You read it right. Not “nerdy.”
NEEDY.
Think about it: Whether you’re dating someone or courting a business, neediness is BAD.
Think about the guy or girl you dated way back when (or maybe right now!) who called too much. Maybe sounded a little desperate. A complete turn-off, right?
What company will want to use your services if you sound “too available?” They’ll wonder why you aren’t busy with other projects if you’re that good a freelancer. Fair? Hell no! Projects come and go. And sometimes you’re in between projects and you need something to fill the gap. But your potential clients want to think that you are:
A) VERY busy
and
B) Able to not only fit them in, but put them at the top of the list
and
C) Be able to juggle it all
This not only holds true for freelancers. I know that in real estate, a lot a potential clients (not a company, just individuals like you and me) want their agent to be BUSY. Because busy means successful and successful means that the agent will get the best deal for their buyer or seller. Meanwhile, they seem to ignore the idea that the less-busy agent has tons more time to work with the client to ensure a more personal experience and is perhaps more driven to satisfy that client.
Marketing is an indication of need, when you get down to the nitty-gritty. Business is about selling. And to sell something you need to get the word out to your target market. You just want to make sure that the marketing message your spread touts the benefits, rather than displaying your desperate need for cold hard cashola.
Tina,
While I am with you on the fact that you certainly ought not to look “Desperate” and ” always available” — I do know that I landed a lot of business out of sheer perseverance. I have these clients who never got back to me after a series of emails and quite naturually, it is up to me to “follow-up”.
At this juncture, we might display the ” neediness”, indeed. We might sound desperate like you had mentioned.
Maybe, we MUST follow-up, all the time, but still do it in a way that doesn’t come across as desperate.
Hi Ashwin – Yes, follow-up is good. A “check-in” or something along those lines…
As long as we keep the desperatism out of our voice (whether our voice is over the phone or in an email) and stay steadfast in our pricing and capabilities.
I’m with you!