Landing Design Clients: First Impressions
Let’s start with First Impressions: How to go through the three steps that lead up to the proposal while…
1. making a great first impression, and
2. gathering all the important info you’ll need.
Landing clients is like dating.
First impressions are HUGE, so all of your communication leading up to the proposal counts. Clients will drop off after the “first date” if they don’t feel like you’re on top of your sh*t.
I find that (much like dating) mastering the balance between eagerness and nonchalance is one of the most important shifts you can make to increase the % of prospects that turn into clients.
If you tend to be on the eager side with clients:
Take a deep breath. A lot of times I’ll feel like this if I’ve hit a dry spell and haven’t signed many new clients in a while. But if you’re feeling desperate, you’re in a scarcity mindset which is not conducive to landing clients. So take a chill pill, keep emails concise, speak confidently, and let the client take their time.
If you tend to me more nonchalant:
Make an effort to write and speak in a way that shows your excitement about the possibility of working with the client. You don’t need to be fake, but you do need to show that you care. Take notes and stay organized so that you don’t forget things the client has told you. Be responsive like it’s your job, because it is!
Okay moving on from mindset stuff, let’s dive into these three tactical steps:
Step 1: Email Response 📬
So you get an email from a potential client. You’re STOKED!!! Based on their email it seems like they’d be a super fun client to work with. But before you start counting your chickens, you need to respond in a professional way.
There are two things I always think about when I’m responding to an initial email: efficient + human.
Efficient: Don’t wait a week to respond to this potential client. They’re clearly excited about the project they have in their future, so don’t let that excitement fade! Respond that same day or the very next day. This shows that you are…
