How to Attract High-End Design Clients
One of the signs that you’re running a successful design business is being able to choose who you work with (AKA attracting your dream clients), while also being able to confidently charge more for your services.
Your experience grows with your business, and your prices should reflect that! But how do you attract clients that are willing to pay for your design expertise?
In this blog, I’m going to cover three things to focus on in your design business that will help you attract big-budget clients who not only value your work, but the expertise and strategy that goes into it.
Niche your design business
The first step to attracting high-end design clients is to define what your niche is.
“Niche” is defined as a specialized segment of the market for a particular kind of product or service.
For your design business, this means specializing to offer a certain service or becoming a specialist within a particular segment so you can position yourself as an expert.
By positioning yourself as an expert or specialist, you can begin charging higher prices.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “jack of all trades, master of none”?
By focusing on one area of design and honing your skills in that area, your services become more desirable to the clients that need you.
Imagine that your kitchen needs to be remodeled. Would you rather hire a handyman that remodels kitchens, paints walls, and does landscaping OR a contractor that specializes in kitchen remodeling?
You may have to pay the contractor more than the handyman, but you’re willing to do so because you are confident in their ability to complete the project from start to finish.
If clients see that you’re an expert in your field, they’ll consider you the go-to designer to hire and you’ll become more sought after!
There are a few ways you can niche down as a designer - by client, specialty, and style. Click here to read more about each one!
Solve the client’s problem
The second step to attracting your dream clients is to solve their problem. Your clients will have a very specific pain point that they need help with, and getting it solved will be a huge value to them.
When you solve a client’s problem, you begin to move away from being a “designer for hire” and into the specialist zone. Bigger-budget clients understand the value of working with someone who is a specialist, so you need to ask yourself “What problem am I solving?”.
After you understand their problem, you can begin thinking about the solution and how your services fill that gap. The value lies in the solution to their problem, and high-end clients are willing to pay for that.
Next you need to make sure you communicate that you’re solving a problem! Talk about the solutions you provide on your website instead of the specific deliverables. Reiterate these points on your sales/discovery call and be sure to include them in your project proposal.
Build a stellar portfolio
In order to build a portfolio that only attracts high-end dream clients, follow these tips:
Only show work in your niche, whether that’s your ideal client, your industry, or your design style. Showcase what you want to attract! This helps reinforce that you’re not a jack of all trades, but a specialist.
Share testimonials. If you have happy clients from the past that you’ve worked with, be sure to include testimonials on your website and in your portfolio. This reinforces your expertise and is social proof of what a great designer you are.
Rather than clogging your portfolio with every case study you’ve ever collected, you want to showcase just a few amazing examples that really stand out. Including ALL of your projects in your portfolio can be overwhelming for potential clients, so just use it to show the best of the best.
Show mockups. This helps your potential clients visualize what their project will look like. Instead of showing your designs on a flat white background, you want to place your designs in a realistic mockup.
Following these steps will position you as an expert and help your potential clients trust you with their project. When they are confident in your expertise and ability to solve their problem, they will see the value in your services and be willing to pay higher prices.
If you want to dig deeper into crafting a streamlined branding process that not only attracts dream clients, but allows you to charge MORE with LESS revisions, check out my course: Brand Process Savvy.
How to Create a Successful Onboarding Process
$37.00
One Time Purchase gives you immediate access to the masterclass where I’m sharing how I onboard my design clients.
A masterclass with Hayley Fedders that covers the onboarding process for clients in your graphic design business.
Easy to understand descriptions for how to make implement steps immediately into your business (no need to be an organization whiz).
