March 26, 20237 min de lectura

🧁 Present your services as an investment · The Bunker #34

Hello friends! Welcome to chapter #34 of The Bunker. A Newsletter in which we talk about UX Design and the Freelance Journey, dedicated to those who are starting out in both worlds and who feel identified. From The Bunker, we accompany you on the way.

Hi friends! ⛷️

Grab some coffee ☕, and let’s get started!

Phew, I just got back from skiing with my partner, we spent a couple of days in Andorra, a city near Spain and we had a great time. We love skiing and I took the camera and took some pictures.

Also, by the way! I told you that I would use this space here in the Newsletter to comment on the progress of my website, and this last week we have made a lot of progress, these are the changes:

I have added hover animations to the links in the project.

We have finally created the store! Although it is a store, there are many free products (in fact, most of them are free).

More things... We have redesigned a bit the home page. Before we only had the projects and a part of the blog. I've added items from the store and adjusted the structure in general.

I have updated the icons, I have used Tailwind's icons, they are called Heroicons.

And finally, we have added micro-animations that you will have to discover, for example:

Oh, I forgot, I have also configured the cookies modal and I have installed cookies in the modal, this way when you close the modal a cookie will be created so that it does not appear anymore. The typical banner that informs you that this web uses cookies, but when you close it, it will not be shown anymore. (here’s how I did it)

Alright, without any further do, let’s get straight into this!

Test it out yourself

As a designer, you know the value of your skills and the time and effort you put into your projects. But do your clients know it 🤔?

Have you ever stopped to think about how our clients think?

One of the biggest challenges for designers is convincing clients to invest in their services. This is the most important thing at the end of the day, you can be very good, have a lot of systems in place and a lot of skill talking, it all comes down to whether the client ends up accepting your services.

To overcome this challenge, you need to change the way you present your services to clients.

And surprisingly, many times what makes a client decide to work with you or not is the way you talk to them. The words and the perspective you use. It's all about how we convey things.

For example, today I'm going to talk about instead of presenting your services as a cost, present them as an investment. Have you ever seen it that way?

When you present your services as an investment, you are telling your clients that they are not just paying for a design, they are investing in a solution that will bring them short/long-term benefits. This approach will help clients see the value of your services and understand how they will benefit from your work.

If they see it as an expense, they are likely to be more hesitant and even try to reduce the price. However, if you present it to them as an investment, it’s very likely that they will accept your proposal without affecting the price.

To present your services as an investment, you need to focus on the outcomes, not just the deliverables. For example:

❌ Instead of saying: "We will design a new website for you".

✅ Say: "We will create a website that will improve your online presence and help you reach more clients."

❌ Instead of saying: "Our website redesign service costs $3,000”.

✅ Say: "Our website redesign service will help your business attract more customers, generate more leads, and increase your revenue. Our previous clients have seen an average increase of 30% in their online sales. Investing in our website redesign service will bring you a return on investment in just a few months."

❌ Instead of saying: "Our logo design service costs $500."

✅ Say: "Our logo design service will help your startup establish a strong brand identity, build brand recognition, and differentiate your business from your competitors. A strong brand identity can increase customer loyalty and attract new customers. By investing in our logo design service, you will be making a smart investment that will pay off for years to come."

Another important aspect to consider when presenting your services as an investment is the language you use. Your choice of words can make a big difference in how clients perceive your services. Avoid using words that make your services sound like a cost, such as "fee," "price," or "cost." Instead, use words that make your services sound like an investment, such as "return on investment," "value," or "benefits."

It's important to provide evidence that your services are an investment. You can do this by showcasing your portfolio and providing case studies that demonstrate how your design solutions have helped other clients achieve their goals. This will give clients confidence that your services will bring them the same kind of success.

You have 2 ways to do this:

📍 You have no clients, so you propose to do free work. Give your work for free in exchange for a review/testimonial. (In this Newsletter I explain how to do free work in a smart way).
1. Real example. I want to work as a photographer too, and I still don’t have enough portfolio. So, I know a friend of mine who has founded a burger shop in Barcelona City, so I asked him if I could take some free pictures in exchange of a testimonial + future recommendations. He agreed, and the next month I’ll be taking cool pictures to grow my portfolio while getting a testimonial from him. This means that If a company reaches me out, I have the work I already did for my friend + his testimonial.
⛳ When you finish a project
1. Ask them for a review and explain why it is important to you.
2. Offer them your referral program (more on this in another post).

Presenting your design services as an investment is a powerful way to help clients understand the value of your work and convince them to invest in your services. By focusing on outcomes, choosing the right language, and providing evidence of your success, you can show clients that your services are not just a cost, but a smart investment that will give them a return.

Remember that it all depends on how you talk to your customers.

There’s actually creators in the scene who focus their content on this, for example my friend Jordan Kales talks about sales mistakes you do, and most of the time is because of the language we use.

https://www.instagram.com/saleswithkales/

Until next time,

Jordi Espinosa.

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