Do your clients not see the value in hiring you to do strategy? Confused about how to price creative services? Are you charging hourly versus value-based pricing?

When going into sales conversations, it’s a habit of ours to assume the client needs something in addition to what we were originally hired for. But clients don’t want to be told they need something. Asking the right questions to guide the conversation towards a bigger work opportunity is the right way to go.

Asking your client what would bring value to their business or drive some success metric allows you to devise a strategy that will help them get there. Rather than come off the bat and say, “Why don’t we do a re-brand and re-evaluate your current messaging?” Ask the client if there’s something in particular they feel is missing, or not doing well, or could be improved. Investigate, ask questions, and get to the bottom of the client’s problems before you try to provide a solution.

Amateurs give advice. Experts diagnose. Assuming the client needs something or is experiencing a roadblock you’re unaware of is the work of an amateur. Form all of your thinking into questions to diagnose. You can diagnose when you’ve heard the client fully and understand what they are trying to accomplish. Whoever is asking the most questions has the most control of the conversation. So ask questions.

If you want to close more jobs, you need to stop selling, and start serving. Stop selling what you do, or how great you are to work with, or how great your work is. Start communicating how you can be of service to the client in a way that yields positive results for their business.What does success look like for them, and how can you help them get there?

Our goal is to figure out if there’s even a problem that needs to be solved.