How to Attract Bigger Budget Clients
If you're tired of clients that want to pay you peanuts for work they needed ‘yesterday’, here are three steps you can take to start attracting bigger budget clients to your design business.
Define your Niche
The first step to attracting bigger budget clients is to niche your business. What is it that you would consider your ‘specialty’? Take that and grow it, make it something that you become specialized in. If you have ever heard the phrase, “jack of all trades, master of none,” then you understand the necessity of having one skill mastered. By having this skill, you can raise your prices for that particular service and maybe take away a few other things you offer so that you can solely direct people to the things that you have mastered and enjoy. In turn, you will also be attracting clients that need this particular skill and are looking for YOU.
There are three ways you can begin to niche your design business: by client, specialty or style, bonus points if you do all three!
Niche By Client
For clients, it is a ‘who, what, and where’ to discover who your ideal client is, and what they might be looking for.
Niche By Specialty
Determine your specialty. What is it that you enjoy? And finally, determine your style.
Niche By Style
What is your aesthetic or your ‘vibe’? Stick to that! It will help you find clients that are looking for that same style.
Solve the Clients Problem
The next step is to solve a problem within your business. View every client as though they are approaching you with a problem that they need your help to solve. This approach caters directly to your client’s needs and paints you as a specialist rather than a ‘design for hire’. Discovering what their individual problem is, is essential to begin the process of resolving it. The value of your service can be found within the resolution!
In order for your problem solver abilities to be known by potential clients, it is important to get the information on your website. Be specific in the wording of your services to let them know exactly what you do but you are also there to fit their specific needs. Another way to reach clients is through sales or discovery calls. These discussions will lead to their project proposal where you highlight their goals and layout exactly what problem you are going to solve for them.
Back it up with a stellar portfolio
Step three is to build a stellar portfolio! Your portfolio is going to highlight your specialty and projects that fit within that. So, tip number one is to only show work in your particular niche. Be selective in what projects you include. You do not need to be a jack of all trades so quality is going to be much more influential than quantity! Tip 2 is to add testimonials! Add these onto your website and portfolio to reiterate what a great designer you really are. The final tip is to show mock ups of designs in real life. This may take some time, but it is worth it to really attract the bigger budget clients.
Now, I know this is a lot of information and it can take a long time to implement into your business, but remember you deserve it! It is worth the leap for your business to take you from small on the side to full time! And you have all the skills that you need to be a specialist - you just have to show everyone else that too!
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How to Book Big Budget Clients in your Design Business
Discover ways to start charging more for your services and work with clients you are actually excited about. If you have been feeling burnt out and over business lately, these simple changes can make a big impact to get you back to why you started your business in the first place.
