3 Ways To Attract High Paying Freelancer Gigs

Are you a freelancer who’s tired of overworking yourself and being underpaid in the process?

Are you always in “chasing mode” when it comes to getting new clients?

What if you could turn things around, and have prospects come to you, ready to take your services at a higher fee?

Well, you can, but only if you are willing to effect the change!

Before we talk about the 3 effective ways you can attract high paying gigs, let’s first of all examine some common freelancer problems.

There are lot of factors that can hinder a freelancer from getting clients consistently. I’ll share 3 primary ones…

Problem #1 – Trying hard to impress

Prospects often do their research first before contacting a freelancer, and if you are bent on talking about what they already know, you’ll lose out in the end (I’ll share the solution to this issue further down this post).

Problem #2 – Desperation & Price wars

When one is in a desperate situation, it’s easy for him/her to end up reducing his/her service fees in order to attract new clients. By doing this, he/she ends up getting overworked for very little pay. The freelancing industry is a very competitive one, and picking out one freelancer that is very good at what he/she does is often a headache for prospects.

In this case, price comparison is inevitable. A freelancer is then forced to either reduce his/her fees or do some free work in order to get the main gig from prospects.

Problem #3 – Relying 100% on referrals

A good number of freelancers depend on referrals from past clients in order to keep their business afloat. Some have tried doing some form of marketing, but usually pull the plug too early, especially if the results are not pouring in as they’d hoped. Are you doing this as well?

Without an effective process of attracting quality leads and converting those leads to clients, you will always find yourself chasing after prospects, in the hope of getting a gig. Sometimes, your past clients may feel reluctant to send you referrals, especially if your work wasn’t very satisfactory for them.

So, what’s the solution?

#1 Positioning

[bctt tweet=”Make the shift from #freelancer to a Trusted Adviser, and watch your sales improve!”]

Take doctors for example – they often get information from the patient, and then offer advice or diagnosis. So, when you position yourself in that manner, you will not only win respect from your prospects, you will be able to charge higher fees (more on fees below).

#2 Price

It’s often difficult to shift from charging very low fees to charging higher fees. You have to approach it strategically by surveying your current clients to find out the issues they have, and then create a high end transformation program to help them solve those issues (this can then be used to attract new clients later).

When you do this, you are able to work with just a handful of people at a higher free. Get as many testimonials as possible in order to build a new funnel for future clients (you can make testimonial submission one of the conditions to join your program). In order for this to work, you’ll need to improve yourself and train your mind to accept the fact that your work is worth charging higher fees for.

If you have doubts either in your ability to deliver results or in the worth of your services, then it’ll be hard to make that shift to higher fees.

#3 Process

To be able to charge higher fees for your services as a freelancer, you need to have a system that will bring in qualified leads week in week out. It takes just 5 steps and about 3-4 tools to create this system. When it’s properly deployed, you will have people come to you, as opposed to chasing after them.

A good number of freelancers miss out on potential clients because they do not have a client attraction system in place. It goes back to what I said about depending on referrals. There’s nothing wrong in looking for referrals, but if your whole business is built on that business model, then you’ll find it hard to achieve financial freedom.

Conclusion

I hope you got some value from the information I’ve shared here. Here’s a quick summary:

• Understand that it’s not about what you know, but it’s what you can do to help
• Projecting desperation and reducing your fees will not make you financially stable
• Referrals are good, but avoid building your business entirely on it (that wall can crumble at any time)
• Develop your skills further and aim to become a Trusted Adviser
• Start making the shift from lower fees to higher fees, in order to boost your income each month
• Have a predictable process in place to bring in new leads and clients every week

It’s all about implementation. If you are serious and committed to your success, then this should not be any problem for you. However, if you feel you need guidance, then click here to schedule a free strategy session with me.

During this session, we will talk about your current situation, what you have been doing, your target market, and what you need in order to achieve the results you seek. I will also introduce my coaching program, aimed at supporting you through the process (I only work with a handful of people at any given time, so spaces are usually very limited).

Your turn… what other effective ways can you use to attract high paying freelance gigs? Leave a comment below and share this post with your network as well.

To your success!