Comments on: Don’t read your prospect’s mind

By: adamnldt

adamnldt — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:19:30 +0000

This comes down to fundamentally believing in your suite of services. If what you have is viable, that’s all you need to do. One reason I started my own company was because I got tired of working places that said yes to everything, then tried to figure out how to do it after the fact.

The temptation is there constantly now, but I will not, under any circumstances tell prospects we will do something that we don’t. You are just asking for trouble and a lot of unnecessary headaches.

By: Eric Shmookler

Eric Shmookler — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 01:11:55 +0000

In my business, it’s really about listening to the customer and understanding (whether they do or not) what they are trying to achieve by having a website.

Eric Shmookler

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 23:59:23 +0000

I own a medium-sized web design company, and after spending hours on the phone with consultants I can say the same thing… Yes, predictability and measurability, yes to getting to know client’s needs and preferences (after all, I’m designing the website FOR the client), but most importantly you need to organize your operations. Pricing is 0the ultimate last step. I found a few top-notch consultants through http://www.lammazing.com and they told me straight up: “You may have the best pricing method, or the ultimate employee screening process, but who takes care of things like compliance management, auditing (pre-emptive), accounting and bookkeeping, and Inernet law? If you cannot organize these operations, you can be the best employee screener, appraiser, etc… and still fail miserably. And that’s the reality.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 16:46:57 +0000

Is not just about honesty. It is about what customer realy need.

It is same in life. I been dumped many times beacose I tried to read girld mind.

And first thing what I’m saying to prospect is – I do not read mind.

When we clear that, I have very open conversation whit him (or her) talking about their needs. And their needs must be fullfiled. If I think that they need something, I call them, discuss about it, count the costs etc… When they pay me, I understand that as prize form making them happy. And when they are happy once, they’ll want to be happy again!

By: etechsupport

etechsupport — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 16:06:24 +0000

It is also important to bring predictability or measurability before you are going to respond a client, they actually expect an intelligent reply rather than a formulaic answers. Make some exception that create long-term win-win situations between you and your customers.

By: Romme

Romme — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 12:01:11 +0000

I agree. Honesty is allways the way to go, and don’t try to oversell your products. Establish a dialog with clients instead of guessing why they ask for features. Ask what the purpose a specific feature serves for the client and what kind of value this feature has for the client. Don’t assume that they acturally want or need a feature just because they mention it.

By: webnology

webnology — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 07:42:07 +0000

I recently had this same experience. I made a quote for a financial magazine, and there were some features taht the client wanted which I could not deliver. He also asked to lower the price. Bith my answers were ‘no’ (with a bit of explanation of course), and we happily went on with the project, which will still be a perfect fit for his goals. And the price stayed. Clients always try to lower the price, and they should, they’re in business too. But stick to your price, if it’s a fair one.

By: Lola_Designa

Lola_Designa — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 03:26:19 +0000

Agree totally-I used to fudge my pricing depending on what I thought a client would or wouldn’t pay, or what I thought was a lot of money, and I found myself working hard making little.My turning point was when a client asked me to do an additional project for her, and I took a while to get back to her because frankly I was uncomfortable with the amount of money the new project would cost her (she had already spent quite a bit with me), and she emailed me and said, “I need to hear back-cost is a non issue, but time is an issue. Bill me what it costs and let’s get to it”-a pleasant kick in the pants that made me realize it was better to be upfront than to be self-sacrificing. She’s still one of my best clients years later!

By: 3PointRoss

3PointRoss — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 02:41:44 +0000

I have a hard time saying no, I often think that even if I do drop my price or have to spend more time doing additional features that it will pay off in the end (by getting the client, and their referals). However, I am finding out now that I am getting burnt out on all the extra features and attention and having a hard time catering to the new clients all together…

By: Anon

Anon — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 22:21:23 +0000

Great way of doing things. I have seen way too many cowboys before who will say yes to anything just to get a sale, then spend more time developing excuses than solutions