How to Overcome Client Objections as a Freelancer and Win More Projects

It’s inevitable. You will one day be faced with a list of objections from a potential client as a freelancer.

And, the way I see it is you’ve got a few options when that happens:

1. Act defensive and turn them off from working with you altogether
2. Throw your hands ups and not even try
3. Figure out a way to respond to the client’s objections that actually helps them see you’re the perfect freelancer for them

Obviously, that third one is the one we’re shooting for, BUT when you’re right in the middle of the moment it’s tough to come up with answers on the spot.

You get nervous. Your hands start sweating and you start questioning why you decided to be a freelancer at all.

Yet, all is not lost! You’ve got plenty of ways to slay the client objections dragon as a freelancer!

1. Prevent Freelance Client Objections from the Start

Let’s first start off with a bit of prevention. Because, after all, if you’re constantly getting tons of objections from every potential client you’re pitching to then you’re probably going after the wrong people.

A lot of freelancers pitch to absolutely every possible client out there. The problem is that strategy doesn’t work well at all. And, if it does, it’s more because of sheer luck.

You end up wasting your time talking to people that would NEVER ACTUALLY be interested in hiring you in the first place. And, you could end up pitching to 100’s of clients before you actually get someone to say, “yes.”

You want to consider yourself a freelance sniper rather than sending out proposals like shotgun spray.

To do that you have to know which clients you serve best in this season of your freelance career.

And, yes, that could mean a specific niche that you serve, BUT it could also mean where the client is at in the specific season of THEIR BUSINESS.

For instance, if you’re trying to go after higher paying clients, you might want to go after business that are a bit more established and have good profit margins.

Companies that are just starting and don’t have seed money from investors are going to be more budget focused than they are value focused. All they’re trying to do is get up and running as quickly and as cheaply as possible.

So, it’s going to be tough to convince them to pay you a premium price when they’re trying to pinch pennies. So, you’ll have to overcome a lot of objections to actually seal the deal.

More than likely, they weren’t the ideal client for you if you’re having to do a lot of convincing.

2. Be Able to Show Your Value

Okay, so you’ve found the right clients to get in front of BUT NOW they’re questioning why you’re priced so high. After all, they could easily find someone to do it for 1/3rd of the price your charging.

This is a pretty common client objection that freelancers get. And, most of the answers out there are pretty snobby honestly.

It’s almost trendy right now to respond by saying, “How dare you question my value as a freelancer!” or something similar.

There’s even a popular TikTok song that pretty explicitly complains about this client objection. I’ll leave it here but listen at your own risk. They aren’t nice about it.

Don’t be precious.

You can’t just tell clients they should pay you a ton of money because you “feel like you’re worth it.”

And, it shouldn’t upset you when a client asks, “Why are you worth that much.” Don’t look at it as an attack. Look at it as an opportunity to educate someone who has little to no experience doing what you do.

As a freelancer, it’s important that you have a way to verify what you’re worth. You can do that a few ways.

The first and best way is to do it with real verifiable data.

So, for instance, if you redesigned a website for a client and they were able to sell 3x the amount of products from their online store after you helped them THAT’S A GREAT WAY TO JUSTIFY WHAT YOU’RE WORTH.

You could easily say, “I’m going to charge you X but you’ll make XX more next year as a result of working with me.”

Of course, in order to do that you need to make sure you’re documenting those things. So, be sure you’ve got access to a client’s initial data and take note of the improvement after you’re finished.

You could also justify your price by talking about the quality of service or deliverables you’ll give to your clients versus other freelancers.

Most people intrinsically know that cheaper will almost always mean lesser quality.

We don’t expect the same quality of food or service from the McDonald’s dollar menu as we do a Ruth’s Chris Steak House.

So, you might need to ask your client if they are at a season where they have the time and patience to be able to deal with a lower-quality freelancer just because they’re cheaper.

In fact, at the end of the project they might actually find out they paid for something they can’t even use and they have to go back to square one. So, it ends up costing them more money in the long run.

The bottom line is pricing is a pretty common client objection. So, you’ve got to be prepared with some answers as to why you charge what you do.

3. Become a Problem Solver

A lot of client objections are really just problems that they aren’t able to solve themselves.

When those types of objections arise this is where you get a chance to be more than just a freelancer. You now get to put yourself in the spot of a business consultant.

In other words, take what you do as a freelancer and show them how you can build a solution for them that helps with their issue.

For instance, another common objection clients will say to freelancers is that they’re too busy in their business to work with you. This could be because they’re actively working in their business and don’t have time to do much else than just keep it running.

BUT, it could also be because they don’t have the systems in place to maintain the level of work they have and they don’t want to add more business. Doing that will make things even crazier and cause even bigger problems.

So, if you’re a web designer, show them how you can set up an automation system on their website whenever they get a lead that does 80% of the work for them. It will free them up from busy work and allow them to grow their business without working 100+ hours a week.

Bam! You’re not just a freelancer you’re a problem-solving, business consultant, expert who happens to do freelance work.

A friend of mine named Lee Blue says that in order to stand out you need to commit to being a consultant first. You’ve got to be someone who figures out how to solve real problems for a business with the expertise you have.

Think about their objection and try to come up with a solution that solves their problem.

4. Keep At It

You’ve got to keep connecting with clients even if they have objections and don’t hire you right away when everything is said and done.

I’ve heard it said that it takes 6 – 8 touchpoints before a client will decide to hire you. The problem is most freelancers give up after the first rejection.

You need to have a game plan to keep following up with clients even if they decide not to hire you on the first interaction.

The important thing here is that you need to make sure you aren’t pushy about it. The best approach is to really just try to build a relationship with someone without having the pressure of turning it into a sale.

It’s always good for business when you value the relationship over the sale or people over profit. You just have to be patient and keep at it.

I like to send emails or messages when I see their business hit a milestone. That way it’s not just another, “Hey I wanted to follow up with you” message. Those are never fun and always off-putting.

Freelance Client Objections Get Easier with Time

Freelance client objections will get easier to handle the more you go along. In fact, you’ll begin to see some patterns emerge.

When that happens you’ll begin to develop an arsenal of responses that you will have found worked on other clients that you can confidently use in the future.

It’s just a matter of sticking with it and figuring it out.

I was able to talk to a freelancer this last week and give him some advice on handling client objections. Here’s our conversation:

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