The tone and code of behavior in your client relationships is set from your first contact, through your follow-up and in to your first job with them. Building relationships does not just "happen" for you. You need to keep your fears from overcoming good business sense. You need to keep your clients coming back and paying your price. You need to become more aware of the courtship and bonding in the creative/client relationship. You need a plan to go beyond the sales call.
'But I don't like sales'
Yes, I hear this everywhere I teach my self-promotion workshops but here is the big news; this isn't about what you like; it's about how the clients feel. You may not like selling but clients may not be that crazy about buying! Most clients don't like to be the bad guy and turn you down and reject you. Very few clients are trained in any way to hire and work with freelancers. Usually, they are your fellow-creative types.
For years I had the privilege of teaching "Managing Creative Services" for Dynamic Graphics Training. We had two hot topics; how to hire creative staff and how to hire freelance creatives. I was always surprised - at each and every class- how stressful most clients find the entire "being sold to" process of interviewing and hiring.
You can moderate the stress level and help build client relationships by researching your prospective client's needs and approaching selling as a partnership. Your "sales pitch" - whether in person or in promotions - should let clients know who you are and most of all, what you can do for them. Today's "professional creative services" clients are looking for someone they can trust to produce what they need, when they need it, within their budget.
What do clients want from you today?
One way to approach "selling" is to look at what clients really want in today's economy and marketplace. This is especially true when we are talking about prospective clients, people that have not yet worked with you. For prospective clients, the most important factor in building a relationship with them is for you to be recognized. In order to gain recognition, you will need to have a marketing message clearly representing your unique niche or specialty, technique or style.
Next, you will need to help them appreciate what you can do for them with a strong marketing plan that consistently presents this message. Ensure you have a balanced marketing mix combining direct mail marketing, email marketing, a blog and an updated web site.
In addition, clients today are looking for more services that meet their broader image needs. Here is how one client -- an art director at an ad agency -- lays it out: "I need artwork for 100 pages on a client's web site. That is a huge amount of content and I need it fast. This is much more than when we did ad page spreads. To be my image provider, I need a photographer who can also be a videographer to provide both my still and video clips for my clients' web sites. Now, I need a series of images not just an image."
Help clients decide to hire you
Once you have a well-thought out marketing plan to effectively communicate your marketing message; take the next step and look at developing relationships. I recommend that you start with a handful of names pulled out of your targeted lists. They can be current clients you have not seen for awhile; prospective clients that have already viewed your portfolio; or prospects that you just know (in your heart) need to work with you. Gather information about the prospects you have identified, to enable the relationship building process. Start by paying close attention to their web sites and the work they are doing. Take note of news releases on their web sites, awards they win, new people joining their firm, articles in trade publications on new products or services they are launching.
If you invest the time in doing this, when you have personal conversations, correspondence or emails, there will be a give and take of information between you and your prospective client. Information is a very powerful marketing tool for building relationships that lead to sales. Remember; just mailing a promo or email does not constitute a dialogue; it must be a two-way flow of information. You can help prospects decide to hire you by helping them get to know you.
Three 'keep in touch' ideas
Intelligent follow-up gives you a reason to connect with your clients and prospective clients and is the next step to building relationships beyond the sales call. Here are some ideas to help you keep in touch.
First, review your own web site, promos and portfolios. Have you been using the expertise of a copywriter to help clients learn about you? Looking at your work provides one level of information and is purely visual. Reading the "background story" behind the visual can help impress, intrigue and persuade clients to work with you. Don't drown your imagery in copy; just provide enough of the "who/what/how/where" information to create interest. This may also allow you to go back and re-use images in a different way.
Second, I am always asked how to incorporate personal work into a marketing plan when the work is not aligned with your marketing message. I have found the best application is to use the work as art for practical promotion pieces (i.e. calendars, boxed sets of blank cards, sticky notes).
Third, at the beginning of each month run a report of last year's invoices for the same month. For example, take a look at November 2007 at the beginning of November 2008. When you contact your client, your follow-up script will sound informed and confident. You will be able to say, "Last November we were working on trade shows for January, how is that project coming along at this time?" This type of information makes for the perfect follow-up call towards building your client relationships!
The plan you create to maintain healthy and profitable relationships with prospective clients starts with good business practices and finding different and varied ways to stay in touch. Your goal should be to develop and maintain a strong relationship, encouraging clients to keep coming back to you with more work and bigger and better projects.