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The importance of follow-up
Win and keep your clients with this one cool trick
Do assignments seem to be drying up? Are your go-to clients no longer calling you as frequently? Or, are you a brand-new freelancer wondering when you’re going to get a reply from a potential customer?
Let me clue you in to this amazing and effective new trick.
Nah, I’m kidding. This is not a “new” trick. It’s one of the most reliable and successful methods to win new clients and keep the ones you’ve got (if you still want them).
It’s called “follow-up,” and the best freelancers use it effectively.
Some of you are thinking, “yeah, I know this. Heck, I do this. I follow up regularly with clients.” That’s awesome. Keep doing it more. But some of you are like me: a little shy, and pretty anxious about picking up the phone to talk to a potential client, cold, in the middle of the day.
As a full-time editor, the writers who I work with the most often are the ones who have mastered the art of follow-up. They’re the ones who give me a polite nudge if I haven’t answered their introductory email. They check in periodically when assignments are thin, to let me know they’re available when work picks back up. They pitch ideas to me when they see a potential opportunity for my business — and are receptive to feedback from my team.
All of these writers have multiple clients — I’m just one of the people they touch base with. And they’ve built a solid relationship with each of their clients not just because they deliver great work, but because they know how to communicate effectively and, most importantly, stay at the top of the inbox (and in our contact lists).
How to follow up like the pro you are
As I noted above, follow-up is an art, and like any art, there’s a learning process. We all will have missteps on the road to becoming great communicators. You’ll forget to follow up with a potential client, for example. Or, you’ll bombard them with too many follow-up emails in a single week.
