Heyaa
Have you ever received vague queries from a prospect? Like asking for your rates without stating their clear requirements?
Frequent, right?
Sometimes, it takes a few messages, and at others, a long call just to find out it’s not your ideal client.
You fume with anger. And you set out a flustering public rant about how they wasted 3 precious minutes you could have spent scrolling past 5-minute-craft Reels.
What people don’t realise is that it might not be the prospects’ intent to waste your time.
What if they don’t know their requirements well? What if they aren’t sure about their needs themselves? And what if they don’t know how your service works?
I hear you screaming, “This lazy has gone mad today. How can someone don't know what they need?”
Well, I assure you, I’ve always been a little cracked. And today’s just another normal day.
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OK, back to my story…
So, I was telling you that your prospects might not know their needs well. It’s not their fault they “wasted” your time.
Imagine yourself as a prospective client. Let’s say you want to sell plushies. Yes, you’re an ecommerce client who is selling personalised soft toys and cute plushies for gifting.
Now, for that, you'll want to set up a website. And you don’t want just any website. You want it to be unique. Different from everyone else.
Makes sense?
So, how much will it take to design such a website? You don't know. Maybe you can get it done within 100$.
You approach a web developer with your idea.
And there, they start hammering you down with questions. Do you have a domain? Do you want to handle your site on your own? Do you want the website copy, too? Do you need professional product photography? Do you want logo design and branding services? And the most important: do you have an idea how you want this “unique” website to look?
Suddenly you’re overwhelmed. What you thought would take <$100 seems like going upwards of $5000.
You decide to drop the idea for now.
Just like that, you, as a client, wasted 3 precious minutes of that web developer. And it’s no fault of yours.
In the same way that your not-so-ideal prospects “waste” your time, you wasted someone’s time. Now, you’ll say: “How could I have known all those technical details?”
Well, when you're a freelance service provider, you’ll come across several such prospects who know nothing about your service.
They won’t know about the intricacies of your service. They won’t know how much it will cost.
The thing is: they don’t have to. You don't know everything about all the services, and your prospects don’t know about yours.
You're the service provider. It’s you who knows your industry and services well, not them. And it’s your task to help them understand how things work around here.
Of course, some prospects won’t have the budget to hire you. And some others will be plain pain in the axx.
But many others will be ready to splurge when they see what all it takes to, say, get a website designed. Keep calm and communicate your value.
And that’s all for today.
Bidding adieu.
Live long and prosper.
See you next week, with another story.