Kansas City Freelance Writer Liz Craig

You’re a freelance creative looking for projects. You’ve been knocking on doors and calling prospects for months without snagging much work. What’s wrong? Is it the economy? The time of year? The weather? Are you talking to the wrong prospects? Is it your breath?

Maybe, but could it be the way you position yourself in your own mind that’s tripping you up? If so, making these three simple mental adjustments could improve your prospecting results.

1. Know What It Is You’re Really Selling

If you’re a freelance writer or designer, you’re obviously not just selling your ability to type or make pictures on your computer. But by calling yourself a “writer” or “designer,” maybe you’re selling yourself short. What your prospect really needs is someone who can help think through his or her business challenges and devise effective ways to meet them.

Make this mental adjustment: You’re not just a writer or designer. You’re a strategic thinker who can help your prospect win more business. Show results you’ve achieved for other clients, if you have them. If you’ve been spending most of your presentation time talking about yourself up until now, cut it short and start asking questions about what the prospect needs. Take notes. Follow up regularly (but not so often you bug the prospect), and share a good idea or two. Which brings us to the second mental adjustment.

2. Make It Your Mission to Help Others

People like people who help them unselfishly. So how can you help prospects? Let them know that your primary objective is helping them and their business. Maybe they don’t need your creative services at the moment. But you can still help, even if it’s by referring the prospect to a good chiropractor, veterinarian, business resource or fitness club.

“Shine the spotlight on the other person,” not on you. Send your prospects articles they may find helpful, and ask about their business and their family, if you are that well acquainted. Someday, when they realize they need creative, strategic thinking, you’ll be top of mind. By the way, helping others is a good idea in general, even if you don’t see how it will benefit you. Or especially then.

3. Ditch the Success/Failure Model

So you met with a prospect, and s/he seemed uninterested, kept looking at the clock, ended the meeting after 10 minutes and said no encouraging words. Do not beat yourself up for not having gotten new business at that meeting. Do not press the “FAIL” button.

We creatives are often overly sensitive. We tend to take things personally and interpret lack of enthusiasm as rejection. But please realize that the prospect’s behavior may have had nothing to do with you. Maybe s/he was eyeball-deep in work, carved out a few minutes for you, and then had to get back at it. Or perhaps there was a death or illness in the family. Or it could be s/he just didn’t need your wonderful work at the moment.

Timing is all-important. As Jethro Tull once said, “Life’s a long song.” There could be a time in the future when that prospect will need your services and will call you. Just keep in touch, try to help when appropriate, and bide your time. Be sure to ask if it’s okay if you check back in a few weeks or a month. And award yourself a gold “SUCCESS” star for being proactive and requesting the meeting.

• Summing Up

To improve your prospecting approach, adjust your mental attitude in these three ways:

• You’re not just a “Your Label Here.” You’re a strategic thinker who can help prospects meet their business challenges.

• Your mission is to help prospects in any way you can, whether what they need at the moment is related to your services or not.

• You never fail at prospecting unless you quit. Keep in touch, help when you can, and be patient. Your time may come.

Tags: 3 ways to improve your prospecting, advertising, confident presentations, copywriter, creatives need confidence, effective advertising, effective prospecting, freelance designer, freelance writer, helping others to help yourself, more effective prospecting for creatives, prospecting approach, prospecting for new projects, prospecting tips for freelancers, strategic advertising, strategic thinking to help clients, successful presentations

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 1st, 2009 at 12:50 pm and is filed under Advertising Related. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.