The Web Design Business Kit 2.0 by Brendon Sinclair
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This SitePoint kit is packed with actionable advice and recommendations for web design and development businesses. The author draws on 10 years of firsthand experience plus tips from other successful web professionals. It’s a well-organized, easy read with summaries and key points. There are plenty of anecdotes and case studies to illustrate the concepts. Overall, it’s both practical and incredibly motivational. I highly recommend it!
One thing that stands out is how much time Sinclair devotes to hobnobbing with prospects and clients. As the executive director of his web development and marketing firm, he has other people to do the actual design and development work, giving him time to spend on socializing and marketing. Since I’m running OptimWise as a freelancer, I need time to build websites as well as find prospects and keep in touch with clients. However, I fully acknowledge the importance of working on your business as well as in it.
My favorite topics were pitching, marketing, developing your unique advantage, sales and add-on sales, and client relations. A few topics weren’t relevant to me at this time, such as finding large clients, managing employees, finding an office, and expanding the business.
A second binder contains sample documents including a business plan, promotional letters, thank you letters, proposals, and contracts/service agreements. These weren’t as helpful as I thought they’d be, probably because I’ve already looked at so many examples when creating my own.
Major points
It’s never about the price. It’s about the perceived value for money.
Contact + care = profits. Communicate regularly with clients and provide superior service. Build a database of prospects and clients, including their birthdays, interests, etc., and use this to find reasons to contact them.
Rewarded behavior gets repeated. Send thank-yous and gifts to clients, business partners, contractors, and referrers.
View sales as creating long-term relationships, not making short-term transactions.
Pre-qualify clients by asking lots of questions to understand their true needs.
Most work will come via word-of-mouth, within a 50 mile radius from you.
Presentation and perception
Clients don’t care about your abilities. They only care about whether you’ll make them money. So, they judge you on dress, communication, and professionalism.
The client’s perception of you is reality, regardless of facts. Present yourself as skilled and successful.
Marketing
Ask clients how they found you or your competitors, then use those marketing channels.
Your marketing message: tell the prospect their problem (such as not making enough money), then offer the solution: a better website. Finally, ask them to contact you. Be professional but entertaining to stand out.
Don’t provide free work unless there’s an obvious and achievable benefit, such as referrals, publicity, making a good portfolio piece, etc.
Promotional options
- write articles
- hold seminars
- ask for referrals, especially from local computer and Internet businesses
- write reports and offer them free
- speak at events
- send newsletters
- attend networking events
- write press releases
Pitches, proposals, and quotes
Your business exists to help your clients prosper. For business clients, this means making them more money.
Clients care more about convenience and value for money than price.
Provide a proposal, not a quote. A proposal includes recommendations and quantifiable benefits (financial or otherwise) of the site.
Ask the client what their budget is, in order to provide an accurate proposal.
Overcoming budget objections: break the proposal down into pieces to show the value of each, and complete the project in phases. Don’t give anything for free!
When a client says no, they often just mean, “not now.”
How to pitch to prospects
Put on a show, demonstrate expertise, and charge accordingly.
- Demonstrate your expertise by mentioning your experience and results.
- Tell stories and anecdotes.
- Prove your credibility with testimonials or media appearances.
- Leave price until the end, once you’ve quantified benefits.
Pricing
Don’t charge hourly or match your competition’s pricing; those don’t scale. Charge based on the value you deliver to the client.
Charge clients up front a 50% deposit plus the cost of purchases made on behalf of the client.
Sales
Sales isn’t manipulating people to do something they don’t really want to do; it’s persuading people to do what they want to do.
Tell prospects and clients what their problems are, then offer the solution.
Show clients that you can make their business succeed and be better than their competition.
Offer superior service, not price, as your unique selling proposition.
Communicate regularly with prospects, clients, and even prospects who’ve rejected you. The more contact, the more sales.
The longer you spend with prospects, the more likely they are to buy.
Ask for the sale. Don’t just send a quote. Walk through the proposal, then ask, “Would you like us to work on this with you?”
Repeat and add-on sales
Offer add-on sales to existing clients. Educate them about new technology and trends and propose adding them to their sites. Recommend add-ons when nearing completion of the initial site, and also after launching the site.
Don’t offer add-ons as options; offer them as custom solutions you recommended. Clients want solutions, not a range of choices.
Don’t include maintenance in the initial proposal. Say that you’ll provide a proposal later, near the end of the initial design. Propose when about 75% complete. They’ll be more likely to agree because they’re financially and emotionally committed to the site.
Client relations
Service is more important than product or price.
Show clients you care by keeping them informed.
Satisfied clients won’t stay with you; only delighted ones will. Exceed their expectations, and make sure they know it by telling them what extras you’ve given them.
Stay in the minds of prospects and clients by using phone calls, handwritten thank-yous, occasion cards, and gifts.
When the client asks for something out of scope, say, “Good idea. I can do that for $x and it will delay the site y days. Would you like to proceed?”
Actively seek out complaints to learn how to improve and satisfy clients.
Don’t undervalue your skills by making your work sound easy.
When possible, buy from your clients’ businesses to show your support.
Legal
In your agreement letter, state that payment of invoice represents agreement to terms.
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