We’ve all been there: palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy. You’ve made it to that part of the client call: selling your services.
When you hear the word selling, you probably picture aggressive ads, spammy cold emails, or that one time you accidentally picked up a telemarketer’s call and regretted it instantly. We’ve all been on the receiving end of unsolicited selling, and let’s be honest, it’s really annoying. Chances are high that your potential clients feel the same way about it.
Just to clarify: when I talk about selling, I’m referring to the process of being on a call with a potential client, not the marketing side of generating leads. Unlike typical product sales, you don’t usually hop on a call with the product manager to buy the new protein-packed superfruit yogurt. You just go to the store and buy it. With creative services, that process is usually quite different.
When a new lead reaches out, the next step is to jump on a call, discuss their project, and ideally, they agree to work with you.
While selling a product and a service require different approaches, the core concept is all the same: The client has a problem, we have the solution and it’s better than what anyone else can offer.
Offer solutions not just a service
For every solution, there needs to be a problem.
And that’s something we have plenty of. Our days are basically a series of problems waiting to be solved: What should I eat today? What should I wear today? How do I fix my leaking sink? What’s the best time to fill up the tank between hitting the gym and picking up my kid from school? What should I get for my wife’s birthday? You get the idea.
Let’s take a problem that a lot of people can identify with: dealing with burnout. It’s something many of us have experienced before, and sadly, there is no easy and quick fix for it. Now imagine if there was a sort of painkiller, but instead of pain it relieves the burnout symptoms. A pill that instantly wipes away the exhaustion, stress, and mental fog.
Problem: I’m burned out.
Solution: Here’s my burnout cure pill
The concept is easy enough, right?
The same logic applies to your potential clients. They come to you with a problem, and you (hopefully) have the solution.
Problem: I need a website
Solution: We can build you one.
Now, if it’s that simple, why isn’t everyone drowning in projects, huh? Because most people stop right here. They hear the problem and offer a solution, without considering if it’s the right one. The concept is easy; the execution, well … not so much.
Let’s circle back to the burnout example for a sec. The surface-level problem is: I’m burned out. But burnout is really caused by a combination of factors like stress, overwork, lack of support, anxiety… That feeling of exhaustion, fatigue, and detachment? It’s the result of deeper issues that contribute to the burnout.
Same with your clients. What they think they need might not be what’s actually going to solve their problem (e.g. magic pill to heal burnout, is a temporary relief really what we need?). That’s where you come in. Your job isn’t to just take their request at face value. It’s to dig deeper, ask the right questions, and figure out what’s really going on, so you can offer them a solution that actually works long term.
Offer the right solutions not just a service
For someone to accept a solution, they first need to trust you. This applies whether you’re selling a product or offering a service. Simply put, if you trust a product, you’ll buy it. That’s why brands invest heavily in their image and branding.
For creatives, trust is often built in different ways, but here’s the good news: if a potential client reaches out, they’re already open to trusting you. It’s like someone in a supermarket, holding two different yogurts in their hands, ready to make their final decision.
But how do you build trust on a quick call? How do you prove you’re the right choice when you haven’t worked together yet? You want to show, not just tell, but how do you show something that is abstract? Sounds impossible, except that it’s not.
Back to the burnout example:
You consult someone to solve your problem of being burnt out.
Consultant 1: Just take some time off and relax.
Consultant 2: I see, let’s find a way to get you back on track. What’s been contributing to your burnout? Can you walk me through your workday and how you’re managing stress? What do you do to unwind? Have you tried any coping strategies before? What helped, and what didn’t? Besides feeling less stressed, what’s your ideal outcome here? …
Who makes you feel safer? Whose solution would you trust more to actually solve your problem?
You’d probably choose to go with Consultant 2, because you trust they’ll find a solution that fits your unique situation, rather than someone who offers a quick, one-size-fits-all answer without considering your specific needs.
And with that, I’ve told you how to sell without selling.
So, let’s translate this into the creative world:
A potential client needs a new website.
They have two options – who do you think they’re more likely to choose?
Provider 1: “Absolutely, we can make you a new website! We’ll create a great new modern design for you. By the way we also offer newsletters and rebrandings, all in one! Here is our offer! Extra cheap ;)”
Provider 2: “Of course we can help, but before we can create an offer, we’d need to understand:
Why do you feel your current website isn’t working for you? (This shows that you want to understand why they don’t like their current website)
What specific problems are you trying to solve with a new website? (Clients often focus on the “what” (a new website) without understanding the “why”)
Who is your target audience, and how do they currently interact with the website? (This shows that you care about the website’s actual audience, not just about the client wanting a new design.)
What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing in your business right now that you hope a new website will solve? (Daring, yet shows you care about their business and won’t waste their money on something they might not need.)
How are you currently measuring success on your website? What metrics matter most to you? (This can reveal their KPIs and whether the current website is failing to meet those benchmarks or if maybe the old website is not as bad as they think it is.) … ”
See the difference? Provider 2 isn’t just selling a service, they’re diagnosing the real problem. And that gives them a much better shot at landing the project.
We often have clients come to us because they’ve been sold something that didn’t solve their actual problem. Many of our projects involve fixing someone else’s mess. It’s like weight loss – relying on a trendy diet without changing your habits just means the problem (the weight) will come back (hello, yo-yo effect).
If you want a real solution, you need someone who actually wants to understand your problem. Otherwise, every fix is just a bandaid on a broken rib – kinda useless and a waste of time and money. This happens when people assume instead of asking the right questions. Sure, you might get lucky and guess the right fix, but let’s be real, that’s rare. Think about it: how often has someone confidently explained something that had nothing to do with your actual issue. It’s frustrating, isn’t it?
Funnily enough, those are the people who think offering solutions or explanations asserts expertise, when in reality, it does not. True experts know what questions to ask, not just what solutions to give. When they listen and involve you in the conversation, that’s the real sign of expertise.
When we started Same Same, we always led our client calls with transparency, because that’s what felt most authentic to us. While that was a good start, it sometimes failed to translate into expertise, and more into just: “Hey, we’re honest and genuine, work with us!” While we did land some projects this way, we found that establishing our expertise gained more trust and positioned us as partners not just service providers. Over time, we discovered that combining transparency with real expertise was the secret to not just building strong client relationships, but also to selling without actually selling. When you focus on understanding the client’s needs and offering genuine solutions, the sale happens naturally.