073: How We Help Clients Say “Yes” to Working With Us

Get Back To Design: Design Business | Designer | Creative Business

In today’s episode, we are talking about actionable steps that you can implement right away to improve your inquiry process, update your workflow and gain clients with ease. You don’t have to lower your prices to get new business, but sharing the benefits of working with you can be a game changer.

Getting a client to say “yes” and sign the dotted line doesn’t have to be a complicated process. We have some tried and true methods when it comes to getting clients excited to work with us – even if we are booked out.

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Use Your Online Presence to Your Advantage

Your website or social media account is one of the first places that you will likely get someone’s attention aside from referrals. Your online presence can show potential clients what it would be like to work with you along to get to know you better as a business owner.

On your social media

Use places like your Instagram newsfeed or Instagram stories to post about current projects or completed ones that have been your favorite. Content ideas such as your research process, brand strategy, mood boards, sketches and more are great things to share as well. Give people a look “behind the curtain.”

On your blog

Similarly to your social media content, let your potential clients into your business and see how things work. Go into detail in a case study blog post about projects you have worked on and how the process was carried out with the client.

Explaining the uniqueness of your business and service offerings through your content is a great way to distinguish yourself from other options out there.

Give them the full picture

Highlight the benefits

You may have heard this enough from us at this point, but this step is SO important. Outlining the benefits of working with you on a project helps position you as the best option. You want to tip the scale between a client working with you versus someone else. Get them ready to sign by selling them on the benefits of working with you.

Go into detail about how they are getting so much more than just a website, but how you will provide a way to increase their sales, online visibility, etc. If they see the prospect of a higher income, they will be willing to spend the extra dollars on a quality product.

For example, a custom development package needs to go way beyond mockups. You need to focus on the benefits they will experience down the line. Such as saving them time from stressing over the keyboard worrying about code or even needing to learn code in the first place. It is all about creating an experience that their clients or customers will love through their finished website.

Let them know the cost up front

The pros and cons are there when it comes to showing your pricing on your website, but for us the pros outweigh the cons.

When you list your pricing on your website, you can avoid getting inquiries that can’t afford your prices. This can save you so much time instead of wasting work hours talking to people about a project and then realizing their budget doesn’t match the cost.

The biggest thing is that it allows people to self-select if they are a good fit for you.

Be clear about what they will receive

We’ve talked about how important highlighting the benefits of your services and how it goes way beyond just a website, logo, etc. However, you will still need to be clear about what exactly a client will get out of working with you when it comes to the tangible takeaways.

Have a spot on your website, welcome packet, etc. that lists out exactly what is included in the package. Be strategic with this part. Combine what the client wants along with what they need. Think of the things that they might not have and develop a full package that covers it all.

Make it easy to book you

A pet peeve of ours is when people make it difficult to book a project. Think about times where this has happened to you. You may have filled out an inquiry form that goes unanswered or reached out via email with no response. So frustrating. Consider your client experience when it comes to your onboarding process.

Regularly check your inquiry form as well as any automations you have for when someone contacts you about your services or packages. Do an audit of your website to make sure forms and buttons are not hard to find and properly working.

Use these questions to help you check your inquiring and booking process:

• When someone is looking at your services page – what do they do next if they want to work with you? Is there a clear call-to-action step on that page?
• If you send a proposal to clients – what do they do if they are ready to say “yes” after looking things over? Do you have that information within the proposal or included in an email?
• How do you send your contract and invoice? Is it obvious where to sign? Can you accept payment easily?

Give the option to hop on a call

Some people may cringe at the thought of this, but hear us out. Giving the option to get on a call is a huge reason why Krista closes so many sales. People are SO suspicious of developers. When Krista gets on a call with a potential client, she is able to show the caller how relatable and friendly she is. Meeting a client “face to face” via phone or video chat can really encourage an inquiry to sign that line.

If you are wanting to get on more calls, make the process of scheduling one easy for the client. Provide inquiries with a scheduling link or include a place to sign up for a call in your inquiry form itself.

Your call is a great time to answer questions and build a relationship that will get you a “yes.”

Show off those testimonials + portfolio

This is an important part to include on your website and circulate through your social media. Providing visitors with content that shares your expertise, style and client connection can be a make or break moment for a potential client.

Encourage previous clients to submit a testimonial through a questionnaire you send out after a project is completed. Ask a variety of questions that spark some great pull quotes to add to your site.

Let your portfolio also do the talking on your behalf. This is the biggest definer in the types of projects you want to be working on, so show off the projects you’ve enjoyed. If you completed a project that doesn’t necessarily align with the type of projects you want to work on in the future, don’t show it in your portfolio.

Show off your full project with multiple mockups, a description of the process and a little bit more about the client. You don’t have to write a novel here but go into depth.

Most importantly, regularly update your portfolio. Make time quarterly or monthly to add to your website. Keep things current because if you are never updating your portfolio, it looks like you may not be doing much work.

Getting a “Yes” Even When You’re Booked Out

If you’re booked a few months out, there is no reason why new clients can’t still work with you. However, the waiting factor is a big thing that can turn clients away – so you have to sell them on the benefit of booking you now.

If you are selling just a brand or website, there’s no reason why someone should wait – but remember, you are offering them more than just a brand or website. You have to highlight and sell the results a client will get through working with you. Share your unique process and design style to help them understand that it is worth the wait. Use your testimonials and portfolio to back up your claims.

Make sure your available dates are clear from the very beginning so someone doesn’t contact you, get excited and then get disappointed when you are not available.

Don’t make someone wait to sign or pay if they are wanting to work with you. Get a contract and invoice completed to get their commitment.

Resources

• Episode 72 – Designing for Conversions with Melissa Burkheimer
• Episode 39 – Pricing and Your Design Services
• Episode 44 – How to Get Testimonials and Referrals From Past Clients
• Episode 22 – How to Curate Your Portfolio to Get More of the Projects You Want
• Episode 18 – How to Handle Booking Clients in Advance

Action Steps

• Choose one thing we talked about today and put it in place on your website.

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