Creating a Sense of Professionalism

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As a freelance web designer, it’s important to me that I convey to my clients the impression that I’m a professional at what I do and that I take their business seriously.

What I don’t want is for people to have the impression that I’m just some guy who knows how to use a computer. Rather, I want them to think that they’re hiring someone with professional knowledge and skills that will meet their specific needs.

I’ve been reading a lot on this topic ever since I started Addicott Web. Some of my favorite blogs (such as Freelance Switch, Freelance Folder, Sitepoint) have some excellent resources and postings about the subject – written by more seasoned freelancers than myself – that have been very informative.

So why am I bringing this up now?

The topic has been on my mind these last two weeks, since it’s been during this time that I’ve been wrapping up my work with Etgar 36 on their new website. I wanted to use the opportunity with this client to try doing some new things that I haven’t done before. Now that I’ve done them, I felt that they were worth sharing.

The things that I did are what you would call small touches (or others would call attention to detail), but the important thing is that overall, they can contribute to a greater sense of professionalism in my clients’ minds.

Online Tools

Client Feedback

One of the new things that I just began to do with Etgar 36, and plan to continue doing in the future, is to send a brief questionnaire to the client once the project is complete. And by brief, I mean it – no more than 5 questions. Keeping it short helps ensure that the client will actually take the time to complete it.

What do I ask? For starters, I ask them to rate some broad items such as my professionalism, expertise, responsiveness to their ideas/concerns, etc. I also ask a few open-ended questions, such as what they liked about working with us and what they think we could improve on.

And to get a real sense of how satisfied the client was, I also ask them if they would refer me to someone else, and if they would hire me again. Needless to say, if they answer yes to both questions, they’re quite happy.

I used Survey Monkey to create this feedback form. It’s a great tool that allows you to create and manage surveys, and analyze the responses that you get to them.

Invoice Management

I’ve been using Freshbooks as my financial management system for awhile now. So while it’s not anything new that I just started to do, it’s still worth mentioning here. I use Freshbooks for a variety of purposes, such as:

• Creating and managing invoices
• Time tracking
• Running financial reports
• Expense tracking

It’s a much more efficient system to use than creating invoices by hand, which is what I used to do before I started using it. It’s more professional as well; clients receive my invoices by e-mail through the system, and get sent payment confirmations when I record payment. They can also log-in and view all of their past payments, invoices, and more.

Documentation

Logo Usage

It’s important to me that my clients get the sense that they’re working with Addicott Web and not just me. So on every piece of official documentation that they see, I make sure to include the Addicott Web logo and use the same fonts as those used on this website.

What do I count as official documentation?

• Letterhead
• Help guides
• Invoices/Estimates
• Mailing labels

As an example, I’m currently sending out some closing materials for the Etgar 36 project. To make them look more professional, I took a quick trip to Office Depot yesterday and stocked up on some mailing labels and large envelopes. The goal is to not scrawl the client’s name and address on the outside of the envelope, but rather print up some nice labels that had my logo and return address on it, along with the client’s mailing information neatly printed on it. It just looks so much nicer and more professional that way.

Of course, after I had sealed the envelopes I realized I hadn’t made any nice labels for the CDs that I had enclosed, which contained all of the files I used to build their new website. But that is something for me to improve on for the next client.

Thoughts?

What are some of the small things that you do to help convey a more professional impression to your clients? Share them with us by filling out our comment form below.

2 Comments

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