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Mark Wieman does a great job of taking you straight to his best work by having a featured case study on the homepage. 2. Explain your work Unfortunately many portfolios show work in isolation. Design operates in context, and the business and work of design even more so. Who was the client? What was the brief? What problem was it solving? How did your work solve their needs?

Ask yourself, what type of work does this agency or company do? What projects can I show that best illustrate how I would help them with their business. Remember, your potential employer is looking at you as someone to work within their existing team, culture, and practices.

Unsure of their needs Not every lead knows what they want—even if they do, they may not know what they could have. Using your portfolio site to educate your clients about the services you offer and how they might benefit will demonstrate you know what you are talking about, while also helping them get a better grasp over how it all works.

Reports or White Papers–Have you written a report or white paper on a topic that would be of interest to your target audience? If so, this can be a powerful nurturing piece. Here again, reports and white papers give you credibility while offering value to readers. Don’t have a meaty report you can share? Not a problem! Try assembling one with previously published articles that touch on a common theme.

Then, if you have the time, put in a little extra effort to deliver a day early. Odds are, this will make an amazing first impression with your clients as they will be comparing you to designers they have worked with in the past who probably never attempted to beat the due date and might have even struggled just to finish by the agreed upon deadline

One easy way to blow your clients away is to stop emailing them simple jpgs of whatever you’ve created. Instead, throw the jpgs on a nice background, toss in their company logo and spend a few minutes creating a quick writeup for each concept. Present your thought process and logic behind everything you create. You’d be surprised how few designers put in this extra effort and how impressed many clients will be with it. Beyond simply making a good impression, this technique helps you sell your ideas to your clients. A simple static thumbnail leaves a lot of interpretation hanging in the balance. This could result in a complete misunderstanding of what you were trying to accomplish and ultimately an unchangeable dislike for your design. However, if they see that you’ve thought through the concept, they’re more likely to accept the design or at least make suggestions without destroying the integrity of the idea.

Beating deadlines, over delivering, answering calls and emails at all hours of the day and night, and coming through in a bind are things that your client should know are optional actions you perform to make sure they’re completely satisfied with your service. These methods should be noticed and appreciated, not abused

Do you finish your tasks on time? Is your work always your absolute best? Do you show professionalism and courtesy in your client communication?