’s material should be original and pertinent so that the client can gain insight into the company. To get started, just hand out stuff.
Some Potential Topics For Blogs Include:
Methods for promoting your website to a broader audience
Determine the best company indicators to include in your dashboard and reports.
Profiles
You need to have a website, but you also need to be active on LinkedIn and other professional social media. It will facilitate the process of locating and establishing contact with potential customers. It can be a source of inspiration for your work, provide a forum for sharing news, and aid in marketing yourself.
The same guidelines we covered above can be applied to creating your social media profiles.
There Are Many Ways In Which A Strong Profile Might Boost Your Chances Of Success:
- It demonstrates that you take your work seriously.
- It’s a great way to showcase your past work and expertise in your service field.
- Recommendations or endorsements by a genuine coworker, partner, or former boss can boost your reputation.
- It’s not only LinkedIn; many sites provide a whole freelancer ecosystem, complete with job postings and bids from interested individuals.
When Looking For A Freelance Job, Some Of The Most Popular Resources Include:
Services such as Upwork, Toptal, and AngelList (for jobs at startups)
What, therefore, should you do to make a name for yourself as a freelancer on these sites?
If I had to guess, I’d say several different profile parts must be perfect. The following factors will determine your success:
Whether or whether you are good at the abilities you claim to be good at on the site.
I was impressed by how well you crafted your profile.
The job offer you’re submitting. It demonstrates to the employer how well you fulfill the posted position requirements.
The last word is good fortune! If the first three criteria are met, its impact is negligible.
Here Are Some Suggestions For Creating A Genuine And Engaging Profile:
Take a look at some projects that you might want to apply for. Take note of the language and abilities that customers use to communicate their problems (skills you possess, of course). Include these strengths in your profile so that you might be considered for tasks that require them. Write down as many as ten abilities you possess.
Please include a recent, professional headshot and a brief description of your specialty or services in your uploaded materials.
Focus on your most impressive pieces when presenting your portfolio.
If you have obtained any credentials, please list them here. Boost your reputation online by adding some heft to your profile.
Maintain coherence in your skill set, fill out all profile sections, be brief and to the point, and check your work for spelling and grammatical errors.
Clients Should Be Made Aware Of Your Offerings.
It’s time to get down to business. You may win if you can market your services and fit the client’s needs and budget.
First, find clients to pitch to. Here, your visibility and outreach are needed.
You can achieve that in several ways:
LinkedIn worked for my niche.
Upwork, Toptal, Codementor, and AngelList are freelancing platforms.
Use Google Adwords (to advertise your services) or build a Facebook group for selling services in your niche, in your city/state.
My strategy (not for your niche!)
I research niche-related organizations. Mainly LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google search (browsing).
I categorized the nominated firms (50) by their domain (fintech, healthcare, Ed-tech) and prepared a template message, like a cover letter, to match their projects and my thoughts.
Sent work samples in each field. I’d establish a new project and send them my GitHub repo if I had nothing to present.
Bottom Line:
If you spend 2 hours a day writing proposals and pitching clients, spend 3–4 hours practicing. Your strategy will only work if you’re constantly curious and building.
If you follow these rules, you’ll land your first freelance customer soon. What are you waiting for? Try it.