Have you ever had a prospect refuse your bid, and then use your proposal documents as a foundation for building their Website “on the cheap?”

If you answered yes to one or more of the above, you might find a helpful tip or two here.

If none of the above sound familiar, they will as soon as you start dealing with people in the real world.

Prospect: Well, that’s OK, I didn’t like your ideas very much anyway.

[Three Months Pass]

Designer: [to self] “Hmmm, I wonder if Anderson Pickle Packing ever found a designer? Let.s see … http:// ….”

Designer: [out-loud, outraged, bangs fist on keyboard] “That’s My %#*!@^$ Design!”

Prospect: (now Client) “That’s great, I really like your ideas!”

Designer: Completes Work, Submits Invoice.

[Three Months Pass]

Client: (was Prospect) “I know I owe you the money, but … [our client hasn’t paid us yet] … [we’ve had a bad month] … [our accountant has been sick] … [the project got cancelled] … [I’ve meant to call you, we’re not really pleased with] … [I’ll have to speak to the committee] … [my dog ate your invoice] … [insert excuse of the day here] and we really need this update right away.

Recording: “We’re sorry, the number you have dialed has been disconnected…”

Designer: [out-loud, outraged, bangs fist on keyboard] “That’s My %#*!@^$ Money!”

The “creative mind” and “logical or business mind” are stereotypically at odds with one another. My experiences show that this stereotype has some basis in fact.

I’ve heard a number of friends and associates complain that they can create, or they can tend to the dirty underbelly of their business, but they can’t do both, or at least not well.

“Business people,” generally want to keep their processes and methods to themselves. “Technical and creative people,” however, often delight in sharing their experience, expertise and knowledge with their clients and peers alike. Online communities are merely one example in which valuable advice and counsel is freely shared.

While most [decent] people would never think of calling a plumber friend aside at a dinner party to look at their pipes, they seldom seem to mind asking, “could you take a look at my son’s computer, he’s having trouble updating my company’s Website.”

If their intent is not to get “something for nothing” I’m usually willing to help out. “Could you tell me why my ski vacation pictures are so dark?” is perfectly acceptable at a dinner party, “Could you help me fix the pictures Uncle Ernie took at Suzie’s wedding, they’re too dark?” however, gets: “Bring the original files by my office. We charge $5-10 each for simple corrections, but I’d want my artist to look at them before I make any promises about what can be done.”

You will only gain the respect of your clients and/or prospects by presenting yourself as a professional. It’s business for them, it should be for you.

When you are starting out and need real-world experience, portfolio pieces and the all-important “contacts” it’s tempting to offer free services in return for the experience and exposure.

In a “formal” internship program, a person is often not paid for their services in money. They will, however, be compensated in the form of scholastic credits, on-the-job training, mentorship and the opportunity to make those all-important contacts.

Legitimate internship programs aside, however, free is a very bad idea. You have to, “start out as you intend to continue.”

Unless you are a complete newbie to the business you must banish the concept of “free” from your universe, however, to paraphrase a past President, “That depends on what ‘free’ means.”

We’ve all had to do the occasional “shoot the boss’ daughter’s wedding because you spent a week on his boat,” or something similar “freebie.”

I photographed the maiden voyage of a new airliner for a Spanish airline at no charge. I was, however, handed a fist full of first class ticket vouchers anywhere on their route. As a bonus, I met informally, on a first name basis, with some very powerful people who opened a number of doors.

The point is, this was not free work, it was barter. I gave something of value in return for something of equal or greater value.

But If You Must Give It Away or Do It Cheap …

WIFM – What’s In it For Me?

I hear “but if you do this one job, there will be a million others coming that will pay,” far too often.

In the case of the aforementioned “Do the first job cheap or free and we’ll give you a lot more,” it would be far better to offer them a discount on their second and subsequent work than show that you don’t value your work by giving it away.

It’s better to offer them a money back guarantee than work free. If they are not satisfied, give them back their money and take back all of your work. Do not allow them to continue using it if they have said it isn’t satisfactory. Remember, you own the copyrights!

You Do have a Budget Don’t You?

“Verbal agreements are only worth the paper upon which they are written.”

A contract and statement of work are essential elements in any professional endeavor.

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll never know when you get there.”

This is the first, and most important document you will need. The Statement of Work (SOW) is developed in two stages, preliminary and final.

The preliminary statement of work is what a lot of designers and artists scribble some on the back of a file folder and use to make a “guestimate” to float by the client. “One Website = $7,500”

Your “worksheet” for the preliminary SOW should be a neat, understandable document that you can share with the client or prospect. It doesn’t have to be very detailed or “granular” at this point, just sufficient to make sure everyone’s on the same page.

Scope of Work and Estimated Milestone List for Typical Website

The SOW for a wedding shoot could be similar in scope, if not detail

The preliminary statement of work should include estimated milestones for the completion of key phases of the project. It should be understood that this is a preliminary estimate only, but as long as there is no significant deviation from it, that their cost should not exceed the estimated amount.

In the case of portraits, a wedding shoot, commercial, straight photo and similar “package deals,” the initial SOW may be sufficiently detailed to serve as a final.

Once the client agrees on the record to the preliminary scope of work and price, you are justified in taking the time to prepare a more detailed, itemized Final Scope of Work. This is a more finely detailed list of what you are going to do, and how you intend to do it. This will eventually morph into your “to do” list for the project, so make certain that it is as complete and detailed as possible.

Everybody likes pleasant surprises, and your project arriving under budget or ahead of schedule can be one of them.

One reason I spend so much time on my detailed statement of work is to arrive at an accurate estimate. Depending on the client and situation I do usually add some “contingency time” to the estimate for the little things we all know will pop up in any mission of any size.

Having an accurate estimate, based on research and experience also allows me to guarantee that the project cost will not exceed the estimate. When possible, I attempt to invoice all work below the estimate. Even if it is just a few dollars under, it’s still a pleasant surprise for the client.

When my actual billing has, on occasion, been slightly above or even exactly on the original estimate I’ll take off a few dollars, just to make sure it comes in under budget. Later I can do an analysis of why the billing was above the estimate and adjust my procedures accordingly.

Present the prospect/client with a contract incorporating the final scope of work along with an invoice for the deposit / retainer.

I’ve taken a lot of cues from doctors, lawyers, accountants and other professionals. When you walk into their offices one of the first things that you are likely to hear is “How do you intend to settle your account?”

WalMart™ won’t let you walk out with merchandise if you “forgot your credit card,” are “a little short this month,” or even if “you haven’t been paid yet.”

Depending on the size of the job and my experience with the client, I collect from 25% to 50% of the quoted price along with the notice to proceed. Periodically I send the client an invoice against their retainer for billable work performed.

When the amount in the retainer begins to dwindle, I send an invoice for the next payment, and so on. The last payment is due on completion.

Billing against a retainer also provides a good incentive and a logical opportunity to collect client feedback. These “Interim Invoices” are an excellent time to check and discuss work performed to date, and make sure that the mission is still on-track.

My success depends on the success of my clients. I always emphasize the “partnership” aspect of the relationship. As such I let the client or prospect know up-front that I will not hesitate to pester the crap out of them for what I need to get our mission done. I will call them on the golf course, in a hotel room or airport if need be.

Actual conversation: “Let me know your tee-time and I’ll meet you in the club room with a laptop. I’ll buy you a beer while you approve the changes to the logo. There’s a penalty if the printer doesn’t get it by Monday!”

BTW: The time and miles spent prying information from the client are billed against the retainer. The cost of the beer is a legitimate, deductible business entertainment expense.

You don’t need an expensive lawyer or a guy named Guido with a baseball bat to get clients to pay – you merely need to make it worth their while.

Some airlines have published fares of $1,500 for a coach seat. Depending on certain conditions being met, however, very few passengers actually pay the full published fare.

Depending on the job and client I may offer discounts for:

• Bill against retainer
• Net 10 Day payment
• Net 5 Day payment
• Direct Deposit or PayPal Payment

Some companies have policies requiring that all prompt payment discounts be taken if offered. Raise your base rate 10% and offer a 10% discount for Ten day payment.

I do not offer a “new client” discount. I don’t want to convey that new clients are any more or less important than long-time customers.

New clients do, however, receive a number of “value added,” but unbilled services such as help with their mission statement, domain name choices, general hand-holding, education and so on. The cost for these “gratis” services, however, is no more than that spent on our customary customer support services offered all clients.

Make sure that your client or prospect knows and understands the value that you are adding to their process, service or product.

Also, make certain that your client knows what you will be needing from them. I provide new Web development clients with a couple of URLs for “suggested” and “required” reading.

• Strategic Web Design: http://www.theegglestongroup.com/writing/strat_design.php
• 
  Guidelines for a Successful, Not Sucky Website:http://www.theegglestongroup.com/writing/webtips.php
• Writing for the Web and Presentations: https://tseggleston.com/business/writing-for-the-web-and-presentations

These short articles emphasize that there is more to the design process than drawing pretty pictures. They also point out a few the intimidating number of technical and procedural standards, guidelines pitfalls and ‘gotchas’ that must be taken into consideration to ensure success. Many of these are the subtle design and marketing considerations that an amateur is unlikely to consider.

When you present and/or represent yourself as a “professional” you assume many responsibilities. These assumed duties are one of the features distinguishing the professional from “Uncle Ernie with the fancy camera,” and Bettie Sue who built a website for the church choir.

A professional will have backup equipment, staff and contingency plans. When Uncle Ernie’s batteries die, or he drops his fancy camera into the punchbowl, is there a spare? If he gets the flu at the last minute does he have a qualified and reliable stand-in ready to do the job?

When Bettie Sue’s computer blows up [from the same virus that she just sent to the cheap skate client] the day before the job is supposed to go online or to print, the only accountability and serious consequences are to the cheap skate client. Little Bettie Sue was just “doing a favor for her BFF’s father.

Unlike a working professional, Bettie Sue probably doesn’t have the backup computers, printers, network connections, software and a regular system backup schedule required when you earn your living using them. When a client hires you as a professional, they should expect dependability.

Uncle Ernie may take beautiful photos, and Bettie Sue might be an extremely talented designer, but how well do they understand the complexities of their “client’s” business processes, mission statement and target market?

“A hundred bucks an hour … that’s like $4,000 a week (think … think…)

WOW, that’s over Two Hundred Grand a Year!”

Reality Check – (For this I quit flipping burgers?)

If you aren’t doing more than you are getting paid for, why should you get paid any more than you are?

Go the Extra Mile. OK, so it’s cliché, but that doesn’t mean that it has no merit.

When you ring your own bell, it chimes somewhere between ego and marketing. When a client or associate slaps your clapper, however, it resonates into opportunity. Word of mouth, coupled with a ruthless exploitation of your contacts is often worth far more than a slick, expensive ad campaign.