The Mistake Most People Make When Pitching New Clients

Pitching new clients can have some people coming out in a hot sweat. They wonder what to say and how to present themselves.

Freelancers are, in many cases, what I like to call accidental business owners. What I mean by this is that they never intended to run a business. They just found a way to make money from doing what they love and for which they have a natural talent.

Then they wake up one day, and there's book-keeping, accountancy, and taxes. There is also marketing and the dreaded job of selling themselves. There's one thing that many small business owners hate more than doing the books, and that's trying to sell themselves to clients.

I've had many conversations with people who spend half their lives working with some of the most famous people in music and film, that's easy. Ask them to try and market and sell, and they come over in a hot sweat.

I was on a Zoom call this week with a client and a new hire. My client introduced his new hire; then, before anyone could catch their breath, the new hire launched into a long speech about all his achievements. It lasted some minutes, and although he presented an impressive resume, we were left unimpressed. 

He had made the cardinal mistake of pitching to a new client... he talked about himself rather than the client.

It seems entirely natural to want to lay out your stall before a potential client, but I'd like to suggest that rather than talking about you, you listen to them.

Three Reasons

Here are three reasons why;

Firstly, how can you offer any solutions unless you know what they need? This information can only come from asking questions.  It's what I call in my book scratching the itch.

Secondly, showing a genuine interest in someone else is attractive, far more appealing than listing off your resume. Most clients have already done this research, if they need to know they will ask you.

Thirdly, as you listen, you are gaining valuable insights about their brand and their challenges.

Finally, at some point, as you listen to them share about what itch needs scratching, then you can talk about how you can help and present the evidence from past work about your skills and experience.

I want to suggest that the first call is 90% about them and 10% about you and your business.

At Sociatech, we've been using this model for years, and we have no problem getting new clients.

The Attraction of Listening

If you hate talking about yourself, then I have some excellent news for you; you don't have to. Listening is far more attractive and more likely to get you new clients.

Try it. You'll be surprised at how well it works.