Picture this: you are a freelance designer who is just starting out. You don't have much of a reputation yet. You have some great ideas buzzing in your head. And you really would like to start reeling in some clients-the bigger, the better. The worries don't end even after you land a project. What comes next is that your design fulfills their requirements and adds a shining edge to the solution.

A design can be labeled as good when it turns a few heads while successfully solving a problem. But it becomes sensational when it can twirl your client by the pixel. What you need to keep in mind is that, design is not just about creativity, but also about presenting and consequently, selling it effectively to your clients. And situations like this turn into roadblocks for those who are doing it wrong.

It is quite important to add muscle to your design selling strategies to trigger client conversion. Let's see how you can take your ideas to the next level.

Know your clients

It doesn't take much, seriously. All you would need to do is to get talking. It doesn't have to end with the brief of your client's design requirement. A little bit of curiosity about the city they live in, the weather and the likes could take you long way. Here's what happens when you hit the right buttons:

• Some clients like to keep the freedom to a design project on a leash which doesn't leave you enough room to experiment. A friendly conversation can help establish trust. This catalyzes the restrictions to fall apart clearing out your way to the liberty on the project you are handling.
• A nice conversation with your client will help you understand what your clients would like to see in the designs that you make. A clearer picture of the desired solution can open up gateways you never imagined existed.

If your clients feel comfortable with you, they would automatically trust your designs and take them more seriously. The next bunch of projects from that client could actually be coming to you.

Make sure that you know what you create

When it comes to design, you need to have a reason for everything you do. I'll tell you why. Picture a mathematical formula. What do you see? A few scribblings of numbers, variables and symbols. All you need here are a few values for the variables to solve it and get to the correct answer. With design, you need to forget all of that because there is no luxury of a formula in design. Therefore, a valid reason is expected for your one-page layout preference and your chosen palette of colors.

Do your homework before your presentation. There are various types of clients who you might have to deal with and they will have questions and for your designs to sell, you need to have all the answers ready. Fumbling or ignoring won't take you a long way, complete answers backed with evidence and data will.

Show instead of telling

In design, visuals talk. It is advisable to put together a mock-up of your ideas and present that to your client. This way you would have a definite approval of your ideas before starting with the project. Sometimes a sketch is enough to explain your visualization, sometimes a more tangible presentation could be necessary. This way you would not have to wait till the end of a full-blown presentation to receive an approval. However, you must also keep in mind that not all the aspects of your dummy presentation will be adopted.

Do not get too defensive with your designs

Most designers tend to get too defensive with their designs and it becomes quite hard for them to accept the criticisms and changes suggested by the client. The reason is simple. Your designs reflect who you are and shape your reputation. When that comes in question, getting defensive becomes a reflex action. But you already know this is wrong. Your clients know exactly what they want and how they want it. So you need to tread with a touch of finesse without getting too defensive. For example, if you feel that a certain change suggested by the client is unnecessary, you could say this, “While I think your ideas would make for very interesting changes, but I'm not sure if that would align with our desired result.” Fair enough, right?

Having said that, it is quite important to keep a watch out for the latest trends in design so that you can incorporate those in your creativity. A quick trend research can take you a long way. Don't just think out of the box, think smart too because the industry is in dire need of professionals who would design for the future. There are two kinds of designers, the trendsetters and the trend-followers. The question is, who would you like to be?

Image Courtesy: www.pagewiz.com