Irrespective of what professional services you are selling, the process is more or less the same. Five distinct phases can be identified in the sales process, and these are:

• establish credentials
• uncover requirements
• explore options
• propose solution
• close

Reducing the sales process to its essentials like this may make the whole process seem very simple—and really, it is. You start by making contact with a “suspect”—sales-speak for someone who may want your services—which could be initiated by either side; then, you establish your credentials. This is the point where you define what you offer, relate your experience in the field, and the like.

Then, your suspect becomes a “prospect”—more sales-speak: this means they’re now interested in your services or products—and you move into uncovering their requirements (listening is a huge part of this step, albeit an important element all the way through). They may have a brief already prepared, or you may need to laboriously pull the information out of them to form one.

At this stage, once you understand their requirements, run through the options available to the prospect and arrive at a point of offering to write a proposal or quotation. Don’t be afraid to suggest to the prospect options they may have overlooked, or recommend they don’t go with options they bring up—as long as you can back up with the reasons why. This shows you’re interested in a longer-term relationship, and that you have the ability to consult, not just do. If they are still agreeable at this point, you have a very good chance of working for them.

The proposed solution stage is the final step of the process. You describe your ideas and concepts in a document, which is normally emailed or posted. For a larger project, you may also put together a presentation, where you’ll discuss what you believe is the right course of action, and deliver the details of the costs, timeline, and other information.

This document or presentation may change and need to be reworked a few times, based on the prospect’s feedback. Remember, also, that you shouldn’t launch into too much detail about the technical specifications—even if you can predict that level of detail at this stage, it’s likely to change before the project develops very far.

After this stage you arrive at the make-or-break moment. Your presentation is in the hands of the prospect, and it’s now when they might become a client—or they might turn you down for another supplier or because they’ve made a different business decision. This is often the point where most freelancers become unstuck. They’re too afraid of the sales bogeyman to consider calling and asking the prospect if they have any further questions, or if they’ve come to a decision. This stage is the follow-up, which typically happens anywhere from three to ten days after the proposal is delivered.

This is not the time to become frozen and wait by the phone for the prospect to call and transform into a client. Stay front-of-mind; you should call or email about once per week for the next few weeks to ask for a decision, until one is given to you.

Don’t harass, and be careful to not sound aggressive—politely ask if there is anything else you can explain or information you can provide to help them make a decision, and when they expect this decision to be made.

Often, they may already have made the decision. If they do say yes, well done—you’ve got a new client.

If they say no, try to discover what the reason was. I find a phrase along the lines of “Thank you for considering me, I appreciate the opportunity to offer my services. If you don’t mind, could I ask for any feedback you may have about my proposed solution?” Taking this approach to rejection can be a truly eye-opening experience for you. And remember: no matter what is said, don’t get defensive, don’t take it personally, and learn from the feedback for the benefit of your future sales contacts.

It’s quite common to have an irrational but very real fear of selling. However, you’ll really need to do your best to overcome this fear if you want to excel as a freelancer. The first step you’ll need to take is to understand exactly what it is you’re afraid of. Is it fear of rejection or failure? Are you afraid of being too pushy? Are you afraid you’ll magically transform into that sleazy sales stereotype?

Once you know what actually gives you that reluctance to sell, you can start work to overcome it.

Remind yourself of your successes. It’s easy in sales, especially if you end up doing any cold-calling, to feel as though the world is against you and you can’t sell a thing. Keep a list of previous sales success handy so you can refer to it often, and consciously build your self-confidence and enthusiasm.

Break out into a sweat as you approach a prospect? Try a smile. Sounds crazy, I know, yet it really works—and is strangely infectious. Not only will you start to feel better about attending the meeting, it’s also very likely your smile will rub off onto others, and they’ll be more receptive to your pitch.

Start head-on, with the scary things. If you have a list of sales tasks ahead of you, and one you just know you’ll do your best to avoid, choose that one to do first. Once tackled, you’ll feel much better and less apprehensive about the rest of that list.

Anticipate common objections by having an answer prepared. If you end up against the same objections time after time, you’d better learn to confront them. The best way is to bring up these sticking points before the prospect has a chance to.

Practice! The more you handle sales inquiries, make cold calls, have meetings, and prepare proposals, the better and more confident you’ll naturally become. The old adage that practice makes perfect really rings true when it comes to selling.

Your fear of selling is largely avoidable if you reduce the process down to the simple steps above. Try them out, keep up the practice, and before long selling will feel like second nature to you. It won’t take long before you’ll find yourself wondering what you were afraid of!

The concept of the sales funnel is a great way to consider the sales process; it’s rendered pictorially below. Basically, it starts with lots of suspects at the top, filters down to prospects, and then reaches outcomes.

It can be hard to juggle every lead that’s currently in the pipeline—unless you have a method of tracking them. There are a number of tracking methods available to you. The simplest way is to keep a spreadsheet showing the contact names, details, notes, and dates. This is fine for a start, but as you progress, you may want to consider using CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software.

There are many different CRM products out there, ranging from simple contact databases to fairly automated systems. These tools integrate with your email program and track all contacts with clients, as well as supporting mail-merge reminder letters and the like.

Here are just a few of the best CRM resources:

SalesForce.com
The long-running SalesForce.com would have to be the largest web-based system around. It claims to have over 41,000 customers, and is very sophisticated—and it offers a 30-day free trial.

SugarCRM
A commercial open-source product, SugarCRM has hosted, installed, and open-source versions. It is known as a very good alternative to the SalesForce.com software.

Highrise
This CRM tool comes from the crowd at 37 Signals; it offers a free trial, and its account options start from US$24 per month.

Zoho CRM
This new contender sports some impressive features and is totally free for the first three users, which makes it perfect for the freelancer.

No matter what system you wind up using, you need to control that funnel. There are prospects to qualify (are they your ideal client?), emails and calls to be made, and proposals to be followed up. Set aside some time every day to make funnel-control a routine; the more this becomes habit, the greater your success.

An often overlooked strategy for finding new leads is to speak to your current clients. Normally, it’s as simple as asking your clients to write a short testimonial upon completion of projects—and while you think of it, do they have any contacts who might require your services?

This is a fantastic method for those of us who aren’t natural salespeople, as a referral inquiry typically means the referrer already knows your background and services. This also reduces your sales time, as most of the work has been done for you.

You can even follow up existing clients later on, and let them know that you love referrals. Happy customers are always open to sharing their experiences with others if asked right.

Don’t stop at clients, either—write down every friend and family member you can think of, and get in touch with them to inform them you are out on your own as a freelancer, and would appreciate their getting the word out.

Do contract work with other freelancers. Having people in the industry ready to refer you is fantastic—your fellow freelancers then have someone to suggest when a client asks about something in which you specialize.

Don’t forget to thank anyone who refers a prospect to you, and let them know what the outcome was. I send a card and a bottle of wine as a way of thanking anyone who refers a prospect, irrespective of whether the lead became a client or not—it’s the thought that counts. Besides, you want to encourage them to repeat the favor!

Well, with any luck the dreaded specter of sales has been banished to some degree, and you now have some familiarity with the art of selling. As we’ve seen, it’s all about knowing what you have to sell, and having confidence in your ability to deliver it—and in communicating that confidence to your prospect.

Excerpted with permission from The Principles Of Successful Freelancing (SitePoint) by Miles Burke. Copyright © 2008, SitePoint.