Are you struggling to find projects for your Upwork agency? You are not alone! The increase in the competition on the Upwork platform creates significant challenges for both new and established Upwork agency owners. After the online work trend, there is an increase in the freelance workforce which is growing nowadays and millions of professionals shifted to freelancing. It leads to a supply-demand imbalance on freelancing platforms like Upwork.
The increased number of freelancers results in high competition, and price wars, making it difficult for agencies to survive and get high-budget, long-term projects.
I am Sushil, an expert Upwork lead generation specialist. In this guide, I will share my eight years of experience in Lead generation on Upwork for multiple businesses and Upwork agencies.
Let’s start with introducing the Upwork Agency.
What is an Upwork Agency?
When you want to scale your business or you're a seasoned freelancer with a workload and are serious about freelancing success, Upwork provides you with a feature to build your team on Upwork as an Upwork agency. It is a group of freelancers who join together to work on large projects as a team. This team works together, managing multiple tasks and targeting bigger projects.
The Upwork agency provides you the opportunity to build a network with other expert freelancers and increase your revenue and growth. It will secure your physical office cost and allow you the freedom to choose your projects and work hours.
Let's highlight the most common problems faced by many Upwork agencies and businesses in lead generation on Upwork.
Operating Costs
Upwork agencies have to cope with these initial challenges of cost.
Subscription Fees:
The Upwork agency Plus plan charges a subscription fee of USD 19.99 per month, which allows you to build and manage your agency profile on Upwork. You can’t send proposals or receive invites if you don’t maintain a subscription fee for your account per month.
With this subscription plan, the Agency Plus account provides benefits such as:
- You can add as many members to your agency as you need, there is no limitation on numbers.
- You can optimize your profile URL for better search visibility
- You can boost your profile by using connects
- It provides access to Upwork Chat Pro to agency members
Connects Fees:
To submit proposals for jobs, Upwork agencies are required to purchase connects from Upwork. The rate per connect is USD 0.15 for each. The Range of Connects spent on each proposal starts from 8-24 connects. Upwork lead generation specialists used these connects strategically to bid on jobs and win projects
Once these connects are finished, they will have to buy it again from Upwork with the available amount in the account.
Need To Boost Bid:
In this current situation, you need to wisely use your connects and boost your bid to stand out in the competitive environment on Upwork. Agencies set proper budgets to invest in connects and they don't hesitate to use even 900+ connects on high-value projects.
More commonly, agencies spend 50-400 connects to bid on relevant projects, as this increases their chance of winning the job.
However, you need to make your decision according to your experience and expertise with project requirements and bid on the project accordingly.Upwork Commission Fees:
The Upwork agency owner has to pay a commission to Upwork when they win a job and the contract ends. This typically includes a 10% Upwork commission, additionally 2% other fees.
Availability Badge:
Upwork provides a feature of an availability badge to show on your profile to deliver a signal to clients that you are available for work right now. To use this option on your profile, Upwork charges two connects daily. Thus, you need to spend 14 Connects every week for this badge.
The Growing Popularity of Agencies on Upwork Results in High Competition
According to Upwork stats the number of freelancers will increase by 50 % in just one half of the year 2022. Key factors contributing to the increase in the number of freelancers are economic uncertainty, job loss, remote work trends, and technological advancement.
Such factors increase the competition among freelancers and Upwork agencies. Although agencies can offer such services which solo freelancers can't because these are a team of specialists in their field to handle large-scale complex projects.
While there is an increase in competition day by day there is also a huge potential for success. Understanding the complete Upwork algorithm to survive on the platform and generate quality leads for the Upwork agency is crucial.Competition from Solo Freelancers and Other Upwork Agencies
One of the biggest challenges faced by Upwork agencies is a large number of individual freelancers present on Upwork with lower rates. Other agencies also give a tough time in generating leads and getting projects for new agencies. Clients with small budgets prefer a freelancer profile rather than an agency profile to hire for their job.
According to 38% of the US labor force is involved in freelancing work, an increase from 60 million professionals in 2022. It's an all-time high.
Pricing Wars Against Low-Cost Freelancers and New Agencies
Clients on Upwork have multiple choices and they are looking for the best deal. Pricing war is another critical issue for Upwork agencies. Agencies generally charge higher than individual freelancers because they have to cover their expenses by paying for subscriptions and connects monthly even if they didn't get the project.
On the flipside, individual freelancers rates are low as compared to agency rates.Client's Hesitation to Hire Agencies
One of the primary reasons for client's hesitation to hire individual freelancers as compared to agencies is the lower cost offered by solo freelancers. This became a more budget-friendly and easy option for small tasks and projects with limited funds for clients.
Another reason for preferring individual freelancers over agencies is personalization, which clients get by hiring a freelancer. There is a communication breakdown in the team, clients may fear that they will be handed off to different team members.
Flexibility, and direct communication, offered by freelancers make them attractive choices for clients.Challenges in Managing Client’s Expectations and Communication
As an agency includes different specialists for specific tasks there is a big challenge in communication with clients in agencies if it isn't handled properly. You must clear things up when the project starts.
Introduce your team and their role with the Client and he should know to which member he communicates to ensure transparency.Trust and Credibility Issues as an Agency
Building trust on Upwork is especially hard for agencies as compared to individual freelancers. They have to prove that their entire team is reliable and skilled.
Upwork badges such as "Top Rated Plus" or "Rising Talent" can enhance their credibility. Agencies can get these badges over time and after many successful projects with five-star reviews.Difficulty of Winning Long-Term Contracts
Agencies aim for long-term high-budget projects that make better use of their resources. Winning such long-term contracts on Upwork is difficult. Mostly projects available on Upwork are short-term and low-budget.
To overcome this situation agencies need to build strong relationships with clients. This can be achieved by consistently delivering smaller projects with high results. Over time when clients are satisfied they show trust in you, offer long-term projects, and also refer you to others.Team Management Challenges
A successful team in Upwork agency requires strong leadership, and effective communication to ensure client satisfaction. The team members in Upwork agencies may be from across the globe with different time zones, So the agency faces team management challenges working with remote and diverse teams. It becomes difficult to coordinate everyone on the same page.
Unified communication, effective tracking and follow-ups, and careful planning enhance agency performance and enable them to manage their projects smoothly.Budget constraints from clients
Many Clients expect premium services with a low budget. They don't understand when the budget is restricted, the agency may not be able to utilize proper resources and advanced tools to complete the project efficiently. This will force the agency to compromise on the quality of the project. It also impacts the reputation of an agency if the final product or service which is delivered on a low budget is not functioning properly.
To meet these challenges, agencies must clear these important points with clients. Openly discuss what is feasible within their budget. It helps to maintain a balance between client satisfaction and agency profits.
How Upwork lead generation experts tackle these issues and create leads for your business or agency
Upwork provides a bunch of opportunities to both freelancers and Upwork agencies. Your agency can thrive when it is in the correct hands of a lead generation specialist who uses expert tips and strategies to bid strategically and win long-term high-paying jobs for your company or agency.
If your agency addresses the above issues and you don’t generate enough revenue from your agency. You should hire an expert Upwork lead generation specialist for your business.
When choosing a lead generation specialist for your agency it is important to work with a team that has a deep understanding of the Upwork algorithm and has a proven track record of success. At we have a team of specialists helping agencies maximize their return on investment (ROI) by strategically using connects and winning on high-budget jobs for your business or agency.
Our Successful Lead Generation Process:
Our team follows a results-driven approach to lead generation on Upwork. Here’s how they start:
Understanding Your Skills and Niche: Our experts understand your specific skills and category to target highly relevant and quality projects. This will help us to find a suitable job according to your expertise.
Job and Client Analysis: We use Upwork's strong search filter to find jobs related to your profile. Next, we carefully review the job description to understand the client's requirements.
Working with a good client is paramount for your growth. This is the reason it is crucial to analyze their history by checking their hiring patterns, and feedback from freelancers on previous projects. Our team ensures that you are working with the right clients. When we find the right opportunity we decide to apply for it.
Compelling Proposal: Our team clearly understands the client's requirements and addresses their pain points. They apply with effective, personalized proposals by properly answering the questions if clients are mentioned in their job listing.
Use Strategic Bidding for High-Value Clients: Our expert Upwork bidder understands how to bid strategically according to the potential of the job. They have a knowledge of market trends and competitive pricing thus their experience helps your agency to bid on high-value clients and long-term projects.
Our expert team spends dedicated time and deeply analyzes the strength and weakness of your agency account on Upwork. By following this pattern our team will surely win a suitable job for your agency.
If you want to know How to generate leads on Upwork, then you should consider this blog post:
Benefits of Choosing Mindustrious for Upwork Lead Generation
Unlike general lead generation services, our team specializes only in Upwork lead generation. With years of experience, our team's track record speaks for itself. Our expert Upwork lead generation specialist focuses only on deriving success by increasing your potential for winning high-quality, long-term projects without wasting your resources.
Our team exactly knows how to lead your Upwork profile or agency to stand out by having a deep understanding of the Upwork algorithm, bidding system, and competition. Hiring an expert person for lead generation can benefit you and reduce your cost of spending on connects. A specialist person has experience as compared to others who just follow trends and bids on projects, just waste connects and time. We work on:
- Profit-sharing model (Reduce your expense of salary)
We work on a profit-sharing model. We get paid only when we derive results. It ensures that your investment is directly related to performance and results.
We decide a certain percentage of the amount which we will get from your profit. This will force us to target high-quality quality long-term projects that maximize your growth potential.
By working with senior experts lead generation on upwork you will overcome the burden of hiring again and again individuals who just bid on a project without strategic focus. We work on the concept that your success is our success. That's why our approach is only focused on positive results for both of us. - Save Time And Resources
It will require a lot of time for Upwork agencies to search for quality leads, write customized proposals, and bid on the project. Agencies will save time by hiring Upwork bidders or expert lead generation, consuming this time on their other critical tasks and focusing on delivering quality services to the clients. - Improved Win Rate
Experts know how to showcase your Upwork agency's unique selling points, and their value to the client, and effectively address clients' pain points. Lead generation specialists use customized proposals rather than just copy-paste materials which will lead to more contracts and a higher win rate. - Better Budget Management
Lead generation specialists have experienced invaluable insights into what clients are exactly looking for, what your competitors offer, and which category is most profitable. They completely understand the market data and client trends on Upwork.
With the help of a lead generation expert you can manage your agency's budget more effectively by optimizing your use of Upwork connects and subscription fees. This will assist you in bidding on a high potential budget, increase return on investment(ROI), and avoid wasting connects on low-value leads.
Conclusion
Lead generation is a key part of the success of today's business and for your Upwork agency. From managing operating costs to dealing with competitors and generating high-quality leads, it is important for agencies to invest in proper hiring for lead generation on Upwork. By using techniques such as effective communication, properly utilizing budget, and building long-term relationships, an agency can thrive itself from the competition.
Reach out to Mindustrious today, If you want to take your Upwork profile or agency to the next level and stand out from the competition. We have a proven track record of successful lead generation for businesses and upwork agencies. Let’s help us to win high-quality projects and grow your Upwork agency.
FAQs
How to start an Upwork agency?
To start an Upwork agency you need to create an agency account on Upwork. Before, Upwork provided two plans for agency creation, one free with limited features and the other premium.
But now Upwork introduces only paid Agency plus options with a monthly subscription fee of 20$. This new plan offers new features to boost your agency with the help of connects and get ranked easily. You can add an unlimited number of freelancers to your agency.
- Create an SEO-optimized agency profile with a strong introduction and overview of your skill, add skilled freelancers to your team, and start growing your business.
How to get work on Upwork as an agency?
When a freelancer on Upwork has a workload, Upwork provides an option for freelancers to build a team of other freelancers and work as an agency.
Upwork agency mostly targets large projects such as complex website development, comprehensive marketing campaigns, mobile app development, etc. Where more than one person's expertise is required.
Thus once you have established an Upwork agency profile, you need to hire an expert Upwork lead generation specialist to search for high-paying relevant jobs, apply them with particular effective lead generation strategies, and close a deal for your agency.
How to promote Upwork agency?
Promoting an agency is important for its visibility and ranking in search results. It will help to attract new potential clients and grow your Upwork agency.
The Upwork Agency Plus plan allows you to boost your Upwork agency by using connects, the higher you bid higher the chance of your Upwork agency to show in front of clients.
You can also boost your proposals with a greater number of connects by analyzing other freelancers. To win large projects as an Upwork agency you need a lead generation specialist who uses different effective strategies of lead generation and gets close quality leads for your business.
How to add freelancers to Upwork agency?
To add other freelancers to your Upwork agency you need to send an invite to them to do this:
Go to your Upwork agency profile:
- Click on your profile picture in the top right corner and select the agency option from the drop-down menu.
- Go to the team tab it will show you the current members and allow you to add new ones.
- Click on add new freelancer and add their email address. Make sure that the email address of a particular freelancer is associated with their Upwork profile.
- Now assign a freelancer role in your Upwork agency if you can give him a full administrative role you will click on owner role. Other options include manager and freelancer roles you can click on them as per your requirements.
- Then click on the invite, and an email is sent to the freelancer when he accepts it he will become a member of your Upwork agency.
How to join an Upwork agency?
You can join an Upwork agency when a particular agency owner sends you an invite to join their agency. He will send an invitation to you to your email address associated with your Upwork profile.
If you behalf on yourself to become a part of an Upwork agency then you have to create a strong Upwork profile that showcases your strong portfolio and skills. Connect with agency administrators on Upwork or through other professional networks. You can find these agencies in Upwork search results or by looking for agencies that are hiring in your field.
