This may seem like a weird request, but I want you to think of a Lucky Dwarf. Any one of those Lucky Dwarfs you’ve seen or met in your life. Got it? Good.
Now, quickly think of a number between one to ten.
Let me take a wild guess, were you thinking of the number seven?
Don’t worry, I don’t have telepathic abilities to read your mind. I was just using a psychological effect called Priming to trick your subconscious mind into thinking the number seven by using two simple words “Lucky Dwarf”, both of which are commonly affiliated with the number seven (eg: lucky number 7, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs). It’s a trick I learned from Nick Kolenda’s book, Methods of Persuasion.
Did you know that 90% of your decisions, actions, emotions and behavior are initiated by your subconscious mind?
That book aroused a strong curiosity in me to learn about psychology and how our subconscious mind works. So, I went through a series of books on this subject, including Influence Science and Practice, Brain Rules, The Social Animal, and a few more.
I’ll let you in on a secret: Now I use some of those tricks I learned to improve my chances of landing big clients and it’s been very effective.
Want to know how? Then keep reading.
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How to Influence Your Clients
Why do you think I use the color yellow for the theme of this website and my Freelancing Hacks branding across social media?
Did I just randomly choose a color that I liked the most? Nope.
I chose this color because, according to the psychology of color, Yellow has a strong effect to arouse the emotions of confidence and optimism.
I wanted to make my visitors feel optimistic about their freelancing career and to feel confident enough to take the challenge of working from home. Did it work on you?
I applied some of these methods when creating my profile on freelance sites as well.
On my Envato Studio page, you’ll see how I use a picture that show a man working on a computer, taking notes with a pen, in an orange background. Which includes colors and elements that show friendliness and the effectiveness of work.
“Blue is the favored color by both men (57%) and women (35%), though it is more heavily favored by men. Men dislike brown the most while women dislike orange the most.” – Via CoSchedule.
If you’re planning on offering your services through a GIG site, like Fiverr, Zeerk, or Envato Studio, you can use the same effects of the color psychology to establish trust and influence in your clients to make them choose you over other freelancers.
Another great psychological trick is explaining what you can do for your clients.
For example: “I will design a brand logo for your business”. It’s something that’s been hard-coded onto Fiverr platform. Each Fiverr gig starts with the phrase “I will” and ends with “for $5”.
Most clients browse websites like Fiverr not knowing their exact needs, so explaining it to them in your service help them to narrow their search. This is why Fiverr is so popular among small businesses these days.
Here’s a great example of the combination of color psychology, priming, and a perfect explanation:
Make Your Prices More Attractive
Imagine you’re in store for a textbook. There are three options: A 160-page book for $5, a 200-page book for $7, and a 250-page book for $10. Which book would you buy?
It’s more likely of you to choose the 200-page book because people have a tendency to compare before making choices. In this case, the $7 option seemed quite a bargain compared to the others.
I’m not telling you to lower your rates. Not at all. That would have a negative effect and clients would think that you’re a fraud if you price your services cheaper.
However, you can use the psychology of pricing to beat your competitors and stand out from the rest of the freelancers. For instance, if someone offers to design a Logo for $5, you can offer to create a Logo + Free Revision for $5. It’s the same price, but with added value.
Persuade Clients To Give You The Job
Followings are statements from two different freelancers. If you’re looking to hire one of them, which one would you pick?
Freelancer #1 – “So far, I’ve designed over 30 websites for major brands and I run my own web design agency, but I only have one year of experience. ”
Freelancer #2 – “I only have one year of experience, but so far I’ve designed over 30 websites for major brands and I run my own web design agency.”
Both these statements contain the same words with only a slight adjustment in the arrangement. But, the statement of the Freelancer #2 sounds more confident and trustworthy because it doesn’t end on a negative thought.
Remember to avoid making the mistake of explaining your skills first and your weaknesses later. The arrangement of your words in your pitch can make a big difference.
Use strong words in your pitch that evoke positive emotions, like success, free, unique, instantly, and effective (hint: check the blog title).
Just be careful not to oversell yourself. Clients receive pitches from freelancers begging to get approved all the time. Sometimes, playing hard to get is the best way to get a client’s attention.
Because even though we are all grown up, we still want that something we can’t have.
Show Off Authority
Have you ever wondered why those popular business websites show off a list of site logos on their homepage featuring the blogs they were mentioned in or the awards they’ve won?
It actually has something to do with showing off authority. You are more likely to trust a company that was mentioned by Wall Street Journal, than their rival company that has zero mentions.
The same rule applies in the world of freelancing as well. A client is more likely to hire a person with 100 positive feedback reviews than a freelancer with 5 reviews.
So, no matter which freelance platform you choose, do everything you can to build your authority on the platform. Ask your clients to leave reviews, show screenshots of the big websites you’ve designed, include links and names of the blogs you’ve been published.
Exude Confidence
“I think I can do this job. If you can give me the job chance I will try to do my best .”
What do you think of that statement? Do you think that guy is confident about his skills and abilities? Would you ask him to design a high-profile brand logo?
No client wants to waste their time and money on someone who “thinks” he can or wants to “try” a job. Confidence is the key to building trust.
Having a strong character with a little bit of ego will help any freelancer to grab the attention of their clients and increasing their chances of getting approved each time they send a pitch.
Keep in mind, these psychological tricks may help you land more clients, but they won’t last long if you don’t have the necessary skills to deliver a job. So, it’s best if you work on improving your character and expertise before diving into freelancing.
“Our thoughts are mainly controlled by our subconscious, which is largely formed before the age of 6, and you cannot change the subconscious mind by just thinking about it. That’s why the power of positive thinking will not work for most people. The subconscious mind is like a tape player. Until you change the tape, it will not change.” – Bruce Lipton, developmental biologist.