[Communication is the key to success!]

Did you know that the way you communicate with buyers can affect your sales and profitability on Fiverr?

When the communication lines are open between you and your buyers, it can directly affect sales of your business.

In this intensively competitive gig economy, it seems the only way to differentiate yourself from the competition is to ensure you effectively communicate to prospects and buyers how your gigs or services can benefit them. It is the best way to convert prospects into customers.

You need good communication to boost the bottom line of your business as a freelancer.

How do you communicate effectively?

It is wise to use a combination of three forms of communication (verbal, written and body language). For example, you can use a video to explain your services, so buyers can see and hear you. A well-written gig description can help in reaching out to those who need this information in writing.

Next, when customers call your business (i.e they contact you for the first time), ensure you nail your first impression. How do you accomplish this? Just answer the buyer’s requests correctly. It’s that simple

Rather than send an automated response that does nothing but damages your business, take time and write a custom response that answers the buyer’s questions.

And learn to respond fast.

Lastly, after the buyer has purchased your gig, don’t end the communication there. Keep your customers engaged by sharing in your new customer’s excitement. The best way to do this is to reinforce that they’ve made a great decision, and leave them confident in buying from you again.

Remember, a good communication creates a win-win situation. The buyers can benefit from the messages they need to make them aware of your services, and make a purchase, which in turn boosts your sales.

Are you sure you’re communicating well with your buyers?

[Questions For Buyers: What do you look for in sellers?]

So here is my two cents on buying.

Most of the time it depends what I am buying and for what purpose.

For example, I buy a lot of writing gigs. My process for choosing writers is like this:

• Check out people on the forum who write well (I am on the forum a lot so I can see those who are good at it. Probably 70-80% of the writers I hired were from the forum. However, the ones I hire are those who actually contribute to conversations and can express themselves well. Those who just spam the forum will never be hired.
• Check out their profiles; who are they and how could they relate to the article I need written. eg. I hired a student recently to write something specifically about being a student. I hired a tech guy to write about tech.
• Check out their gigs and descriptions. What do they offer, price, word count, time-frame, etc.
• Check reviews to see if they have any bad reviews. Assess the reviews and take them with a pinch of salt unless there is a high proportion of them.
• If my article is something specific, I tend to send a message and ask them if they are happy to write about it.

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Now, the above seems like a lot, right? Well that’s because these articles are important and writing is an art form which some can do and others think they can do but can’t. I apply similar criteria when hiring for things like video, logo, graphics etc. Once I find a writer, I tend to give them a lot of orders, even if they are not 100% suited to the particular job. It is easier than looking for a new one. I have never had an issue with any writer I have hired - every one delivered what was required.

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I also hired someone recently for a very simple but time consuming job which was data collection from a site.

For this,

• I went to the VA section
• selected “New Sellers”
• opened the profiles of a couple of sellers
• checked the price/number of hours
• selected one which had a nice description and a good (but not the lowest) price.
• sent them a message explaining what I wanted and was impressed when they responded asking for more info and specifics about how I wanted the data laid out.
• Hired them through a custom offer with a delivery date that they picked. ($25)

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Now, the results…

With my recent writing orders, I received excellent work, delivered on time. I have since reordered with both.

With the data collection order, I have had 2 extension requests which were extremely polite and as I am not in a rush for it, I allowed them. I have just received their delivery and it had nothing attached so I have requested a revision obviously. I took a chance on someone without any reviews and was as nice as can be in allowing them everything they asked for to complete the order. In the end, if this is cancelled then it is not an issue as I can get someone else and it is not time dependent. However, for a lot of orders, this would have been a disaster as it would have affected me delivering for a client of mine.

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So that’s the how and why I choose certain sellers over others. Had the new seller done what was asked, even with an extension, they could have counted on several repeat orders. Not a chance of that now. Just had another look at the order - the order was delivered empty 15 mins before it would have been late (for the third time). Still giving them benefit of the doubt but I can’t see this being anything other than a cancellation.

I also prefer to hire sellers from the forum. I look up their profile and how they express themselves when discussing issues. At one point I was so close to hiring a seller from the forum when I randomly bumped into a conversation they were being very rude to other forum users. That was a deal-breaker.