Out-innovate your competition to win more gigs.
Do you ever feel like there is no possible way you’ll get a gig when there are so many other (seemingly more qualified) freelancers out there
We all have. But fear not, where there’s a will — there’s a way.
Your competition is… actually pretty weak.
With the everpresent impostor syndrome, we build up our competitors as these unbeatable pros who have the market cornered. They have no face, name, or any human flaws — they are Legion. In reality, though, your competitors are as human as you are. With the same impostor syndrome and all that. Even agencies are composed of humans (at least until singularity kicks in sometime…. next Tuesday?). So while you’re afraid of and intimidated by them, they are feeling the same way about you.
The worst way to compete
The absolute worst way to compete that we have all seen all too often, have possibly done ourselves, and which employers hate with a passion is… spamming as many gigs as possible with the same canned response that is basically your most general resume and which absolutely does not address the specific gig in any way.
Don’t do that. Ever. Seriously, please stop.
It may get you a few gigs, but they are likely to be of very low quality. And it absolutely will hold you back from better work with better pay. Plus, we will all hate you for making it worse for everybody by contributing to the state of animosity between employers and freelancers.
A better way
What if — and this may sound crazy — you actually try winning more gigs by standing out from the competition (in a good way)? What if you pay attention to the gig’s specifics? What if you address the client and their concerns instead of being all “me me me” in your proposal? What if your proposal/application/interview pleasantly surprises them with a realization that you’re a human being interested in them rather than a resume printer gone wild?
How to stand out
The absolute easiest (and much appreciated) way to stand out is to make every proposal personal. That means addressing the client by name if you can find it. It means paying attention to what the gig is about and letting the client know that in a casual manner by mentioning a few of the things in the proposal. Most importantly, figure out which problem the gig is meant to solve and offer a suggestion or two about how you may go about it solving it. Only in the context of helping them solve their problem should you go into your qualifications and only focus on the relevant ones.
How to really stand out
There are ways to be extra innovative and get an edge if you’re creative enough. Or if you’re good at Googling, aka research. One very effective way is to make a personal video with every proposal. Yes, it takes more time. But the attention it gets you is well worth it. And don’t worry about being shy or bad on video. After doing 100 of these, you won’t even think twice about hitting that Record button. You can also try finding personal connections with the client, for example, such as a common city or neighborhood, your interest in their industry, etc. But don’t stalk them. That’s creepy.
The price paradox
There’s no denying that, no matter what you do, many clients immediately look at your price and move on to someone else if you’re above their budget. So how can you get paid your true worth and not scare off the client at first sight? If you can indicate a range on your proposal, that may help. What has worked exceptionally well (in combination with the above personalization) is specifying that your rate is a placeholder and you will give them the actual price once you get to know them. That tends to work a lot better if you ask them specific questions about the and the gig (to determine the price and strategy), such as their website, their audience, their goals, etc.
The template cheat-cheat
While using the same template for everything is horrible, using a template customized for every gig and made look personal is a huge time-saver. Because, honestly, how many times can you type the same sentences over and over again? The trick is to find the balance between specifically addressing the gig and having a solid “skeleton” of a template in place to work with.
The takeaway
The key to winning more gigs no matter the competition is to stand out from the crowd. And it’s always better to put more work upfront, taking the extra time to show the client how you understand their problem and can fix it. You will spend more time on prospecting than maybe even on the gigs themselves, but the higher pay and success rate will make it more than worth it every time.
And… action!
Let’s put this into action. Answer these questions as best you can by actually writing the answers down:
- Look at a gig posting: what is the problem a client is trying to solve?
- How can you solve it?
- What specific skills and/or experience of yours will help solve that problem?
- Can you divide the gigs you’re applying to into categories? What are they?
- For every category, create a template that’s basic enough to easily personalize for every client.
- Create a template of answers to frequently asked questions. (If you use Upwork, you’re used to seeing the same generic questions provided by the site.)
- Make a video for a gig right now. It won’t be perfect. You don’t have to send it. But just do it.
