Session 2: Finding Clients & Proposals

Clients come from four routes, and they convert in a very different order. People who already know you — former classmates, colleagues, church members, family friends, past employers. This is where almost every freelancer's first three clients come from, because trust already exists and trust is most of the sale. Most people skip it out of embarrassment, which is a mistake: telling people what you now do is not begging, it is information they need.

Referrals — clients sent by other clients. The highest-converting route there is, because the trust is transferred. It does not happen by accident; it happens when you finish work well and ask. Direct approach — contacting a business or organisation whose problem you can see. Lower conversion, but unlimited supply, and in Nigeria an in-person visit to a shop, office or church office still works better than any message.

Inbound — people finding you through your content, your portfolio or a platform. Slowest to build and best long-term, because it produces clients who already want you rather than clients you had to persuade. The practical sequence for a beginner: work the people you know this week, start asking for referrals from the first completed job, make five direct approaches a week, and build inbound steadily in the background.

Ethical client-finding means offering value rather than extracting attention. A cold message that says 'I noticed your price list is hard to read from the counter — I design menus for restaurants and I have an idea that would help. May I send you a quick example?' is an offer. 'Hello sir/ma, I am a graphic designer, please check my page and give me work' is a request, and it is ignored because it asks the reader to do all the work.

The pattern that works: notice something specific, offer something concrete, ask for a small next step. Specificity proves you actually looked. A concrete offer gives them something to say yes to. A small next step — 'may I send a quick example?' — is easy to agree to, and once they say yes the conversation exists.

Then the discipline of professional communication. Reply promptly, even if only to say you will come back with a proper answer. Write in complete sentences with correct spelling. Never over-promise a deadline to win a job. Never disparage another freelancer. Confirm agreements in writing, however informal the relationship. These are small things and they are most of what makes someone look professional, because clients judge reliability from the first three messages.

What a client asks for is rarely what they need. 'I need a new logo' usually means 'the business does not look established'. 'I need a website' often means 'people cannot find our prices'. 'I need someone to manage my Instagram' frequently means 'nobody is buying'. If you build exactly what was asked, you may deliver the wrong thing perfectly.

So ask about the outcome before the deliverable. Five questions uncover almost everything: What is the business trying to achieve in the next few months? What is happening now that is not working? Who is the customer? What has been tried already? What would make this project a success for you? Their answers reveal whether the logo is the right solution at all, and they give you language for the proposal that is theirs rather than yours.

Two things happen when you ask. You learn the real problem, which means your proposal can address it rather than the surface request. And you demonstrate competence, because almost nobody asks — most freelancers quote immediately from the brief, which signals they are order-takers. The one who asks five good questions is presumed to know more, and is usually right to be.

A proposal that wins has five parts and fits on one page. The problem, in their words — repeat back what they told you, because being understood is persuasive in a way no claim about yourself is. What you will do, as a specific list of deliverables, not as a description of your process. The timeline, with dates rather than durations. The price, stated clearly with what it includes and what it does not. The next step — what they do to start, usually a deposit.

Two habits decide whether it is read. Lead with them, not with you — the biography and the list of tools belong at the bottom or nowhere, because the client is thinking about their problem, not your qualifications. And be specific about exclusions: 'This covers the menu design and two print-ready files. It does not include photography or printing costs.' Stating what is not included is what prevents the argument later, and clients respect it rather than resenting it.

Then send it properly: a clean document, not a message; a clear subject line; a date; a validity period of two weeks, which creates a genuine reason to decide. Follow up once after three days with something useful rather than 'any update?' — an example of similar work, or a note on something you noticed. One useful follow-up closes jobs; five anxious ones lose them.

Quote the number and then stop talking. The most common way a freelancer loses money is explaining the price before the client has reacted — filling the silence with justification that invites negotiation. State the price, state what it includes, and wait.

When it is challenged, do not discount first. Ask what they had in mind, then change the scope rather than the price: 'At ₦40,000 that is four graphics a month. If the budget is ₦25,000, I can do two a month.' This protects your rate, keeps the client, and teaches them that price follows scope — which is the most useful thing a client can learn about working with you.

And say no when you should. A client who wants everything for nothing, argues about every deliverable, or pays late on the first small job will be worse on a big one. Turning down bad work is not lost income; it is protected time, and time is the only asset a freelancer cannot buy back. The rule that works: if a job feels wrong before it starts, it will be wrong while it runs.