| Its always a great feeling to
finally land a new client and discuss their needs and the
potential of working on the actual web project itself. However,
over time I found that finding clients is one thing, but finding
clients that are serious about doing business with you is
another.
One of the most influencial factors for any new web project
is undoubtedbly budget. Or in many cases -- lack of it. Time
and time again when submitting proposals along with my quote
to a new prospect, I would find myself in the position of
either having to justify my pricing, or worse still, losing
out on the project altogether because my quote was seen as
too high. Why then, was this happening?
This was proving to be an issue for me. Not only did I begin
to question my own rates, but also, started wondering if the
way I was charging was completely wrong. Especially when,
I'd invested a week into putting a proposal together and the
clients response was "..sorry too expensive". That
would then mean, I lost out on the project because my quote
was too high, and also lost a week of my time putting the
proposal together.
I knew there had to be a better way of avoiding this situation
ahead of time before actually submitting my proposals and
quotes to new clients. Having to constantly justify my rates
wasn't something that I wanted to make a habit of, and lowering
them would only lead to my business eventually failing. Besides,
I didnt want to lower my rates, Id rather just go back to
my regular job if that were the case.
So what then, could I do to ensure that my
proposal and quote suited my clients needs as well as their
budget?
The answer was simple -- I had to begin "pre-qualifying"
my clients.
This, put simply, meant that I had to get an idea of what
the client had allocated financially towards the project,
before even starting on any documentation. And this meant,
asking during the initial meeting, "do you have a rough
idea on how much you've allocated towards this project, or
willing to spend..?"
Now I know this is a topic of debate on many web developer
forums and some strongly disagree with this approach, but
I strongly stand behind my reasons for doing so. The biggest
reason obviously is that, I need to eliminate any potential
misunderstands on cost, or expected deliveralbes for a certain
fee.
Let me summarise why asking your clients ahead of time is
a good idea.
1. It helps clarify any expectations and saves you
time.
Wasting a week putting a proposal and quote together, only
to be denied because you were too expensive helps nobody.
By just asking what your client has allocated towards the
project can save a lot of time for both involved and will
help to clarify overall project expectations. If the client
has a great long list of requirements that you know will cost
in excess of $15,000, and they're only willing to spend $500,
then its time to either offer a cheaper alternative, or say,
"thanks but no thanks, I'm not the right person for the
job..."
2. Dont take on dead beat clients.
Avoid "cheap seekers" at all costs. Believe me,
it's not worth your time nor effort. Unless you're absolutely
desperate for work, never take on a dead beat client that
wants the world and is only willing to invest peanuts. Accepting
a project for a lot less than you should be, is a sure fired
way of steering your web design business into certain failure.
Clients that want to whinge over costs, are the worst to have
as clients. By pre qualifying your clients, you will be able
to seperate the wheat from the chaff and invest your time
towards servicing cleints that have budgets and are serious
about doing business with you. On top of this, its most than
likely that they appreciate and value your time and skillsets.
Clients that chase every dollar dont care. Avoid these at
all costs.
3. Offering a cheaper solution with potential upsells.
Okay so you've got what seems to be a great client. Only
problem is they dont quite meet the quote. This is where you
need to get creative. Instead of just writing them off, think
about ways to get them onboard and offer potential upsells.
Upsells can work well, especially when you offer great value
for business, such as SEO, marketing, and maintenance services.
I wrote a great article make
money with wordpress that shows how a close friend of
mine, makes in excess of $20,000 a month by building wordpress
sites for clients. As you know, wordpress is a plug in content
management system, which for most clients, if not all, would
be a very cost effective solution. So when a client says "Yeah
this is a bit higher than we'd like to spend..." Try
offering them cheaper solutions for the actual web design,
but upsell them with extra features or benefits.
In summary, always pre qualify your clients budget ahead of
putting together your web proposal and quote. It will save
you a lot of time and effort, believe me.
Best of luck to you.
John
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