How To Befriend Perfection And Retain Customers
Freelancing- No office constraints, No time constraints, You Are Your Own Boss.
You work in your own freedom and in your won space. You chose your own clients.
You work on your own terms and conditions. You chose your own rates.
It indeed appears quite captivating and liberating – when we think of freelancing.
In Freelancing, Freedom is the revenue which is more engaging than monetary gains,
moreover availability of top-quality professionalism at cost effective process is the bait which often get clicked with the customer.
Yet, complain of imperfection sneaks into the work zone of freelancers which results in loss of even new customers as well as retainers.
You Are Good At Your Work- Then Why There Is Complain Of Imperfection In The Output?
You are excellent in the skill you possess. No one can beat you in your genre. But in spite of being highly skilled in your stream, what is that which triggers the entry of imperfection in your work for your client?
It’s The Absence Of Absolute Understanding Of Your Clients’ Needs
Every Business And Business Needs Is Different
Your skill is constant but the project descriptions you receive from your clients always vary because different client has different business, different products, hence different needs. And you have to chalk out different plans to execute needs of each of your customers. To do that you have to devote a considerable chunk of your time for each of your clients which may restrict you from getting more clients and more orders.
But Do You Really Believe That More Clients Means More Business?
Urge To Get More Clients & More Orders Kills Creativity
Even though its freelancing, - set of time in the clock is 24 hours only. Its not going to be increased or decreased. A freelancer has to plan and balance its work and home task within the set circumference of 24 hours. More Client means more and more work will induce more pressure, and work pressure is the enemy of creatives. If you need to pursue with your creative freedom, you have to avoid taking more assignments at a time. You can raise your charges; you don’t need to undersell yourself. If you are good and if you satisfy your customers, clients will come to you even though your rates are at higher end. If you are not perfect, you can get more clients, you can get more leads but you can’t retain those clients even though your rates are low.
Business Will Grow Even With Less Clients Because If Your Clients Are Happy With You They Are Going To Retain With You And Give You Continuous Business.
How To Attain Perfection And Retain More Clients?
Need to remember only 1 mantra – Every Business Is Different. And Different Business Has Different Needs
After receiving job or project from the client, its pertinent to understand your client’s exact needs and requirements. Mail or message communication is not enough always. Its not advisable to rush up to share proposal outline or workflow with deadline instantly. Most often freelancers try to complete or hush up their client’s projects in their set deadline just to get more work or just because they have more work in hand and wanted to complete them in least expected time, without considering over what that specific client want- which often result in wrong output and drag the project deadline even more further.
A client’s concern is to receive perfect and quality output only. Steps need be taken by the freelancers to understand the exact needs and translate it into Quality result. Its always the Quality which matters not the Quantity. You Will Be Remembered And Approached In The Industry For Your Quality Work Only.
Meet Your Clients. Sit With Your Clients
Communication is the bloodline of any business. To deliver Quality - Meet your clients. Sit with your clients. Communicate with them about their project with clarification of every minute details. Get the accurate specifications. It’s always suggested to develop a check list with all the relevant points and requirements related to the project and discuss the same with your customer till your satisfaction. If it requires more than 1 meeting, just go for it.
Do research about your customer and its services, products or business. Do research about your client’s competitors as well. If you have your own team, explain your team each and every nuance about the project.
After understanding your clients needs, evaluate your knowledge and skills, evaluate and estimate the essentials and raw materials required in the project.
If it requires you to learn new skills or investing in new technologies, new raw materials, just go for it.
If you are not aware of the subject you are going to work on, or if you don’t have the required essentials, how can you execute it properly and with perfection.
High professionalism is required form the end of freelancers. Its not just about your prowess, its about how professional you are. And if you want to be professional, you need to be open to learn new things which will only expand your genre, give expansion to your knowledge horizon.
And that’s the beauty of being a freelancer. You are not working inside any closed doors of a single business.
You get opportunities to explore more different businesses, industries and evolve yourself as Jack Of All Trades And Master Of All
Your initial investments – whether its time or money- will save you from further investments in correcting the error as well as deadline pressure to execute with perfection.
You have to always keep it in mind that your client hires you not only because of your skills but because of the trust that if he gets associated with you, he will get the perfect result. And it behoves you to keep that trust intact and increase further the level of your professionalism.
You Will Be Developed As A Professional Only If You Have The Ability And Instinct To Mould Your Expertise According To Your Customer’s Needs.
After developing the final list, its required to prepare sample and show it to the customers for its approval. Once it is approved, communicate with your team and proceed for the final run of project.
Freelancers should also need to do the quality check from their end to check whether what they are developing is matching the project needs or not. Most often freelancers skip this step and expect from their clients to do the quality check for them which only delay the project further.
For every next step, if it is required to get clients approval or clients suggestions, just go for it. Most often Freelancers just submit the project without seeking for client’s approval and said its done and pressurize the client to accept it even if it didn’t match the needs.
This approach towards the client not only further damage mutual relations but also obliterate the trust within.
The Final Say Is Only From The Customer!
And It Is Essential To Always Need To Remember That - Customer Is God!
If these points are followed by the freelancers, they will never have to struggle to get perfect and quality output. Perfection will automatically follow them.
Just Keep The Trust Intact. Trust Is An Adhesive Which Keeps Customers Intact
Trust Emerges From Perfection and Quality
Quality Emerges From Understanding The Exact Needs Absolutely
Understanding Comes With Communication
Hence Keep Constant Flow Of Communication. Keep Away Pressure. Befriend Perfection.
Less Is Often More!
Less Client. Less Pressure. More Creatives. More Quality. More Client Retention.
And Finally, Wait Till The Client Says – Its Done!
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