Freelancing is a good way to take control over your career and make a name off of your own back. If you’ve got a skill you can monetise, using it to freelance could make you a lot of money, garner a good reputation, and make you a thought leader within your chosen industry.
Sounds amazing, right? Before you get to that stage, however, you’ve got to put a lot of time and effort into building your client base and coming off as someone who deserves to be hired.
That’s where your sense of professionalism comes in. For some people this is innate, for others it takes a bit of practice, but in both cases, refining your professional profile will do wonders for your success.
When you look, sound, and act professional, it’s not just the clients that benefit. If you’re someone who lives with imposter syndrome, this can help you beat back the way that feels as well! So let’s go through a few ways you can set a shining example in a client’s eyes, for both your personal and professional fulfilment.
Dress Well
If you’re going to be doing anything in person in your capacity as a freelancer, make sure you dress the part. A lot of professionalism is simply the image we project to the world, and if people see someone dressed smart and looking ready for business, they’re going to feel much more comfortable welcoming you into the room.
You may also feel more comfortable in this guise, as power dressing is standard for the workplace. Apply it to your work from home setup and you’ll give yourself a dose of the confidence you really need. It’s a form of faking it until you make it, and if you’re at the beginning of your freelance career, an extra boost is never a bad thing.
Be Honest
Clients want to hear two things from you. Firstly, what you’ve delivered in the past, and secondly, how you made it all happen. It’s easy to think you should lay things on thick with this, and take even the smallest detail about what you’ve achieved and make it seem big.
And we don’t blame you! An achievement is an achievement, and if you’re proud of it, it should factor into your answer.
However, the best thing to do is be honest and clear about what you’ve done and where you’ve come from. When you’re honest, you won’t worry about being caught in a lie, and you certainly won’t overpromise results based on your past experience.
Have Clear Proof You’re an Expert
A lot of freelancers get started without putting together a portfolio. This might sound impossible to avoid, as a new freelancer isn’t going to have many previous client examples to speak of. However, this is one of the worst mistakes you can make!
Indeed, any personal branding guide you could read through will tell you that you need to look like an expert when someone taps in your name. If there isn’t a portfolio in place to speak for you, this potential client is going to look for someone else who clearly has the skill they’re looking for.
This is not to say you’re not skilled, or that you don’t deserve to gain these clients, but this needs to be obvious to them as well. Clear proof that you’re an expert, made up of examples of work that back up your claims, is the one thing that’ll lead to that job offer coming through.
Anything you’re proud of that makes use of the skill you’re freelancing with should go into the portfolio, until you gain enough clients that end in more relevant results that can replace them.
Try Not to Overpromise
We mentioned overpromising earlier, but we should go into detail about it. Why? Because it’s a dangerous thing to do, and it can set back a lot of professional progress if things go wrong.
In short, overpromising leads a client to believe you’re not good at your job. In turn, this won’t lead to extra or continuous work, and your name won’t be passed on when contacts reach out for a reliable freelancer. Simply put, overpromising isn’t professional and can instead make you look clumsy and incompetent, which is the last thing a freelancer needs!
Keep Researching Your Industry
Professionalism means staying up to date. It means taking a vested interest in your niche or industry. It means being the person who is always at the front of the queue, finding out what big thing is going to come next.
That’s why freelancers should never let themselves get too cosy within their own bubbles. Discover trends instead. Do your homework and find out what’s going on, what you need to be aware of, and keep building up your professional network.
Regularly Share Your Professional Opinion
No matter what freelancing work you do, creating content around your thoughts, opinions, and experience is always a good idea. Not only does it allow you to connect to other freelancers and form a community, but it means there’s a lot of content for a potential client to dig into.
You have a portfolio, of course, but with a bit of personal leaking into the professional, you’re also likely to have a thriving social media profile and/or blog to check out as well.
This helps boost your online profile, helps you to become a more recognisable name, and gives you something to be proud of outside of contracted projects. Now you’re more than a freelancer – you’re a professional with something to say as well!
Professionalism is something a freelancer can use to their own advantage time and time again. You’ve got the skill, you’ve got the knowhow, and now you just need the outward appearance of a successful and capable person. And while it may take time to feel like that inside, you can let the rest of the world see you for the freelancing expert you really are!
