Feedback is important for anyone providing a professional service or pursuing a job. When you read about a new restaurant online, don’t you also like browsing through the reviews and recommendations made by other customers who’ve dined at the restaurant before?
When it comes to freelance, feedback becomes all the more imperative for freelancers, because freelancers need to be on the same page as their clients – all the time. It is only with timely and relevant feedback that a freelancer can understand the client’s tastes and requirements.
Feedback by clients acts as a review of how you work and how you do your work. Positive feedback can help potential clients lean towards hiring you for a project thereby helping you rise above the competition.
Many freelancers skip taking client feedback not realizing that this could actually lead them to a new assignment. “Getting it right” is after all providing the client with what they want. This can be achieved with relevant feedback.
It is important to keep in mind that;
Just working is not enough
Both positive and negative feedback helps shape your work, for the better
When twenty six year old PR coordinator Sharmila Banerjee moved from Delhi to Kolkata, the shift left Sharmila looking for a new job. Feedback from her old references worked well for her. "I tried finding work in a new city but then it was becoming exhausting for me. I got in touch with my old clients. I asked them to put their feedback on my social profiles and they also provided references which worked for me," she says.
She asserts that taking work-related feedback creates inroads in the mind of perspective employers and clients.
Delhi-based Arohi Negi did freelance digital marketing gigs for a national-level advertising agency. As it happens often with all ad-agencies, business ran lean in last financial year. "I realized that work was drying up with the agency. I had to take on other work and since I prefer working from home I only wanted to pitch for more work-from-home assignments. I made a professional website for my work and included my agency and client feedback as well. The client feedback was neutral but it still reflected that I worked on some campaigns with them and it showed me in good light," she shares.
Any feedback is good for you
Sujaya Rao - a Chennai-based entrepreneur mentor - says that feedback help sharpen professional skills. "A positive feedback will tell you what skills are best for you. A negative feedback is even more important because it tells you which skills should be worked upon. If you close your ears to negative feedback then you will certainly lose out on important advice that could help improve your work,” she says.
How to ask for feedback –
E-mail – Drop a thank you mail to the client after the assignment is complete and payments are made. In the same mail ask for his feedback as well.
Text message – A gratitude message after an assignment reflects well on you. You can ask for his possible takeaway about your work in the same message.
Short online survey – This works only for those clients with whom you have had a long standing relationship. Those people know you for long and will have patience to give a question-based qualitative feedback. In real terms, this is the feedback that should really matter to you.
Online recommendations – Some professional networking sites let you ask for recommendations from your peers and people you have worked with. Once approved, those can be reflected on your online profile. Reach out to people on your network and ask them to comment on your work.
Feedback can be displayed on your professional profiles, both printed and online. Also they can be added on your blog or website also. This will help build your overall portfolio too.