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Rule number one, when meeting with clients -
shut up!
If you’re new to the web development freelancing industry
then youll find yourself being asked the same two questions
almost every time you meet with a potential client.
1. How long will this take?
2. How much will this cost?
The best piece of advice I can give you when asked this,
is this.
Keep your mouth shut!
When I first started out freelancing I wanted to ensure that
I serviced my clients as best I possibly could. This initially
meant nodding my head a lot, smiling and answering each and
every question they had in detail. Quite often I said too
much and in the end gave incorrect or wrong advice. Not intentionally
- just because I was trying too hard.
This turned out to be one of my biggest downfalls because
it had a negative impact on my business.
Whilst its only natural for clients to ask these questions,
you need to be mindful of what work lays ahead. Never assume
that you can ‘guesstimate’ a projects timeframe
or provide an accurate quotation by simply looking over the
requirements within the first 5 minutes.
Unless the task being requested is very straight forward
and you are confident of providing an estimate on the spot,
go ahead and do so. However if you are uncertain, never give
your clients any false hopes. By this I refer to either quoting
hastily or providing inadequate timeframes for development
and delivery.
Whenever I was asked “…how long?”, or “…how
much?” I would always answer politely with the following.
“I couldn’t provide you with an accurate quote
or timeframe at this point, I need to go over your requirements
further, itemize the work involved and get back to you. A
complete listing of both my quote and the expected completion
date will be in my proposal that you will receive shortly.”
I never once had a client argue with this, and it helped
me immensely. Because it gave me time.
The reason for saying this to a client is important.
1. You don’t want to provide a quote that is grossly
incorrect.
2. You don’t want to put yourself under any stressful
deadlines
Let’s look at these two points in further detail.
1. You don’t want to provide a quote that is
grossly incorrect.
The likelihood of providing an inaccurate quote is increased
dramatically when guessing in front of a client. Most times
I would give my best guess, which was generally always less
than what I should have quoted, or worse, I would provide
them with a ridiculous timeframe.
By making such claims, I would then be in the position of
having to work long hours to meet the deadline, or earning
half of what I probably should have been to begin with. Occasionally
I missed the deadline entirely or had to requote. Only because
I pressured myself in front of the client.
Your client will always remember any verbal estimates. Whether
it be a rough quote, or a completion date, they will always
remember. Providing rough estimates in front of your client
can be dangerous, especially if you return to the office to
find that you overlooked something and the cost or turnaround
time is going to be considerably higher than first expected.
Having to explain this to a client can be somewhat embarrasing.
Especially if you have given your word during a meeting.
2. You don’t want to put yourself under any
stressful deadlines
The same principles apply when being questioned about completion
dates. Due to inexperience I would always try to please my
clients by making ridiculous claims about the job ‘not
taking too long’ Needless to say, I never considered
every aspect of the project and overlooked numerous factors
which in the end, came back to haunt me later.
At worst, If a client absolutely needed some idea of a completion
date, I would say “somewhere between x and y weeks,
but I can provide a better idea of this once I go over your
requirements in further detail”
This would answer them within reason and provide a rough
idea, but still allow you to fine tune your estimates within
your proposal.
In summary.
Treat your clients with respect, but always remain in charge.
Losing control of a project or client can be quite stressful.
Be sure to provide accurate quotes and never put yourself
under pressure in front of a client.
If you find that a client must have an answer, provide them
with estimates as such.
“This project could cost anywhere between A and B dollars
with an expected development time of between X and Y dates.”
If at all possible, don’t answer and outline these
particulars within your proposal once you have had adequate
time to consider every aspect of the requested work.
Best of luck to you.
John
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