What is the best way to pitch a design/strategy idea to an independent business?
The business in mind is one I am a fan of. They're an independent business based in the UK and they have been operating for over 15 years. They sell their products online, but their website isn't easy to navigate and they don't have a strong online presence.
They were once the very few businesses that offered their product and now have competitors on the rise which seem a lot more on it with their branding and marketing strategy.
I have a few ideas that I would love to design and pitch to them (brand refresh, website refresh and social media strategy) what is the best way for going about this or is this a big no-no?
I am new to freelance so I am wanting to build my portfolio up with projects I am passionate about and I can't get this business out of my head. HELP!
Replies6
- One approach might be to ask yourself ‘how protective do I feel about my ideas?’Having self initiated projects in your portfolio is a good way of sharing your process and passions.When it comes to pitching fully formed ideas you may need to test the appetite first.Is this a simple refresh or a disruptive repositioning?It sounds like you’ve done some competitor mapping which you could share and open the conversation.Offering client brief development could also help build the relationship.Sounds like @Brian Grant has it covered.
- @Rosie Stobbie I’m happy to help, good luck and I am sure that you will do well.
- @Brian Grant wow thank you so much Brian for taking the time to write such an insightful response!! That's really valuable advice and I really appreciate your guidance :) I'm sure alot of freelancers in my position would also benefit from this advice too. You should definitely consider writing a blog post on this topic, if you haven't already!
- Hello Rosie,That is a great question and there are a number of ways to approach an independent business.A number of ways have worked for me in the past when working with both small and large businesses.
- Conducting an audit is a good way (research the aspects of their offerings that can be improved and provide evidence why and how it can be changed in a way that is more beneficial to the business than they are currently doing).
- Connecting with a director or founder of the business (not junior employees), listening to their problems and finding ways to solve their problems based on previous successful implementation from other companies. If this is your first client then you will have to reduce the perceived risk to the client… lowering your prices, creating a deal for increased sales, or performance.
- Use empirical evidence (research, numbers, user data, conversions, engagement, website hit rates, etc.) and not just an opinion, once you are established then your opinion will carry a lot of weight and companies will seek you out, until then you need to show evidence that what you are proposing will make sense from the perspective of the clients’ business.
- Work on the long-term relationship, maybe tackle a smaller project with the business to build trust and a working relationship, a great deal of business relationships have to do with trust and relationship building.
- You can also propose solutions by demonstrating your ideas to the business, however there is a risk to this that the company may take your ideas and not give you payment or credit. I did this early on in my career and it worked well for me, (and yes some clients didn’t pay, however I used the work and ideas to generate even more clients) and then I had clients and projects that made it easier to approach new clients.
- In order to win big you have to take risks, you don’t have to be thoughtless, but the only people who never get rejected are those people who never try anything. In order to triumph you must try.
- Always think for the long-term, if you are new to freelancing you may not be able to steal work away from more established designers unless you drastically cut your prices or unless your can offer superior services and propositions.
- Study marketing and how to present your ideas to businesses (Blair Enns has written good book, ‘How to Win Without Pitching’).
- Get as much proposals you can under your belt, every time you hear a no or reason that a business does not want to work with you, make a note of it, then go and come up with reasons that will overcome that issue, then create an archive of how to overcome obstacles, then after an amount of time you will have more work than you can handle if you do this properly.
Those are some things that helped me along the way and I am sure that you can benefit if you put these into action, also remember that everything takes time and Rome wasn’t built in a day.Know what direction you want to go in and there may be bumps into road and you may need to change direction once in a while, but as long as you know your destination and are flexible in how you get there then the changes are you will succeed.Good luck!! - @Joseph Hricovec thanks that's a really good point!
- Tell a story. Storytelling is the best way to get the board to buy in to your idea.
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