Pitching to win: Stop over-explaining, get people to listen and land more clients
Success in freelancing isn’t just knowing your stuff. It’s being able to say it before your client stops listening. Read on to learn how to cut the fluff, trigger buy-in faster and use cognitive shortcuts to sound like the expert you are
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Which freelancer type are you: a meanderer or strategist?
Who better than freelancers to appreciate that time is the ultimate currency? Getting to the point isn’t just polite—it’s a power move. For freelancers, brevity is the difference between winning a contract and hearing, “We’ll keep your details on file.”
We’ve all been trapped in meetings with well-meaning over-explainers—people busy explaining the journey while everyone else checks their watch and mentally drafts their grocery list.
Consider a project meeting where a website’s conversion rate has plummeted. Two freelancers share their thoughts on the problem:
The meanderer:
So, I’ve been diving into the analytics, and if you look at the heatmaps—which are really interesting by the way—it seems people are getting stuck. I think, and this is just my initial thought, that if we perhaps consider a redesign of the UI to be more intuitive, maybe focusing on the buttons… it’s like how other apps do it to avoid overwhelming people…
The strategist:
Our data shows a 40% drop-off due to choice paralysis. I propose we consolidate our three calls-to-action into one primary ‘Get Started’ button. This simplifies the journey and should reclaim 15% of lost conversions by month-end.
Of those two freelancers, who actually said something? Which freelancer’s solution do you remember?
The strategist-style freelancer is more likely to have won everyone’s attention. Why? They used Cognitive Load Theory. By stripping away the noise, the signal/solution becomes impossible to ignore.
The strategist got rid of the extraneous or “bad” load. They presented the information differently. If a freelancer uses too much jargon or has cluttered ideas and slides, they are adding an extraneous load, forcing the client to work harder just to understand the delivery rather than the solution.
We all ramble. But why do we do it?
If you find yourself over-explaining, you’re likely battling one of three gremlins:
- Imposter’s shield: Many freelancers feel they must “prove” their day rate by talking more. This is a classic symptom of Imposter Syndrome; you mistakenly believe complexity equals value, when the client is actually paying for the simplicity of your solution.
- Curse of knowledge: This cognitive bias happens when you’re such an expert that you forget your client doesn’t know the jargon. You get lost in the “how” while they are still trying to figure out the “what.”
- Anxiety loops: When we’re nervous, we repeat ourselves to feel “safe,” but this actually triggers information overload in our listeners, making them tune out.
How to improve your communication style
To grab attention and keep it, you might need to flip your communication style on its head. Most people build up to a conclusion like a mystery novel. In business, you should be a news headline.
- Try the Pyramid Principle developed by Barbara Minto at McKinsey. It dictates you should give the answer first, then the supporting data. If the client is convinced by the first sentence, you’ve saved everyone ten minutes.
- Ditch those soft qualifiers, used in phrases, such as “I feel,” “maybe,” or “I was just thinking”. They may act as verbal brakes; they dilute your authority. Instead, use action verbs. By saying “I recommend” instead of “I think,” you tap into the Confidence-Competence Loop, which makes people more likely to trust your lead.
- Speak in outcomes since clients don’t care about your “process” or how much time you’ve put in; they care about their “result.” This is known as outcome-based communication.
Here’s what it looks like in words, before and after you put outcome-based communication methods to work:
Old way:
I’m going to spend ten hours researching keywords and looking at competitors.
New way:
I will identify the top five high-intent keywords to drive qualified leads to your site.
The next time you’re about to explain the how, stop, take a breath, and just deliver the why.