As freelancers, our services are the core of our business.

Without them, we don’t have a business and, well, they’re what attract clients to us in the first place.

But, as is the way with running any kind of business, you want to sell more services. Which means brushing up on your sales skills.

The thought of openly putting your service out there might make you break out in a cold sweat, but the word “sales” doesn’t have to mean the sleazy tactics that we’ve come to know and love (read: hate).

First things first: know your target client

I know so many people hark on about target clients this, and target clients that, but that’s because it’s important.

In order to start selling more services, you need to have a service that’s worth selling.

When you know who your target client is, you can create a set of services that literally solve a key problem they face every single day.

Your service basically needs to be something that:

• Your target client desperately needs in their life (but maybe they don’t know it yet)
• Solves a specific problem they have (not a vague problem they might have)
• Inspires your target client to buy immediately (because it’s something they literally can’t say no to)

Once you’ve created a service that does exactly this, and you know that your target clients need and want it in their life, then you can start implementing some key sales tactics to sell more services.

Before you read on, don’t forget to grab your free Profitable Freelance Business Blueprint.

Using Sales Writing Psychology to Sell More Services

A lot of freelancers whip up a bit of prose about their services, whack it on their website, sit back and wait.

The problem is, there is a ton of psychology that goes into successful sales writing. We read SO many things every day, that in order to stand out and really make a difference, your sales copy has to tap into core beliefs and human feelings.

This might sound daunting – kinda like voodoo – but it can actually be really simple if you stick to a few key copywriting techniques.

Let’s dig in.

1. Create a sense of urgency

Have you ever been about to buy a ticket to a concert or a room in a hotel and a big ol’ pop up comes up and say “hurry, someone’s literally about to pip you to the post and swipe your ticket from your hesitant hands”? (well, not that exact wording, but you get the picture).

Nine times out of ten, there isn’t someone waited with baited breath right behind ready to snatch your tickets from you.

Instead, this is a key tactic sales writers use to inspire a sense of urgency in people – because, let’s face it, we hate missing out on something, especially if it’s a good deal.

Now, I’m not saying you should go ahead and lie that you’ve only got one slot left if you’ve got a calendar as free as anything.

Instead, you want to share that there are limited options available, whether that’s by saying you only keep 3 slots open a month for clients, or whether you offer a discount that’s only available for the next week.

Creating a sense of urgency is one of the best ways you can get clients to take the plunge quickly (a.k.a. no more dilly-dallying around). In fact, some people have seen an increase of over 330% in sales when implementing this strategy – Wowza.

2. Boast about benefits – not features

I see so many freelancers making the mistake of simply stating what their service features.

This could be research, image sourcing, and 2 edits if you’re a writer, or it could be 3 draft designs, a colour palette, and a moodboard if you’re a designer.

The problem? Most clients don’t care what your service includes, they care about how it will help them reach their goals.

So, instead of presenting the research, images, and 2 edits as features, turn them into benefits:

• 1 hour of research so your content stands head and shoulders above your competitors’
• Image sourcing, so your blog posts stand out and keep people reading for longer (this has been proven to work!)
• 2 edits so we can get your voice and style nailed to build a connection with your audience

You see how each feature has been turned into a benefit that helps the client?

It really is that simple.

People buy benefits NOT features, so if you do one thing today, head over to your freelancer website and turn any features you’ve listed into benefits for the client.

I’ll wait here while you do that.

Done? Excellent!

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3. Build on connection

The old fashioned sales spiel is well and truly a thing of the past. Consumers and clients no longer buy into that “in-your-face” style of marketing.

Instead, they crave connections in this interconnected age because, well, the internet feels a bit anonymous.

Instead of bombarding people with cold emails out of the blue, work on building a connection with them first.

Your strategy might look something like this:

• Connect with marketing manager or director of business on Twitter
• Retweet a great piece of content they’ve posted or reply to a comment they’ve made
• Ask if it’s okay to shoot them a DM or an email

Here, you’re slowly building up a rapport with them rather than diving straight into the sell, sell, sell mentality, which means they’re more likely to listen to what you’re saying when you do eventually email them.

You don’t have to play the long-game. Instead, just set up a quick 3-step strategy to use before you shoot off those cold emails.

4. Build up to the big sell

It can be daunting talking about pricing with new clients, especially if you’re new or are worried you’re charging too much (spoiler, you’re probably not!).

But think about it: how much thought do you put into buying a £30 kettle? Now, how much thought do you put into buying a £500 television?

I’m going to go out on a limb and say you’d spend a heck of a lot more time thinking about that TV.

Why? Because it’s pricey. It’s a bigger outlay of money.

What if it doesn’t do what you want it to do? What if you don’t know how to use it? What if you regret your decision?

We ALL feel like this when making a high-end purchase, and there’s not really a lot you can do to ease someone’s mind bar providing them with great testimonials.

But there ARE things you can do to build up to sell more services at a higher price point.

You see, clients will be more likely to buy more costly services from you if they already know how you operate and how much value you can offer them.

So, in light of that, you can provide a much smaller service that comes in at a lower price point as a teaser.

For example, if you’re a writer, you might offer 2 shorter blog posts over the space of a month that’s cheaper than 4 long-form blog posts so clients can test the water and see if they’d like to work with you.

This doesn’t feel like such a risk for them, because they’re saving money, but they still get to test you out.

These smaller services at a lower price point can lead into your higher-priced services.

After a teaser or a month trial at this lower cost, you can then pitch the higher-priced service once the client is comfortable with you and knows you can do what you say you can.

These are just a few ways you can sell more services without having to get all sleazy on your clients.

Once you get into the swing of sales and start consistently shifting your services every month, it gets a whole lot easier – especially if you find a method that works particularly well for your target client.

Tell me – do you use any of these sales techniques to sell more services? If not, what tactics do you use to get potential clients to pull the trigger and work with you? Let me know in the comments below!

If you’re ready to set your business on fire and sell more services, check out the Services Superhero program that does EXACTLY that!