Fiverr is an online marketplace, so knowing how to communicate with buyers and sellers on Fiverr is very important. I mean, how can you do business with someone with whom you do not communicate properly with?
Sometimes, people do not understand the importance of communication, especially in business. For me, I like to say communication is everything!
What is communication?
So, before we go into how you can communicate effectively as buyers and sellers, let’s talk about what communication means in the first place.
Communication is a process of giving, receiving, or exchanging ideas, information, signals, or messages through appropriate media, enabling individuals or groups to persuade, to seek information, to give information, or to express emotions.
In this article, we will be talking about how to communicate with buyers and sellers on Fiverr. However, we will be looking at the communication in two ways:
- How to communicate effectively with buyers on Fiverr as sellers
- How to communicate effectively with sellers on Fiverr as buyers
How to communicate effectively with buyers on Fiverr as sellers
Are you aware that how you communicate with buyers and sellers on Fiverr can greatly affect your level of sales and profitability?
Many times sellers complain about how buyers don’t get back to them after an order has been placed. Some don’t even end up placing the orders after contacting the sellers and buyers end up being ghosted.
I’ve heard of this several times and I have been in similar situations whereby my chats are not replied to, my calls are not picked and sometimes I get blocked on social media platforms as well.
So I made a review of what could have led to this and I realized communication is a key factor.
It has gravely affected many businesses and has made some go extinct. You might wonder why I’m bringing other businesses into this.
Well, it works the same with Fiverr. Communication can determine if you would be getting the attention of your proposed client or not.
Sometimes, most buyers on Fiverr chat you up because of the bid you placed on their order and end up not doing business with you.
It all boils down to communication. Therefore here are a few tips on how to communicate effectively with sellers for smooth running sales on Fiverr:
Learn proper construction of English sentences
As ridiculous as this might sound, poor construction of English grammar disrupts communication between sellers and their customers on Fiverr; therefore sales.
Speaking proper English is one of the keys to effective communication. When I say proper English, I mean using words that point to the exact thing you’re implying.
This is one of the first things you need to learn on how to communicate with buyers and sellers on Fiverr.
Ensure that you avoid unnecessary abbreviations- Acronyms such as IDK instead of I don’t know, IDG instead of I don’t get, TBVH instead of to be very honest, BRB instead of being right back, TTYL instead of talking to you later or misspelling of words like spelling you as you, first as fess, there as there, know as no and so many others cause unnecessary headache in reading any sentence constructed with these words.
Avoid unnecessary vocabularies
We all know English is just an official language. Most buyers on Fiverr have their native language so it will be very uncalled for to go about long and uncommonly used English words in communicating.
Imagine if I am a buyer who doesn’t understand the English Language properly but trying my best to speak the language just so I can maintain communication with a seller and the seller keeps on throwing words that I have to check a dictionary for its meaning or ask people around for the meaning one too many times. Ordinarily, it is a turn-off already.
Therefore I’ll advise that no matter how vibrant you are with your vocabularies, always maintain simple and easy-to-understand English word usage.
Always respond on time
As a seller on Fiverr, giving the right response at the ‘right time’ has a great impact on communication with buyers on Fiverr.
It’s understandable that maybe you have other things you’re occupied with but responding at the right time keeps your client glued to your DM.
You need to understand that you might not be the only seller a buyer is contacting for information. So how fast you respond is going to determine how capable you are in converting that inquiry into sales.
To make replying to messages fast and convenient, you can as well install the Fiverr mobile app on your smartphone and set a notification for incoming messages.
Engage your buyer
For a smooth running communication, you need to keep your buyers engaged. Ensure to end every conversation with a question or just any response your buyer can respond to.
Never leave your buyer clueless – allowing them to wonder where they stand with you.
End every message with a trigger to action. “Should I send my custom offer?” “What’s your take on that?” “What do you think about this?”
Be conversational
As a seller on Fiverr, you should have a great sense of humor. When your buyer is making a big deal out of nothing, you don’t take it up. Instead, you make a slight joke out of it.
For example, you promised to get back to a buyer by 9:00 and for one reason or another, you were a few minutes late in replying and your buyer took it up and is ranting about it.
You as a seller don’t have to reply with the same energy. A very soft joke in that scenario will go a long way in calming your client down.
Also, learn to be polite with your words; select your words carefully. Avoid using harsh words. I read somewhere where a seller told a buyer he’d knock on him later and the buyer immediately warned the seller against using such words.
As common as the sentence ‘I would knock on you later’ sounds, it is a harsh word to use.
Note: this is just an illustration; avoid any word that expresses violence or rudeness
Proper introduction
Suppose, for a buyer request, one buyer posted a job for flyer design like “I need a flyer design for my company” That’s all. Now what most of the sellers do is, simply copy and paste the text from somewhere else’s profile or gig like “Hi I am ABC, I have XYZ experience, I am the best, I am the king of designs, hire me.” And this might sound ridiculous and hilarious to some buyers.
Firstly, try to take your time to understand what the buyer needs. Yes, you can start with a short introduction of yourself and then ask what the company’s name is. You can go ahead to ask if the buyer needs the logo with the name of the company or symbolic?
Note: This is only an example, you should write whatever matches your job skills.
Then ask any other related questions. Ensure that you do not bore your client by asking too many unnecessary questions and request him to see your portfolio. You can provide Fiverr authorized portfolio links.
After all the discussions, if he thinks you are the right person for the job then he can hire you. This is a very easy and straightforward approach.
Be transparent
When quoting a buyer, there’s nothing like giving too much information. Lay it all out; what a buyer will get from purchasing your GIG, how you break down your price, what the workload will be, and if they want a custom offer.
Also, if you’re running late in delivering what you promised, ensure you give your buyer a heads up about it. Send them a message to explain the situation and give them a new time they should expect the order.
How to effectively communicate with sellers on Fiverr as buyers
As I have emphasized earlier, when I talked about how sellers could communicate with buyers on Fiverr, proper communication is key.
For buyers to communicate with sellers, they need to ensure the following:
Understand the service the seller is offering
As a buyer, you should make sure that you understand the service that a seller is offering before you place your order. If anything is unclear, you can always contact them in advance to avoid any misunderstandings.
Contact your seller before placing an order
The fact that the Fiverr app allows buyers and sellers to converse with each other before an order is placed, is a good thing. So even if you think you’ve found the perfect GIG that matches everything you required, don’t be so fast in clicking the order button
Instead, go to the seller’s profile. There you see a ‘contact me’ button where you can send a message to the seller to describe the service you’re looking for.
This will also allow you to get to know the seller by the kind of response you get from them. From the response gotten from contacting different sellers, you will be able to choose who you think is fit to render the service you require.
Always Express Your Discomfort On Certain Subject Matters
It is a big deal if you do not express yourself when you are uncomfortable about certain subject matters when dealing with sellers. How do you expect a seller to take caution of their mistakes and shortcomings in providing their services if they do not get any feedback throughout the working process? How can you correct them?
Learn to express how you feel. Behind a screen, there is no way they can know how you feel. For some sellers, it may sting for a little while feeling you’re regarding them as being incompetent, but it’s better to help them to be aware of their shortcomings and correct them, rather than giving a negative review or cancelling the order.
You are investing money in a seller’s service, while they are investing time in your order.
Learn to value their time and honour your money by constantly expressing your discomfort and asking the seller to deliver something that satisfies your needs.
Do Not Bug Your Sellers After An Order Has Been Placed
Asking for updates is a good thing to do. It is ok to ask for drafts or prototypes. What is not cool, is messaging the seller zillion times asking for updates or drafts, especially if you have both agreed on a specific number of updates or drafts. Some sellers are communicative, some aren’t.
It is very ideal if personally, the seller decides to keep you updated and come to you frequently, but not all sellers do this: some are busy, have orders in the queue, or simply don’t want to answer unproductive messages from you because it makes them lose time.
Make sure every message you send them is relevant to your order and don’t bug them with unnecessary messages. Remember you’re not their boss, you’re just one of their many customers.
Give A Clear Description Of Your Order
When describing the kind of service you want, always give a clear order. Don’t give orders without any context. A picture might go a long way. Some buyers are even kind enough to send the sellers a link to a video that shows something similar to what they want the seller to deliver.
As a buyer, ensure that you always give a precise and more comprehensive description to the sellers you contact for an order. Sometimes you might not even know how best to explain exactly what you want. You can just send a sample of a similar thing to what you want and explain the difference you want if there’s any.
Conclusion
Evidently, we have seen that knowing how to communicate with buyers and sellers on Fiverr is quite straightforward, that is if all aforementioned steps are being followed by both parties (buyers and sellers), I strongly believe communication will be smooth, orders will be met and profit will be made on Fiverr
