What are the most important skills a freelancer can have?
If you said technical skills, you won’t be wrong, but you won’t be right either.
It’s having excellent communication skills.
Communication can either make or break a relationship, especially when it comes to professional relationships. If you don’t learn how to communicate the tasks, the expectations, the deadlines, or anything else that’s related to the project, it won’t make much of a difference how talented or how great you are at what you do.
Even if you want to find the right clients for you, you’ll have troubles, because you’ll experience the same challenges over and over again.
Here are some effective tips that you can implement to better communicate with your current and future clients:
Table of Contents
1. Establish The Work And Communicate Your Expectations
When it comes to freelancing, a lot of things can happen that may interfere with your style of work or communication. It’s super easy for a conflict to happen, a deadline to be missed, or a project to go unrevised because of unclear communication.
This is why it’s extremely important for you as a freelancer to draw the line and ask for your specific responsibilities and tasks. You may work in your pajamas, but that doesn’t make you any less of a professional worker who needs to know the specifics of a job.
Additionally, communicate with the clients about their expectations. This refers to everything – working hours, communication channels, deadlines, reports, calls, meetings, etc. Every client is different. Some want to know when you’re starting with work each day, while others are more flexible. For some, you’ll need to send daily reports of your activities and accomplished work, while for others weekly reports will be enough.
Setting clear expectations is the basis of a successful collaboration with your clients.
2. Be Clear
Half of the communication problems that occur at work can be avoided if clients and freelancers understand that written communication is 10 times more challenging than oral communication. As most freelancers and clients communicate via written communication, it’s important for you to do your part of the job and make sure that you’re communicating clearly.
Before you send an email or Slack message, make sure to reread your message, so it perfectly conveys what you are trying to tell your client. If needed, sometimes it’s even better to provide an example of a metaphor of what you’re trying to tell to your clients. Don’t be afraid to use more words, you won’t bother your client with a few extra words. In fact, many of them will often appreciate you even more for making sure that you’re delivering the right message.
3. Ask Questions
This is one of the hardest things to overcome, on both sides, but especially for freelancers.
Most experienced freelancers think that their experience is enough to get the job done. Every client is different so just assuming that you know it all won’t get you too far and plus, it can be perceived as a sign of arrogance.
Asking questions will give you a much clearer picture of the entire project. It will show to the client that you’re interested in succeeding and delivering excellent results and that you’re trying to understand their motives behind your work. Plus, you’ll be able to understand your assignments much easier.
4. Follow Up With Written Communication
This should go without saying, but many times, freelancers forget the importance of getting everything in writing. You can have as many online meetings as you want or need to specify the details of your work, but if you don’t get it in writing, it can be easily forgotten and you may face some serious consequences.
That’s why after every call or meeting send an email with written points from the meeting.
Make sure to get a yes from your client, so you can be sure that both of you are on the same page. Don’t assume stuff, because that’s how you may end up failing a task.
5. Provide Regular Feedback
Learning how to give and receive feedback is one of the most important skills anyone can acquire in life, especially freelancers. Sending feedback to your clients is something that falls under the first point of this article – discussing expectations. You need to clearly define whether your clients want you to send daily reports, weekly, or let them know when you are starting with work.
This way, your clients will know how much work you have done and whether you’re meeting the deadline or not. Plus, this is the only way to build a stable relationship with them.
6. Personalize Your Approach
Last, but not least. Your clients will always appreciate a more personalized approach from you in your emails or calls. It can be simple feedback or appraisal for a milestone, or anything that will show that you’re seeing them as more than your client, but their business as a whole. Be as thoughtful as you can be – attention with clients can go a long way.
The important thing to remember when you’re a freelancer is that your clients are also human beings, regardless of their status, success, or money in the bank. Even though they may live a different lifestyle than you, they too may have problems communicating or expressing their business goals and ideas. By learning to understand yourself and your clients better, you’ll be able to build much more stable business connections and relationships. If you’re having trouble finding the right clients for you, try Brybe, the Freelancer Marketplace that connects all small business owners with freelancers from around the world.
