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Talking business vision over the coffee (or lunch) with the prospect could be intellectually stimulating, but to begin with you'll have to start with the person

by gesman 13y ago

Talking business vision over the coffee (or lunch) with the prospect could be intellectually stimulating, but to begin with you'll have to start with the person who has $10k+ burning the hole in their pocket. Otherwise by delaying the money talk you'll be facing the frequent "Oh, I thought it won't cost that much. Let me think about that".

disdev 13y ago
I think the issue comes across pretty clearly in the initial conversations. If you're dealing with a client looking for the cheapest possible website, he's going to force the issue of price early on. If you're dealing with a solution-oriented one, there's some understanding of the cost to value relationship. To me, that's the key. Value. A $10,000 website is a bargain if it allows them to bring in much more than that in new business or save more than that in costs. But to get that message across, you have to quantify and drive home the potential payoff.
JacobJans 13y ago
If they're thinking about how much it will cost, you haven't done your job, and you shouldn't be charging them $10k+. In fact, they should be thinking about how much money they will lose out on if they don't hire you. Your mission, as a provider of services, should be to increase the wealth of your customers. This means that you need to find a way to make them more than $10k. If your services won't be creating more revenue than you are charging, then you probably shouldn't be doing business. This also means that the more value you are able to provide, the more you are able to charge. What's $10k when you're building a business for your client that will generate $10k many times over? And yes, you should be building your client's business. NOT their website. If they're thinking about how much a website will cost, you've completely failed in selling them a vision. If they're thinking about how your partnership will grow their business in a whole new way, then you are on the right track. And they won't be thinking "how much will this cost?" They'll be thinking "wow, I'm excited to earn this much money."
- gesman 13y ago
  I actually like your reply. I'd add that the mindset as well as experience of a service provider should contain a clear path for client to make more than the cost of the service. And that includes the understanding that some clients are not willing to make money, even if they have valuable business to offer. That happens more often than not and such clients needs to be filtered out early.

by gesman 13y ago

disdev 13y ago

I think the issue comes across pretty clearly in the initial conversations. If you're dealing with a client looking for the cheapest possible website, he's going to force the issue of price early on. If you're dealing with a solution-oriented one, there's some understanding of the cost to value relationship. To me, that's the key. Value. A $10,000 website is a bargain if it allows them to bring in much more than that in new business or save more than that in costs. But to get that message across, you have to quantify and drive home the potential payoff.

JacobJans 13y ago

If they're thinking about how much it will cost, you haven't done your job, and you shouldn't be charging them $10k+. In fact, they should be thinking about how much money they will lose out on if they don't hire you. Your mission, as a provider of services, should be to increase the wealth of your customers. This means that you need to find a way to make them more than $10k. If your services won't be creating more revenue than you are charging, then you probably shouldn't be doing business. This also means that the more value you are able to provide, the more you are able to charge. What's $10k when you're building a business for your client that will generate $10k many times over? And yes, you should be building your client's business. NOT their website. If they're thinking about how much a website will cost, you've completely failed in selling them a vision. If they're thinking about how your partnership will grow their business in a whole new way, then you are on the right track. And they won't be thinking "how much will this cost?" They'll be thinking "wow, I'm excited to earn this much money."

gesman 13y ago
I actually like your reply. I'd add that the mindset as well as experience of a service provider should contain a clear path for client to make more than the cost of the service. And that includes the understanding that some clients are not willing to make money, even if they have valuable business to offer. That happens more often than not and such clients needs to be filtered out early.