Sales Methods for Mechanical Design Freelancers

Here.Sales methods for freelance mechanical designersAbout.

We freelancers have ups and downs in our work.Here, to curb that wave even slightly, those of us freelancers, myself included, are working on it.Sales methods, prioritized, with my own know-how, memowill proceed. Also, the method explained here is a cyclical process, so we recommend reading it all the way through and then covering each part one by one as you are able.

Freelance mechanical design sales

Prepare web sales tools

①-1 HP (Homepage) Preparation

The very first thing we should tackle isHaving a homepage　It is.And that homepage isIt is desirable to create it yourself.And that's what I think. I'll make a note of the reasons why.

Minimize sales costs

Hiring professional web designers and developers can be expensive, butIf you create it yourself, you can save on costs.It can be done.

Ability to gain a degree of freedom to control expression

By creating your own website, you can control the design and content.will be. For us designers to explain our individual strengths and business direction,We need a message that hits home more precisely than expressions created by people who aren't involved.will be.

A slight change in wording can alter how visitors perceive things, so it's important to have an environment where you can easily make revisions at any time.

①-1-3 Acquiring web skills also becomes a key to sales

Acquiring web design and development skills isLong-term benefitsIt is.I'm using this blog (WordPress) as my homepage, butChanges in the times and changes in one's own businessI think it would make for a better homepage for visitors if we could implement new plugins (customization tools, add-on type, with both free and paid options) to go along with it.

Once this homepage is completed, utilizing social media and registering on Google Maps, which I will explain next, will become more efficient.will be.

Create an SNS account such as X (formerly Twitter)

We freelancersIt is ideal to have an SNS account that only posts about business-related matters. However, social media is highly addictive, so we need to be careful not to misuse it.Here.Advantages and disadvantages of using social networking servicesI will make a note of it.

①-2-1 Benefits: Visualization of day-to-day business and personal branding 

  X (formerly Twitter) posts are generally short. The advantage of these short posts is that they can be easily made, and they often become real-time tweets, offering others a glimpse into the daily business activities of an account.Also,You can brand yourself by giving your posts consistency.When your follower count increases, it becomes easier to promote your business or services.

1-2-2Advantages:Community building and acquiring new opportunities

 By using X (formerly Twitter)You can connect with industry peers and potential clients.The significant benefit of this is that it allows for information exchange and the fostering of cooperative relationships. It often leads to actual work orders, and I sometimes find myself on the client side.

Even people like me who are bad at communicating can increase their online visibility and connect with business opportunities.

①-2-3 Benefits: Market research and trend identification

Social media has many casual posts, so it has the advantage of allowing you to grasp industry trends in real-time.Also, there are many jobs (categories) related to mechanical design, which helps in understanding the information, needs, and preferences of accounts other than mechanical designers.

Disadvantages: Investment of time and effort

Effective social media management requires regular posting and community engagement, which takes time.This means the time burden of creating posts, liking, and reposting is likely to increase. Considering that if that time were directed towards work, income would also increase, I believe it's not good to be too dependent on social media.

Disadvantages: Privacy and security issues

 It is important to strike a balance between disclosing information while paying close attention to privacy and confidential information.

②-2-6 Disadvantages: Negative feedback and criticism

Online exposure carries the risk of facing negative comments and criticism, so it's necessary to handle negative comments.

①-2-7 Disadvantages: Difficult to measure effectiveness

Not limited to X (formerly Twitter)Focusing on the number of likes and reposts when measuring work order conversions can lead to confusion about what you should actually be aiming for.When freelancing in mechanical design, rather than gathering likes on social media, techniques for directly approaching potential clients andLet's focus on how to create a customer journey from social media to future orders.

Also, although I have currently stopped my activities on X (formerly Twitter), I occasionally use it for information gathering. This is because I have been able to build the necessary community and relationships with peers for my current business scale, and I will resume using it depending on the future business situation.The key to using and operating SNS for business is to engage in necessary activities when they are needed. Avoid posts that dilute your business's brand identity due to dependence on needing to tweet or anxiety over a lack of likes.

Blog preparation (this can also be treated as optional)

I don't think it's necessary to separate a homepage and a blog, but a blog has the advantage of allowing for longer articles. Also, by being indexed by search engines, the possibility of people discovering the blog (or homepage) through search increases.

Operating a technical blog requires some know-how.In one word, just search like this and it will come up.This is where it gets tricky, but I believe stable exposure is possible with proper management.

①-4 Adding store information to Google Maps

Next, we'll register your business location on Google Maps. There are several benefits to this...

By registering on Google Maps, visibility will improve.

Our freelance clients aren't limited to machinery manufacturers and trading companies.This means that it's not just companies categorized as manufacturers that want to automate manual labor.

ThatGoogle Maps makes it easier for potential clients to find your services.When registering on Google Maps, you can easily share important information such as business hours, contact information, and services, which reduces the burden on your clients who are searching.

①-4-2 Connects more easily to specific inquiries

By being displayed on the map, you can receive searches from clients in that region,In manufacturing, with its emphasis on the "three realities" – the actual site, the actual thing, and the actual situation – factors like the distance to your base of operations and transportation convenience become part of sales activities.

It would be a good idea to register so that they think, "A freelancer nearby who can come quickly would be convenient."

Free marketing tool

Registering on Google Maps can improve your ranking in local searches and increase your visibility in search results.I think this system itself is very useful.

①-5 Run Google Ads

If you can invest an initial amount (around 10,000 to 30,000) in advertising, please use Google Ads.Using Google Ads offers the following benefits: (Important points are excerpted here.)

Since Google is the most widely used search engine in the world, you can reach a wide audience.

Google search, in the first place,The most widely used search engine in the worldSo, Google Ads can also reach that vast user base (which Google calls audiences).

①-5-2 Ad creation made easy

Google Ads allows you to set up and publish ads immediately, and you can see the results right away. (You'll have to hone your ad sense yourself... it probably depends on the keywords and images.)

①-5-3. Able to target specific audiences for advertising.

The reason I recommend it the most is thisTarget ad placementsis the part.You can narrow down and display your target audience based on various factors such as the search user's age, region, interests, and search history.

①-5-4 I can do almost everything I want within the budget.

Even those who want to spend as little money as possible on advertising can rest assured.It can be customized in many aspects, such as budget, ad type, and display time. Payments can be made in various ways, such as per click or per impression, allowing for effective advertising strategies aligned with business policies.Economically feasibleIt can be done.

①-5-5 Supplement

Google Ads provides detailed analysis tools, allowing you to grasp the cost-effectiveness of your ad performance.Before running these Google Ads, it's important to have your website ready first, which is why this is the priority.By having a well-developed homepage that attracts traffic from Google Ads, you can more effectively increase visibility and customer acquisition rates.

② Sales in practice

Once preparations for online sales are completeI will improve my sales performance through practical application.

Prepare business cards

Needless to say, business cards are necessary. As a point, it is good to write down your basic hourly rates on the back of your business card. This will reduce inquiries about your rates and attract people who want to hire you at those rates, so you won't have to do any unnecessary sales work.

②-2 Visit the site

When a mechanical designer starts working as a freelancer, instead of being an employee,The number of times I visit the site will decrease.

On-site, we can directly observe the work environment and usage conditions, allowing us to incorporate a realistic perspective into the design.Extremely important for "gaining a realistic perspective."However,This is an important action from a sales perspective as well.

Communicate with those on-site to identify and resolve issues through discussions and modifications to the actual equipment.It can be done.Direct communication with on-site workers and managers allows for a more accurate understanding of their requests and the context in which the machinery will be used, enabling designs that consider practicality and safety.

andThat series becomes their own sales, and it will continue on afterwards.

I basically go to the site of a problem and deal with it proactively. In fact, I like being on-site so much that I'll agree without hesitation to go even if a problem occurs at a customer site I'm not familiar with.Sometimes, you can lead to your next job by asking something like, "By the way, who are you?" on site.

②-3 Search on Google Maps

Utilizing Google Maps to find new customers is very effective. In fact, I've found that besides acquiring customers through my blog, I've also maintained long-term relationships with customers I found on Google Maps, even though I'm based in Nagano and they are in Saitama. Considering the on-site nature of the work, there are benefits for both the designer and the customer in having a local architect. Therefore, don't hesitate to reach out.

You can start by searching for manufacturers in your local area and gradually expanding your search area. There are also customers registered who are not manufacturers, so you can also search for potential customers using the map search below.

• Industrial equipment manufacturer
• machine
• Machinery parts manufacturer

Please give it a try.

Finally.

As I mentioned at the beginning, the work of a mechanical designer has its ups and downs. Ultimately, I think the operation will involve taking on several projects to fill in the gaps.

There will always be times when you feel mentally rushed because things that were decided are postponed, such as the start date. I believe that by completing the preparations mentioned above in advance, you can secure a minimum amount of work.

That's it.