Shape your freelance pitch to make you stand out
As a successful freelancer, a sharp freelance pitch is essential for building a solid business foundation. And for most freelancers, pitching is still the biggest and most important driver of new work.
Especially for new freelancers, the pitch (or elevator pitch) is what stands between an empty calendar and new clients screaming for expertise. That's why a good freelance pitch means more work, and more work means money in the bank.
Your freelance pitch is more than a cold email
In the freelance world, your pitch is generally seen as your first cold email or call. But in reality, the pitch is everything that happens, from your first contact with a potential (or old) client to a signed contract.
When we talk about pitching, it's your ability to sell yourself and show how you deliver value to a project. It can be through:
- Cold canvas: email, phone, LinkedIn messages
- Jobs posted on freelance portals
- Physical meetings
- Contacting old customers
Essentially, you should consider every touchpoint you have with a client leading up to a deal as a pitch, where you need to show how you can get the project done and why you are the best person for the job.
You take away two things from this article
1) Building your pitch
2) Captivate your audience.
What is a pitch?
You only create value if potential customers know you exist. That's why one of the most important tools for freelancers is pitching.
In short, a pitch is a few words about the value you create and why you are the best choice for a task. As a basic rule, your pitch should therefore contain:
- Who you are and what you are passionate about
- How your passion creates value - and for whom
- Why you are the best person for the job
- What you actually do
Resist the temptation to go into solution mode
When we pitch, we tend to talk about WHAT we do instead of our ambitions and the results of what we do - in other words, WHY we do what we do. That's why you need to do it the other way around: start where others can tell that you are passionate and why you can accomplish a task.
Building your pitch
When you stand in front of your audience, whether it's a packed hall or a single project manager in line at the grocery store, that's when the battle is on.
Be concrete, to the point and then help your future client dream and visualize how your gold-edged solution is a big step towards the promised land.
1. Why you do what you do
A pitch is a short teaser where you talk about the value you create. You need to establish what your audience gets out of you, what your passion is and how your service creates value for them. How is your service unique, how is it different from your
competitors? Maybe your take is completely innovative, maybe your originality is more tangible: e.g. you're cheaper, faster, better trained, have worked with similar customers.
2. Who you are
Your pitch should be about you and why you [and perhaps your team] are the best person to solve your customer's challenge. Your narrative is perhaps the most important part of the pitch. It doesn't have to be wordy, but you need to demonstrate throughout the pitch that the listeners can trust you, understand that you are creative, competent, battle-ready or something else that is essential to the collaboration.
3. Closure
Finish by summarizing your points and setting the stage for when to have the next conversation, not if.
Freelance with Factofly
Use Factofly to invoice and get paid without having your own VAT number or registered company. We take care of all the boring stuff so you can spend your time where it's most fun.
5 tips for your freelance pitch
1. A simple and concise message
We only remember a tiny fraction of all the information we encounter every day. Therefore, choose carefully what message you want your audience to remember.
Instead of having a ready-made script, build your pitch around basic points. Then you can elaborate if there's time and interest or slow down if you run out of time.
See 'How to find your life purpose in 5 minutes' | Adam Leipzig | TEDx:
2. 'Why' before 'how' and 'what'
We tend to present ourselves with titles and technicalities, but what grabs people is your passion. If you want to get your audience on board from the start, you should start with why you do what you do and what value you create.
Then you can get specific about what and how you work with your passion.
See 'Start with why - how great leaders inspire action' | Simon Sinek | TEDx:
3. Create images with your audience
People remember images and stories more easily than concrete information. Make your pitch stick better by including an image-creating story - preferably something that surprises and makes your audience prick up their ears. See how Linea from Graphiosity does it.
4. Open up a dialog with your audience
If you can transform your pitch from a(salesy) monologue to a dialog with your audience, you increase your chance of making yourself relevant. Engage your audience and get them thinking about how you create value for them.
See 'How to Create Interest and Connect with Anyone' | Sam Horn | TEDx:
5. Your body supports your pitch
Your body, voice and choice of words support your value and the trust your audience has in you. Studies show that your audience will value your body language by 55%, your voice by 38% and only value your words by 7%. So you need to be in control of both your words and your body signals. There's no formula for good body language and voice - experiment and find an expression that works for you. Whether you want to sound serious, funny, excited or passionate.
Practice your pitch again and again
A good freelance pitch creates value when it lives and you can't practice enough.
Practice your pitch in front of the mirror, in front of friends, when engaging with people on LinkedIn and other social platforms, in your applications and emails, at dinner parties.
That's where you practice. But remember - where it really works is when you pitch to your (potential) customers and partners.
Train virtually: Factofly recommends www.pitcherific.com
Here you can find inspiration for your pitch through articles and models, build your pitch on time, record yourself on video and much more. Try their 7-day free trial.
Freelance with Factofly
Use Factofly to invoice and get paid without having your own VAT number or registered company. We take care of all the boring stuff so you can spend your time where it's most fun.
Shape your freelance pitch to make you stand out
As a successful freelancer, a sharp freelance pitch is essential for building a solid business foundation. And for most freelancers, pitching is still the biggest and most important driver of new work.
Especially for new freelancers, the pitch (or elevator pitch) is what stands between an empty calendar and new clients screaming for expertise. That's why a good freelance pitch means more work, and more work means money in the bank.
Your freelance pitch is more than a cold email
In the freelance world, your pitch is generally seen as your first cold email or call. But in reality, the pitch is everything that happens, from your first contact with a potential (or old) client to a signed contract.
When we talk about pitching, it's your ability to sell yourself and show how you deliver value to a project. It can be through:
- Cold canvas: email, phone, LinkedIn messages
- Jobs posted on freelance portals
- Physical meetings
- Contacting old customers
Essentially, you should consider every touchpoint you have with a client leading up to a deal as a pitch, where you need to show how you can get the project done and why you are the best person for the job.
You take away two things from this article
1) Building your pitch
2) Captivate your audience.
What is a pitch?
You only create value if potential customers know you exist. That's why one of the most important tools for freelancers is pitching.
In short, a pitch is a few words about the value you create and why you are the best choice for a task. As a basic rule, your pitch should therefore contain:
- Who you are and what you are passionate about
- How your passion creates value - and for whom
- Why you are the best person for the job
- What you actually do
Resist the temptation to go into solution mode
When we pitch, we tend to talk about WHAT we do instead of our ambitions and the results of what we do - in other words, WHY we do what we do. That's why you need to do it the other way around: start where others can tell that you are passionate and why you can accomplish a task.
Building your pitch
When you stand in front of your audience, whether it's a packed hall or a single project manager in line at the grocery store, that's when the battle is on.
Be concrete, to the point and then help your future client dream and visualize how your gold-edged solution is a big step towards the promised land.
1. Why you do what you do
A pitch is a short teaser where you talk about the value you create. You need to establish what your audience gets out of you, what your passion is and how your service creates value for them. How is your service unique, how is it different from your
competitors? Maybe your take is completely innovative, maybe your originality is more tangible: e.g. you're cheaper, faster, better trained, have worked with similar customers.
2. Who you are
Your pitch should be about you and why you [and perhaps your team] are the best person to solve your customer's challenge. Your narrative is perhaps the most important part of the pitch. It doesn't have to be wordy, but you need to demonstrate throughout the pitch that the listeners can trust you, understand that you are creative, competent, battle-ready or something else that is essential to the collaboration.
3. Closure
Finish by summarizing your points and setting the stage for when to have the next conversation, not if.
Freelance with Factofly
Use Factofly to invoice and get paid without having your own VAT number or registered company. We take care of all the boring stuff so you can spend your time where it's most fun.
5 tips for your freelance pitch
1. A simple and concise message
We only remember a tiny fraction of all the information we encounter every day. Therefore, choose carefully what message you want your audience to remember.
Instead of having a ready-made script, build your pitch around basic points. Then you can elaborate if there's time and interest or slow down if you run out of time.
See 'How to find your life purpose in 5 minutes' | Adam Leipzig | TEDx:
2. 'Why' before 'how' and 'what'
We tend to present ourselves with titles and technicalities, but what grabs people is your passion. If you want to get your audience on board from the start, you should start with why you do what you do and what value you create.
Then you can get specific about what and how you work with your passion.
See 'Start with why - how great leaders inspire action' | Simon Sinek | TEDx:
3. Create images with your audience
People remember images and stories more easily than concrete information. Make your pitch stick better by including an image-creating story - preferably something that surprises and makes your audience prick up their ears. See how Linea from Graphiosity does it.
4. Open up a dialog with your audience
If you can transform your pitch from a(salesy) monologue to a dialog with your audience, you increase your chance of making yourself relevant. Engage your audience and get them thinking about how you create value for them.
See 'How to Create Interest and Connect with Anyone' | Sam Horn | TEDx:
5. Your body supports your pitch
Your body, voice and choice of words support your value and the trust your audience has in you. Studies show that your audience will value your body language by 55%, your voice by 38% and only value your words by 7%. So you need to be in control of both your words and your body signals. There's no formula for good body language and voice - experiment and find an expression that works for you. Whether you want to sound serious, funny, excited or passionate.
Practice your pitch again and again
A good freelance pitch creates value when it lives and you can't practice enough.
Practice your pitch in front of the mirror, in front of friends, when engaging with people on LinkedIn and other social platforms, in your applications and emails, at dinner parties.
That's where you practice. But remember - where it really works is when you pitch to your (potential) customers and partners.
Train virtually: Factofly recommends www.pitcherific.com
Here you can find inspiration for your pitch through articles and models, build your pitch on time, record yourself on video and much more. Try their 7-day free trial.
Freelance with Factofly
Use Factofly to invoice and get paid without having your own VAT number or registered company. We take care of all the boring stuff so you can spend your time where it's most fun.
