As Freelance, you will often come across products used by some people that you may not find good or suitable. Knowing your skills, you will certainly imagine that you can offer more, but a lot of Freelance use an offensive method that does not work.

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Adding insult to injury is something every freelancer WordPress should be wary when approaching a new client (or an old one whose website is in desperate need of a refresher). Because, you never know who created the website, or even how attached the client is to the design. You might think you're doing them a favor by pointing out the generously obvious, but it can be just plain elusive.

If the website " fears“It would be bad not to bring the idea of ​​a redesign to this potential client. It would also be bad to offend the customer to the point of pointing out the bad design just to win the market. So how should you approach it?

The key to winning the market is, well… complicated. Because the end results really depend on how prepared you are for it.

In this tutorial, we are going to offer you some tips that will make it easier for you to get there.

Tip # 1: Be Prepared

Before any project call with a new or future client, you would familiarize yourself with what they currently have. Imagine seeing a doctor and telling you that he didn't bother to look at your records before entering. It's incredibly frustrating and unprofessional and inefficient.

This is even more important for rework locations. After all, you are the initiator of this discussion. The last thing you want to do is go for it and not be familiar with every part of the current website or have a well-established plan for how you plan to fix it. This plan should not be mentioned until you have an agreement with the client on the redesign, but it is always something you should have in mind before approaching the subject.

Tip # 2: In-Depth Search

There are several reasons why a redesign may not be in your client's best interest or even your best interests. For example:

  • What if your design style doesn't match theirs? Trying to offer them something that suits you more than them will not get you closer to their needs.
  • What if you already know that they're not open to the idea of ​​a redesign? No matter how many solid arguments you make, you will only be wasting their time and yours.
  • What if their company recently made headlines after a major scandal or security breach? Now is probably not the best time to engage with a business and bring more negative information to their attention.

Before contacting someone with a redesign idea, do your research on the company and even the primary point of contact to make sure it's a smart move for both of them.

Tip 3: don't go straight to the solution

Do not start making proposals, but start by winning the heart of your client. Here are some tips to prevent your client from giving up your offer to move this relationship to the next level:

  • Don't do this for yourself. A client's website is definitely a very important project to them and you need to take it seriously.
  • Don't use a presentation to give direction to their website. This will annoy your client and leave them feeling uncomfortable, wondering how much it is going to cost them. Still, you want them to focus on the positive results.
  • Don't talk about specification work and don't even mention a proposal at least until the end. Keep the focus on the possibilities.

Tip # 4: Avoid the Game of Guilt

Your goal here is to convince your customers that their website needs a redesign. If you approach the issue with the mindset of a designer or the developer who doesn't know what they're doing, you won't be able to make this deal. For starters, it will make you look unprofessional if you focus on what's wrong with the client's site.

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Second, you are going to lose any credibility that you would have earned until you are no longer lucky to have cast a shadow over a job that was done poorly. It doesn't matter if they paid another designer to do it, if their cousin participated or if they did it themselves. Insulting their website and any work done by someone involved in it is the wrong approach.

Remember: this is their baby. Maybe they didn't have the money when they started their business. Maybe they tried to do it on their own to save money. Or maybe they just didn't have an eye for design and were abused by someone who thought they could generate something that could (and had suited them until then). You are there to help them move forward in a positive direction with their website, and not highlight their old wounds.

Tip # 5: Focus on User Experience

One of the methods I found easy to make changes to a client's site was to walk through the site with them. This not only helped me make sure they were actually listening, but it also gave my clients a different view of their site and a visitor's view. As designers and developers, it's something you're used to doing anyway. You design for UI and UX. But customers don't often think that way. It's more like, "Why don't they fill the online form? ". It's that simple.

That's all for this tutorial, I hope these tips will help you approach your customers more easily and offer them your services. If you have any suggestions, don't hesitate to leave them in the comments.