To Get More Gigs As A Freelancer, Know ‘Why’ You’re Helping Someone

To Get More Gigs As A Freelancer, Know ‘Why’ You’re Helping Someone

As a freelancer, one of the hardest things to do is to tell potential clients what you’re about and why they should hire you, AKA your elevator pitch. It isn’t just about what’s in your spiel, but it’s also about the why that can really make people care.

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Knowing why you do something — why you started freelancing or your business — in the first place is the very first step to making attention-grabbing pitches. It’s not a revelatory idea, of course, but it’s something we often forget in the midst of stressful days. This article from Growth Lab articulates this idea well:

Take some time to think about WHY you took the risk to go out on your own and what value you are offering to your customers. After all, if you don’t know why someone would buy from you, your customers aren’t going to figure it out for themselves.

I understand that it’s easier said than done. In the same article, you’ll find a template for a little written exercise to help you figure that out. Create three columns on a piece of paper. The left column is titled, “Who am I helping”; the middle is, “Why am I helping them”; and the right column is, “How am I helping them”.

You can fill in the first two on your own. The first column identifies your target market. You likely won’t appeal to everyone, so the prompt forces you to narrow down your audience. The second one helps make sure your own vision aligns with what you want to achieve. You’re likely missing information for the third column.

Here you want to learn more about the problems your prospective client has. You can directly ask open-ended questions like, “What are some of your challenges?” or, “If I could cast a magic spell and make your problems disappear, what would that look like?” to craft together unique pitches that actually resonate with the client.

Describe to them in their own words how their current pain will be resolved and how they will be better equipped to achieve their goals with your offering.

And that makes your value proposition much more appealing. Check out the article from Growth Lab for some concrete examples.


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