Seven Ways to Impress Your Clients – And Win Repeat Business

Ali Hale is a freelance writer and blogger. You can find her all over the net, but especially at her home blog, Aliventures.

When I started out freelancing, the thought of having clients was quite scary … though the thought of having no clients at all was even scarier! Something about the word clients implied that they’d be demanding, ultra-professional, and intimidating.

Of course, it was nothing like I’d feared: my clients have all been very human, warm and friendly! However, I have found that there are seven easy ways to really impress clients, and to guarantee that they’ll want to work with you or refer you in the future:

1. Dress Professionally

I’m most comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt – but when meeting clients, I make the effort to smarten up. Business people can sometimes have slightly negative stereotypes of “freelancers”, and looking like a professional is a great way to make a great first impression and dispel their fears.

Think about it this way: if you had the choice between an assistant who turned up wearing cut-off jeans, scuffed sneakers and a slogan t-shirt and an assistant who wore smart trousers, a nice shirt, and clean shoes – who would you be more inclined to hire?
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The Freelancer Pricing Conundrum

Whether you’re looking to get into freelancing, or in the thick of it, there always exists the topic of rates a freelancer should charge for his/her work. People adopt various methods of pricing their service, from hourly rates to one-time project fees. But how do you price yourself just right so you’re not too expensive and you’re not too cheap? Should you undercut the current market and work in bulk, or should you charge a little higher and take on less projects? After all, two of the great successes in retail are ASDA (for you Americans, it’s owned by Walmart) which is a supermarket which aims to keep the lowest prices possible, and Selfridges & Co, one of the much more expensive luxury stores in the UK. Well, let’s dig a little deeper into the topic and see what we can uncover.

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