.Wouldn’t you just swell up in pride when a client delights in you and says, “We appreciate You” or “Good to have you onboard!” These are not polite diplomacy remarks. These are real comments, given by some genuine clients, for being awesome.

Now look at these compliments – How would you feel if you get one of these – ?

Because you are a star!!! Thanks for your work on this. 🙂
Look forward to some more excellent work from you 🙂
You were a soldier in this.

These are just some of the compliments from my clients. Don’t assume it may take a long time for you to make your clients love you. For me, I have delighted clients from the first project on! I have been freelancing only about a year and in this (very) short span of time, I have managed to create a great rapport with all my clients.

Follow these simple tips if you want to get more and better freelance jobs.

Tip #1. Be Passionate

About your work.

Maybe you got into the freelance business out of necessity. I know I did. I wanted to be a full-time parent and it was only after I started writing, I discovered my passion for it.

Pro Tip: Work with all your heart and all your mind, and it will show in your work.

If you have any kind of mind block for your assignment, your client, or maybe you are simply bored — as a ripple effect, all of these aspects will trickle down to your work and that is never a good thing.

Your clients want to work with people who are like them. And if they are passionate about their business, and you are not – it simply would not work.

If you are compelled to freelance but are not “feeling” anything for it, try to be grateful for the many benefits freelancing offers – the flexibility and the freedom is great compared to the million others who have to work inside tiny cubicles, all day, all week.

Tip #2. Treasure Your Clients

So maybe you are passionate about your work and you have great clients to work with. It’s when you start taking them for granted, things start to fall apart. You start missing deadlines or you fail to update them about your impromptu mid-week break. These are simple things that can spell DOOM for your freelance writing career. Don’t do these things to lose your client.

When you treasure your clients, you care about their business. You care how much your work will affect their business. You wouldn’t be in it for the money. That will show your clients what a treasure you are to keep!

Pro Tip: Never Take your Clients For Granted

Tip #3. Be Accountable

When you accept to work on a certain project or assignment, make sure you are 100% committed. If, for any reason, you cannot deliver your best or deliver anything at all – you need to keep your clients in the loop about it. If you work on hourly basis, don’t cheat on your productivity. If you say yes to a client, then be sure to deliver and do it quick.

Pro Tip: Be honest about what you can and cannot do.

Tip #4. Be Quick to Deliver

For clients, time is money. The faster you deliver, the sooner it will help your clients. When your clients give you a deadline and you deliver before time, you earn a ton of brownie points! You get more work because the client appreciates your delivery timelines. When you work with this attitude, your productivity hits the fan and you get more and better freelance jobs.

Pro Tip: Deliver before the deadline.

Tip #5. Deliver the Best

Exercise caution when you want to be quick to deliver. Do it only when you really can. Of course, doing it regularly has its perks, but delivering half-baked assignments will probably get you fired. Quick or not, persuade your soul to deliver only the best work, each time, every time.

Tip #6. Be Dependable

When you only deliver the best each time, and within stipulated timelines, your clients learn to depend on you. Say Yes every time they come to you with an assignment. Even if it means for you to burn the midnight oil, burn it! …and deliver so they keep coming back for you.

Pro Tip: Work extra hours, only if you can.

Tip #7. Be Proactive

When you have completed a deliverable, be sure to be enthusiastic and ask your client if they have more work to give you. You don’t have to wait around for your client, you can take the first step. This will show your client that you are proactive and ready for more work.

Pro Tip: Ask for more work.

Tip #8. Build Relationship

Care to know their birthdays, their children’s birthdays, anniversaries. Be tuned to what your client is feeling. Share some of your personal stories. When there is a real and a genuine connection, your client will never forget you. You will be the first person they think of when things need to get done.

Pro Tip: Get on a video call at least once a month.

Do you have some sure fire ways to make clients love you? Share how you do it in the comments below.

Elizabeth Alex is a freelance content writer for hire. Follow her on her website, Honestliz.com, Facebook and Twitter.

Freelancing is on the rise.

At some point in your career, you’ll probably be in the position of either hiring a freelancer for a project, or offering your own skills in that role. So what makes a good one?

A-list freelancers are hard to pin down because of their agile, varied, and seemingly random skills. Raw talent and the ability to deliver work on deadline certainly contribute to a freelancer’s hire-ability, but really successful freelancers — those who are consistently in high demand — also have leadership skills that are easily distinguishable from average freelancers.

According to a recent survey, 77% of all freelancers claim passive reasons for freelancing, including the need to earn extra income on the side, a disinclination to work in an office, and “no other preferred career” — not exactly the most inspiring motivators for people whose success depends of exemplary service, and client referrals. If freelancing is merely a hobby, as soon as you interact with your client, it’ll be obvious.

True professionals edge out their competition by setting goals, and desiring deeper satisfaction and esteem from their work. They also pay high regard to personal development.

Top performing freelancers are in high demand because they develop personal qualities that elevate their basic services and enable them to work with a variety of clients. Good leadership qualities will not only make you a happier freelancer, able to deal with challenging clients and projects, but they’ll also attract others who want to work with you.

Do you want to be a superstar in your field, with plenty of repeat clients and referrals? Whether you’re a writer, graphic designer, web developer, or and expert in some other field; you must think like a leader.

These five essential qualities will make you shine.

Communication

If there’s one thing most freelancers agree on, it’s that regular clients are valuable and rare. Businesses hire freelancers for needs-based projects. Once the project is complete, the freelancer must find new clients, or bid on new projects. For freelancers, the revolving nature of the work keeps things interesting, but it also means dealing with a wide range of prospective customers and personalities.

“Excellent communication skills are a must.” According to ZipRecruiter.com, communication skill is the quality most requested by employers, mentioned in 51% of all employment ads. Freelancers that struggle to communicate are at a serious disadvantage, especially since they must customize their communication style to accommodate the work styles, cultures, and personalities of so many different prospects and clients.

The secret sauce? Learn and practice good listening, speaking and writing skills. In business, people portray varying levels of ability in getting their ideas across. Bridging the communication chasm allows you to share and interpret concepts and ideas that are important to your clients. Can’t write? Speak. Can’t talk? Write. Can’t speak or write? Listen and execute flawlessly.

Confidence

Most entrepreneurs recognize the importance of hiring people who are “smarter” than they are in certain areas of expertise. That’s why they hire freelancers instead of doing the work themselves.

They have a kernel of an idea, but they hire you for better, faster, experience-based results. If you’re new at freelancing, you may be tempted to “take orders” like a waiter, but you’ll gain your client’s respect if you trust your gut. Your expertise has value; sometimes it just takes confidence to voice your opinion about how to meet your client’s goals.

The reality is that many times the client doesn’t know the whole picture. Top-notch freelancers will step into their roles as experts, while still showing a humble intention to deliver great service.

Creativity and Intuition

No job is ever exactly the same. No matter how many times a freelancer approaches similar projects, it’s never a one-size-fits-all process. Repetition can dull results if you’re not taking a fresh approach to each new job. Even when you know your target market like the back of your hand, and develop your niche service around it, you should never keep your creative process locked in a box.

If you no longer flow with inspiration, you’re not going to have much fun, and neither will your client! Train yourself to see each new project with fresh eyes; tried and true expertise should never be equated with “lackluster and boring.”

Long-term professionals are proud of work they add to their portfolios. Your excitement and open-ness about each new project should keep your client intrigued enough to come back for more, and rave about you to others.

Education

The more you know, the more value you’ll add to your services. Most truly valuable freelancers make it a point to always be learning from others, both within and outside their field of expertise. An ongoing education makes you so valuable; you will be untouchable compared to the person in your industry who knows just one skill.

By the way, as this article suggests, business and leadership knowledge counts. Think you don’t have time to learn new skills? Then simply expose yourself to ideas, concepts, and trends your clients care about. Listen to audio books and relevant podcasts in your spare time to stay ahead of the game.

Enthusiasm For Others’ Success

This may be the most important leadership quality a freelancer possesses. A great leader offers encouragement and helps others accomplish their goals, which, as a freelancer, should be your goals, too.

You must be equally invested in your clients’ success as your own; otherwise your career is just a series of meaningless tasks. View your customers’ projects from their point of view to align your heart and skills with theirs.

As your leadership skills increase, both you and your clients will enjoy the benefits of higher standards.

Your turn: what other leadership skills are pertinent to your success as a freelancer?

8 Ways To Make Your Clients Love You