To be successful as a freelancer, you need to think like a client.
This means you need to understand deeply what most clients care about, what they value, and how to align your communications and your “offer” to those things.
So what do clients care about? Let’s dive in…
1. Can you do their specific job well
The key here is specific – when you’re applying for jobs on Upwork, don’t focus on highlighting all of your skills. Instead, highlight only the ones that are relevant, and save the rest for if they ask.
Here’s an example of an Upwork posting I was looking at recently:
A lot of freelancers will see this and think “I’m an expert in Power BI, SQL and Excel, I’ll apply!”.
But look at the areas I highlighted – do you really think the client will hire someone that hasn’t worked with “Amazon data” if they mentioned it 3 times? I don’t think so…
If I were applying for this post, I’d submit a proposal along these lines:
“Hi there!
I’d love to work on this project. I’ve done something very similar for another client integrating Amazon data into Power BI to create a central dashboard displaying critical KPIs. I also made the integration seamless and automated data refreshes.
I can get this done for you within 1-3 weeks, let me know if you’re available for a Zoom call to discuss.
Thanks!“
Even though I have tons of experience in different data analysis tools like Excel, SQL, Tableau, Python, etc., I didn’t mention these at all. Instead, I focused on the specific problem the client mentioned in their posting, and even used a lot of the same phrasing they did.
This also makes for a much more succinct and easy to read proposal – instead of a giant wall of text full of jargon, tools and skills that the client doesn’t care about.
Moral of the story is – read the job posting and try to figure out the most important problem for the client, and focus your attention on addressing that in your proposal.
2. Can you do the job for a reasonable budget
Just like with any buying decision, price is a big factor for clients.
This is much more true than in the full-time job market – clients looking for freelancers on Upwork tend to be seeking low cost and low risk; otherwise they’d look for a full-time employee or contractor instead.
Also, Upwork clients tend to be startups and smaller businesses that have very limited budgets, so they tend to be price-sensitive.
The key here is to look for job postings that align with your rate/earning expectations and only apply for those.
In my case, I started out on Upwork at $30 per hour, but I progressively worked up to an hourly rate of $80 per hour. If I have a really dry period I might take a job for $60 or $70 per hour, but overall I really try to stick to $80, or do Fixed-Price.
The main reason is simply that I value my time and I’ve been able to earn that much in the past, but it also has the benefit of giving your services a “premium” or “expert” feel.
Everyone understands that experts cost more – sure you’ll miss out on clients that are prioritizing value over skills/experience – but in my experience those “value” jobs will be even more competitive, and you probably don’t want to work for that type of client anyway.
The easiest way to make sure you’re looking at jobs aligned with your budget expectations on Upwork is to search for jobs and then filter based on the hourly or Fixed-Price budget:
This will help you find clients that are in the right price range for your services, and filter out all of the other noise.
3. Can you do the job on time
All businesses have timelines and deadlines they have to meet.
Some clients will have very strict, rigid deadlines, whereas others will only have a rough sense of when they want something done.
But the fact remains that every client appreciates a freelancer who is accountable with the timeline of the project, communicates proactively about any issues or delays, and makes their best effort to meet their client’s deadline needs.
Try to be upfront when you’re interviewing about the timeline expectations, and make sure you’re on the same page at all times with the client.
Most clients will be flexible and understanding, as long as you’ve communicated well and they know what to expect.
4. Do you communicate in ways they understand
This is a big one – clients usually don’t know exactly what they want, or maybe they do but they can’t always articulate it clearly.
They’re looking for someone who can listen to their ask, understand it well, develop a solution, and then explain the solution clearly and simply.
Many clients are also not very technical and don’t have expertise in the area you work in – otherwise why would they hire you?
So you have to be able to communicate clearly in ways they – not you – understand.
This means using concise, informal, and accurate language in writing and speaking, being able to simplify complex technical concepts, and communicating proactively about your progress and roadblocks.
Overall, the goal is to make sure you’re client is well-informed, understands what you’re doing and why, and always knows where things stand.
5. Are you reliable and trustworthy
Think about it – the client is putting a lot of trust in you when they hire you.
Here’s why:
- They’re spending their time working with you
- They’re spending money on your services
- They’re (usually) giving you access to their data, content, and/or some other proprietary information
So you need to make sure you can convey that you are reliable and trustworthy.
I don’t mean directly saying “you can trust me” – this doesn’t work. Instead, what I mean is being professional in everything you do, being dependable for your clients, and maintaining a high standard of quality in your work.
If you do these things, over time you will accumulate “social proof”, i.e. lots of positive reviews and testimonials on your profile. Like this for example:
Social proof is not about bragging or overselling yourself, it’s simply about showing to prospective clients that they can trust you to get the job done. After all, you done it before for others!
Overall, social proof is one of the best ways to convey a sense of trustworthiness to your clients, but if you’re just starting out social proof can take a while to build. Here’s what I recommend:
- When starting out look for smaller or lower paid jobs
- Focus on doing an amazing job for these clients – above and beyond their expectations
- Ask for feedback once the project is done
Conclusion
Overall, freelancing clients care most about a small handful of things.
If you can do these things well, you’re on the path to success as a freelancer!
