When you should and shouldn't spend time pitching to clients

Story-time:

When you start freelancing, it often feels like you're prancing around like a dog on show, lined up next to 4 other pretty pooches, trying to convince people to hire you: Post more to Instagram, write more on LinkedIn, drop your prices, up your offering, WOOF WOOF!, update your website, pitch your service, list all the reasons why "I'm the person you need!" for the umpteenth time with a smile plastered to your face...

My god. It is soul-destroying.

And the cherry on top tends to be: "Could you do it for a little bit less? We just don't have the budget right now."

So, you gaze over at your grilled cheese sandwich, your door hinge that needs to be repaired, and the washing that still needs to be laundered... and, two weeks later, you've been paid half as much as you should have been, for working twice as much as you agreed to, on a project you didn't even enjoy.

This ^ is not the freelancer's dream you were promised.

And it all boils down to one thing: A freelancer's shitty sense of self-worth.

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Some important context:

Alright, so... as a freelancer, you are the entire business. This means: You do the marketing, you do the finances, you manage the client relationships, you schedule the meetings, you manage the website, you are the industry expert, you are the project manager... you do everything that needs doing.

(Sure, sometimes freelancers reach a point where they can hire people to do some of that stuff for them, but for the sake of this argument let's just assume you're a one-person-show.)

As freelancers, our work constitutes our skillsets, and our skillsets proceed our needs. (What does that mean?)

We need to file taxes, so we learn how to do a tax return; we need to launch our new website, so we learn about SEO optimisation.

Need -> Some learning happens -> New skill -> The work we do on a daily basis

Perhaps this isn't the case for everything (you know, like how sometimes we get lucky, and we have friends who can do the things...!) but, generally speaking, the work we do is more than just the thing we add to our LinkedIn page.

In other words, we become a lot more than just a content marketer, or a designer, or a hairdresser; we become a part-time accountant, a part-time marketing manager, a part-time HR person... We become a business.

And this is a really important point, so I'm going to write it again for dramatic emphasis: We become a business.

Ok, now bank that sentence in your short-term memory somewhere, and let's continue...

The Silly Freelancer

Let's call them Dip.

Dip worked as an events manager for a private event company for 2 years, before deciding that working for someone else wasn't for them, and that they could earn more money and more respect by working for themselves.

So they quit, took a 3-month up-skilling sabbatical (mainly in entrepreneurship), and launched their freelance events company: GIGabyte.

Yay Dip!

However, six months in, Dip wasn't landing consistent clients. They had a few contacts that they managed to swing from their old job, but they were still short on where they wanted to be in terms of revenue. Savings were running out, and Dip started feeling desperate.

Then, one Monday morning, an e-mail notification pings...

It's a potential job!

But this client saw the available packages on Dip's website, and asked if they could get a reduced rate since they're a smaller company and Dip's still fresh to freelance event coordination.

This isn't an unfamiliar feeling for freelancers new to freelancing. And it comes with conflicting feelings.

Dip starts spiralling: "This isn't enough money for the work I'm doing, but I guess they do have a point... I'm not that experienced in freelancing, and I don't have a name yet."

ALERT ALERT! IT'S A TRAP!

"And I'm not really sure if I'm that good yet, so perhaps I'm charging too much for my services on the website."

ALERT ALERT! ANOTHER TRAP!

"To be honest, I'm just not sure when I'll land my next project and I'm scared I'll run out of savings soon."

ALERT ALERT! THIS TOO IS A TRAP!

Introducing: Silly-Freelancer Traps

When we start out, us freelancers tend to undercharge and overwork because of a few, primary Silly-Freelancer Traps. No, not silly traps; traps for silly freelancers. "Silly" freelancers, because they still believe silly things about their silly insecurities.

(Just for the record, Dip's story ends happily. They become incredibly wealthy, retires early, lives off the interest, gets a super modest house with everything they need and wants in it, and donates the rest of their monthly income to eco-charities.)

I've heard lots of Silly-Freelancer Traps from other freelancers, but some of the most common ones are as follows:

1. "I don't know when the next client will come around, and I really need the money."

2. "I'm not that good yet. I can't charge that much for what I do."

3. "If I charge too much, they'll say 'no' and I won't have any work."

4. "If I charge too much, they'll tell other people I'm a rip-off."

5. "I would never pay that much for what I do."

There are obviously some legitimate situations when undercharging makes total sense¹. But the 5 reasons above are 100% Silly-Freelancer Traps. Although they are all 100% valid, they are 100% self-limiting beliefs that hand over all the power to the client, and prevent you from ever pushing yourself to go further and achieve more.

(Still have that sentence I asked you to bank earlier? Great, we need it for this next part...)

Anti-"Silly-Freelancer Trap" Principles

I've become pretty ruthless with Silly-Freelancer Traps, and I have a zero tolerance principle to them by now. It comes with practice, and I'm not perfect, but I've been shocked, gagged, gooped, and bewildered at how easy they've been to overcome, and how much my freelancing has grown after overcoming them.

These are some of the principles I've used to avoid Silly-Freelancer Traps:

1. You're worth it. You're a business.

(Here's where that sentence from earlier finally closes the circle!)

Why is Dip's price point for event management justified?

Because they're not just an events coordinator; they're the finance team, the marketing team, the HR team, the C-suite... they're an entire business.

To be honest, it's the same when you pay for anything else: A portion of the price goes to re-attaching your door's hinge (for example), but the rest of it is goes towards the petrol it took to get to you, maintaining the tools used, giving the employee(s) good workplace insurance, etc.

So, you need to remember: You're charging for you as a business, not just for you as a single-skill entity.

2. Always ask: "Is this the best use of my time?"

Time is your most valuable resource.

Why? Because money you can earn back; when time's gone, it's gone.

I refer back to what I said at the very beginning of this post:

It's kind of like a relationship: If you need to fight tooth and nail to get someone to like you and be in a relationship with you, should you really be trying at all?

It hurts to walk away from a potential client when you need the money, but if you could be spending your time more valuably (e.g. up-skilling, networking, OR LIKE YOU KNOW EVEN RESTING FOR A BIT?!) then do that. The difference in long-term gain between spending a month making no money but networking hard, and spending a month earning peanuts and being taken advantage of, is incomparable.

3. Being picky is YOUR superpower.

Did you know that exclusivity is a real thing?

Ideally, you want to get to a point in your freelancing where people mutter to each other: "You know that Dip person? It's really hard to get a spot in their calendar - they only work on a select few projects a year!"

... And you start by drawing up a list of criteria for the projects you want to work on, and sticking to it. Saying "no" to clients first is such a huge flex. It shows people that you have boundaries, and that you only work if they meet your criteria.

(It also saves you time by avoiding projects that don't actually serve you - see point 2 above)

Some areas to think about for your criteria:

• Project type (industry, size, duration)

• Client type (entrepreneur, startup, SME)

• Skills required (ones I have, ones I'd like to practise)

• Budget (what's your minimum?)

• Employment type (remote/in-person, part-time/consultancy/full-time)

4. Rejections aren't dead-ends

So, you send a proposal and your prospect responds with "Sorry, we can't afford that." Not a dead-end, necessarily.

Instead of throwing your hands in the air and thinking you charge too much, yada yada yada... here are a few alternative ways you can respond, without selling yourself short, but still showcasing your value as a freelancer:

1. "Totally understandable that you can't invest that much into your business right now. How about this: Tell me what your budget is, and I'll tailor something specifically to what you can currently invest, and what your business needs right now. We can always build on top of that down the line with the extras."

2. "Not to worry! Where in the proposal does it feel the hardest to invest? Is there something we can remove for the time being, so that the investment in your business feels more manageable?"

3. "No stress! I appreciate you getting back to me :) If you give me an idea what you're able to invest right now, I can try refer someone to you whose skillsets match the investment you're able to make right now?"

4. "Thanks for the response! I'm really sorry we won't be able to work together on this right now. If you're able to invest more into your business down the line, please don't hesitate to get in touch - I'd still love to work together!"

Or, bring in a little bit of point 3 above, and show them that you're quite happy to walk away from something that doesn't match your revenue criteria:

1. "Great, not a problem! I'm sorry that things won't align this time around :) I think this will be a great project when you find the right person, though! Wishing you all the best."

5. Double your rate until someone says no.

This philosophy comes from Chris Do, and it sounds ludicrous but saves lives.

The crazy reason why it works is because you value your work down here (hand waves close to the ground), but what people tend to be willing to pay for what you do is up here (hand waves up in the air somewhere higher).

So, you'll find that you can probably double your rate at least once before people bat an eye-lid.

And, if you're worried about someone saying "But that person paid less", simply respond with: "That was my rate then, this is my rate now. Also, your project and situation is really unique, I can't compare your project to someone else's."

They feel special, you get your rate. Period. (Or they say your rate isn't what they want to invest, and that's totally fine. Then they can find someone who has the standard of work they're willing to pay for.)

I hope this brings you some comfort and confidence to set your price, and to spend time on people who know you're worth the investment. :)

Footnotes:

1. Including, but not limited to:

• "I'd make so many great contacts on this project." (Sick, network is really powerful - leverage that!)

• "I'd learn so much from this project." (Awesome, new knowledge is priceless, especially if it propels you in a direction you want to go!)

• "This would look so good on my portfolio." (Great, some solid credibility under your belt is always good)

• "I am going to die from starvation / lose my flat if I don't take this job." (If you aren't just being dramatic, then obviously you should take this job and/or consider finding a full-time role that brings a little more stability into your life, at least for the time-being... and also: good luck, that sounds rough! <3)