A freelancer in his career will face more employers or clients than a full time worker. Each employer would be different just like each freelancer will be. Although, freelancing career is quite exciting and fruitful, it could be sometimes overwhelming. Overwhelming because you may not realise the right bidding strategy for each client.
Bidding is very important, as this will help you increase the chances of employers considering your bid. Here are some tips on bidding that you may want to consider.
1. Don’t Just Go For Any Client, Make Sure Your Employer Is Verified
Freelancing is a risky business. Even if you are a newbie, you cannot just go about taking and completing freelance projects and then realise that your client is a cheat and wouldn’t pay your share. It has happened many a times in the past and many of us have fallen in to the trap.
Just because someone assures to give you more than what is expected, don’t jump on to the opportunity and place a bid on the project. The last thing you need is putting all your hard work only to get it wasted.
So, ensure about the employer or the client’s business. Check their website or company profile to see how active and thriving the company is. The different sources you can go through are Facebook, LinkedIn or you can also cross check with the company’s previous clients.
You can go through the client’s account to see how active they are on social media sites and know more about their inner circle. And also make sure to talk through the mode of payment and payment terms ahead of project kick-start.
2. Don’t Undersell Yourself; Nor Oversell To Your Clients
When you know your price, you will leave no room for clarifications before placing the bid. Few projects are negotiable but at timeswhen you go through the proposal of some projects, at the first glance you may not estimate the value of it. That’s why knowing your price is very important when placing the bid.
Agreed, that few project scopes open doors to other relevant opportunities. Few other although look smaller in size, have more work to be done than in the average ones. How can you tackle such unclear project descriptions?
Apart from a fixed price, you can also quote a price range. This will leave less room for miscommunication.
In the project proposal, do clarify the timing and pricing for project delivery. Remember the time is yours and you will be the best person to determine the project length before submission. So, instead of a strict dead line, submit a realistic time line that will give enough time for revision.
“For instance, a client asks you the price of a technical content write-up. Now technology is a vast realm, it sometimes needs immense research and study before writing. Since you aren’t aware of the technology and the depth of research it would require, you can quote an hourly charge (say $50 per hour) or a price range (say $10 to $20 per article).
When the price is discussed beforehand, chances of miscommunication considerably reduce.
3. Patience Is A Key For Your Persistence Bidding
Sometimes you may be demotivated and give up despite of being productive and bidding continuously for projects. Unlike a regular freelancer job will face many silent days followed by overflowing projects.
A new entrant will especially find it difficult to establish a client base in the beginning. Lack of sample work and experience will take your bids down the pipe line.
That’s why patience and perseverance is the key in freelance career. A statistical report reveals that a new freelancer will have to bid atleast 30 times before he gets his first project. It is similar to that of a marketing job.
Not every client you visit or every call you make converts in to a potential lead. Out of 10, one clicks and out of 50 one turns into a good sales.
When you aren’t getting projects, you can use the free time to qualify yourself with additional skills or get some certifications that would boost your chances of getting good bids.
4. Keep Professional And Personal Information Separate
Your client might be your far off cousin’s friend or someone through a reference. However, eagerness to impress people may make you reveal unnecessary things about your personal life that may be harmful for your career.
As obvious as it may seem a new freelancer is eager to do things to get awarded. Despite the fact that a potential employer or a good client is great for your career, he is a total stranger.
And despite being in a business association, you cannot trust anyone completely. If the employer forces you to give out your personal information, it is an indicator that you shouldn’t work for the person.
Keeping things extremely professional and limiting your interactions to business alone are a great way to kick start a project.
Sometimes, people just for fun may offer your candies in the form of good work opportunities. These people tend to get close through personal chats and unprofessional conversation. You cannot stop such people from connecting with you. But you can definitely nip the interaction from blowing out of proportion by avoiding and ignoring it.
Some Of The Other Things That Are Equally Important To Remember Are:
- Project Description:It’s very important that you go through the project description, several times for a lengthy one, before you speak out or make a bid.
- Concise Bid: Employers will have to consider thousands of bids before shortlisting. You don’t want yours to be dumped out just because yours were lengthy and not eye catchy. Make your proposal short yet meaty for immediate acknowledgement.
- Clear Terms: Please clearly state what you can provide, how much you can provide, what would be the time taken and the cost of the service delivered using the project description as the guide.
- Revise and Proofread: If you want to ace in your profession don’t blindly submit your project proposal. A poorly written proposal clearly suggests lack of enthusiasm and poor work ethics.Hence, ensure you revise your content and cross check with the project description before sending out the proposal.
