Step-By-Step Guide to a Signed Contract

Proposal Delivery

On Tuesday at 9.30am the client receives the quote from us via courier. We've attached a polite note that explains that, as he needed the quote urgently, we worked on it over the weekend to have it ready early.

The quote itself is actually a 30-page, nicely-bound proposal that reiterates his needs and wants, and shows how the site will address them. It includes testimonials from previous clients (with contact numbers), proposed site flow charts, and a timetable of exactly what would happen and when.

We also include profiles on the team members who would work on the site, and the FAQ section has 20 of our most common questions and answers. We also include copies of articles from computer magazines that have reviewed our previous sites, and a CD-ROM that contains examples of our previous sites.

Proposal Meeting

I visit the prospect as promised and ask if he has any questions regarding the proposal. We discuss these, and I then ask for the job. "Well John," I say, "would you like us to work with you on this project?"

Letter of Thanks

When he says "Yes", we send him a "Thanks for choosing us" letter, along with our first invoice (of 50% of the total quote). We include a Reply Paid envelope that he can use to mail us the cheque.

Thanking the Referrer

I then send the person who referred this client a "Thanks for the referral" letter, and then take him and his wife out for a very nice dinner.

Following Through

As it turns out, we didn't do what we'd promised on this particular job... we did more: 2 extra pages, a little Flash, and one or two other things.

When the site was finished I took the client out for lunch and thanked him for the assistance with the project. I told him what a pleasure it had been to work with such a professional, and gave him a gift of a framed photo that we'd scanned and put on the site. It was a photo of the business' founder -- the only photo that they had of him. I also sent flowers and chocolates to the graphic artist who had helped us on the job.

After we started work I found out that the other two firms who pitched for the job never met with the client. They took his details over the phone in a 10 minute conversation. Both provided a one page quote a week later, and one of them hand delivered it wearing a pair of gardening shorts.

Take a stab in the dark and guess who the client has just signed on to keep their site up-to-date, submitted to the engines, and more -- at a very, very healthy fee!

Why We Won

The reason we got the job was predominantly because we were perceived as less risk than our competitors. They may well be better or quicker designers, but the client doesn't know that. Also, the way we developed the relationship indicated to the client that we had a very thorough working knowledge of the obstacles facing their Internet strategy. And finally, clients do tend to associate a lower price with lower quality.

The strategy I've outlined here relies on two critical elements:

1. Relationship: the better the relationship we establish with the prospect, the more comfortable he/she will be with us. That equates directly to more sales.
2. Perception: positively influencing people's perception is vital. People will make an assessment of you within about 3 seconds of meeting you. That's why I always visit clients impeccably dressed, carry a briefcase and use a fountain pen.

I disagree 100% that skill and talent are the requirements for success in anything. The perception of those things is more than a little important, too. The designers we were up against may well have been better than my team. They may have more skills. They may be better qualified. But it doesn't matter. The client only wants to know that you can do the job and that there is no risk involved in employing you.

We convince the client that we are the better people for the job by convincing him to perceive us as expert, reliable and safe.

People buy for 2 reasons -- and 2 reasons only: fear and greed. People equate higher prices with better quality. It's human nature.

If we have a prospect who is the middle manager from a big company, we focus on his fear that if he picks the wrong designer he will be in trouble with his boss. We show him that we're the right choice by making sure he thinks we're the best by a million miles. The price is very, very rarely an issue with these guys -- aside from their budgetary constraints. With smaller clients we focus on the fact that they don't want to risk their money by going with someone who doesn't understand exactly what they want and need.

If you have 100 equally talented designers vying for a job, the job will be won by the designer who is perceived as the best --- by that, I mean the most reliable. And that's decided by things like what he/she is wearing, testimonials from previous clients, and how quickly you respond to them etc. It's not decided by who's the best designer -- that's just a subjective thing.

Don't charge by the hour, and don't charge based on what everyone else charges. Charge what you think the client will pay someone of your (perceived) professionalism.

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