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: Selling Web Design Services BlogHow to know which ideas to pursue
A Sitepoint reader emailed me with an interesting question. He comes up with all sorts of great ideas and wants to know how to figure out which to pursue.
It’s an important question since we have limited time and money.
Here’s some advice:
1. If the idea is really good, you can find an angel to invest in it. By asking an angel for help, you vette your idea to see if it really is good and also build leverage to do more ideas.
2. Or, you can find sponsors to pay for the idea in exchange for advertising. Some book publishers write compilations by various experts and charge those experts up front for the books to be produced. The experts write a chapter of the book. So the publisher puts out no money, gets a great book, and the experts are happy because they get to be in a book. With a website, I know a company that gets sponsors before launching a site — at a charter rate of course.
3. There are only two types of ideas: Good ones and bad ones. The smartest businesspeople sort their ideas into those piles. Then, for the good ones, figure out which one can …
Aaah, the wonders of a clean desk
It is the little things that count.
I’m a slob when it comes to my office. Today, after two months of accumulated bills and documents, I cleaned my desk. Now it is clean, and the difference is remarkable.
Today was one of my most productive days. Plus, it felt serene.
Clean you desk! It might not get you more clients, but it will sure help you do better work for the clients you have.
Some say that success is all about taking care of the little things. Cleaning your desk is one of those. They don’t teach it at the business schools, and it may appear to be a stupid and trite piece of advice — but it sure worked for me today.
Are you taking care of yourself?
The recent discussion about weight loss got me thinking about selling, working with clients, and general vitality/energy.
I had been feeling lethargic lately, so I worked out with a boxing fitness trainer this morning. What a workout! After the 90 minutes of drive plus workout time, I felt great. Indeed, I got more done the rest of the day than normal. I was much more productive. And when I interacted with people I was more alert, on the ball, and enthusiastic.
Good eating can have the same effect for me. If I eat a big meatball sub (my favorite), I generally feel like a nap in the afternoon. But if I keep the portions smaller and a bit healthier, the afternoon is no problem.
It may sound obvious, but many of us (like me) live a bit unconsciously when it comes to taking care of ourselves. And that can lead to problems taking care of others.
What about you? Are you taking care of yourself?
An easy way to determine the best marketing strategies
Here is an easy way for you to determine the marketing strategies that work best:
Take a look at the professionals you’ve hired recently, and figure out how you ended up hiring them.
In my case here are examples:
- Physical therapist for tennis elbow: Referred by a tennis buddy who raves about him.
- Production for website: Radio ad followed by referral from someone in the industry.
- Boxing photographer: Referral from someone in industry.
- Restaurant: Great review in paper.
- Accountant: Listed on website as Quickbooks expert, then I interviewed him about his other capabilities.
- Pool cleaner: Referred by my in-laws, who use him.
- Hair cut: Referred by my wife.
- Lawyer: Google search for local attorneys along with name recognition from advertising and news about them.
- Financial planner: Met him on the tennis court.
- Web designer: Listed in a marketing book with reference guide to top web designers who know what they are doing in selling info products.
So in my case, I conclude that referrals are key, as are online listings.
Obviously this is a simple and non-scientific analysis, but give it a try and see what you discover. What do you conclude about how you buy, and how you should market?
Do you use video taping to your advantage?
I recently videotaped myself and a self-defense pro for my latest educational web site.
While the content of the video was fine, I was pretty nauseated at how I looked. Aside from the weight I’ve gained in the past two years, my facial expressions were stiffer than Al Gore’s. Painful though the experience of watching this video was, I learned a lot about how to improve my facial expressions - starting with relaxing and smiling more in front of others. I used to be good at that, but not on this day.
Anyway, it’s a great idea to get yourself videotaped once in a while, to see how you come across to others. You might be surprised to find that your intent (come across as a brilliant, happy, enthusiastic person) doesn not match your impact.
Do you nickel and dime your clients?
Getting paid can be a stressful thing, and can make some web developers/professionals do things that lack judgement.
Here’s an example:
I referred a videographer to a colleague of mine recently, to shoot a commercial for him. The videographer did a good quality job with the shoot.
But then he started demanding payment — after two days after the shoot. Now he won’t finish editing until he is paid.
Meanwhile, the client works with a $100 million corporation known for paying on time. But he can’t pay for 30 days, as is customary.
But the client will never hire the videographer again, because of his approach to collecting his money. And I look like an idiot for referring this guy to him — even though my experience has been more positive.
What should have happened here is:
- The videographer should have specified his payment terms up front as part of a written contract. Part of that contract should have included a clause for 25-50% paid up front before the shoot, Y% immediately after the shoot, and Z% after final delivery.
- The videographer should have been more professional and patient in insisting on payment. Two days is not a big deal. (I suspect that the videographer has …
Hodgepodge of lessons learned from a busy week
Well, I’m as swamped as I’ve been in a long time, thanks to a business trip to Illinois to work with a University on commercializing a beautiful market maker website and technology for agricultural users. This was a great trip, and here’s a mish mash of lessons:
1. Universities are an untapped market. Many of you who live near universities should consider stopping by some departments to discuss potential projects for outreach to constituents. In two days, this particular university department (agricultural extension) received requests to create a bunch of sites that will become the “go to” sites for a variety of natural resources and recreational research. They can’t do any of this on their own, and need people with good ideas to help create commercialization (e.g. advertising and premium membership) models.
2. Part of the trip involved pitching to a local venture capitalist. I helped develop the business plan and pitch. If you have yet to pitch to a VC or investor, make it part of your goals. It’s fun, exciting, and you get great feedback (or brutal feedback). In this case, the VC thought he knew what we were pitching, but didn’t. Our mistake was going off script instead of …
How To Get Your First Client
Here a a few ideas for those of you looking to get your first client, although these ideas apply to anyone at just about any stage of development:
1. Write down the names of everyone you know, everyone. You should be able to get a list of 100 people. Use some techniques to “jog” your memory. For instance, go throught the phone book business pages and list anyone who is a specific professional you know (accountant, architect, etc. all the way through to the z’s). Include your neighbors, your family, your former employers/colleagues, people you play sports/hobbies with, people at your place of worship, and so on. List people with red hair, people with good senses of humor, people named tom, and on and on.
Then contact these folks, tell them what you are doing, and ask them to make connections for you. Ask them specific questions, like, “Who do you know who recently started a business?” Then follow up with those people. Either they will need a web site or redesign or they can refer you to people they know.
For every door that closes, try to open 2 more doors by asking for two more names.
2. Target some visible local …
Moving up the food chain
Hopefully all readers of this blog by now know the importance of writing educational and informational pieces to establish yourself as a credible expert in your marketplace. Maybe some of you are even taking it upon yourself to write a book. I’ve done that and it has made a huge difference in my status to clients and to my income.
And nowI’ve just been quoted in a book. The author, Brian Carroll, called me out of the blue (thanks to my writing) and interviewed me. And now I appear on page 163 of his book Lead Generation for the Complex Sale, as “Celebrated business-building consultant Andrew Neitlich.” The book is published by McGraw Hill and due out this month.
I like that. Now see how this kind of thing works for both parties:
- Brian’s writing job is easier because he quotes lots of people like me throughout the book.
- He also gets publicity from people like me, as we tell others that we are in the book.
- I gain a bit more exposure by being cited in his book, as it is not everyday that someone is quoted in a book.
- All I had to do was spend a few minutes with …
How your gut instincts can help you sell and market
Studies show that physicians generally start out in their career ordering too many tests. Then, as they get more experienced, they order fewer than average. Their gut instincts have developed, and they get pretty good at diagnosing patients without a bunch of unnecessary tests.
Hopefully you, too, have developed your instincts for your business. However, in this case, your instincts should tell you:
- When your pipeline is looking a bit weak and you need to market. Here, your instincts should send you signals of fear and insecurity when the time is right to get more active.
- When a prospect will buy and when they are just “kicking the tires.” That way, you know which opportunities to pursue and which aren’t worth the time.
- When you need to upgrade or broaden your offerings.
- When you need to upgrade your client list.
- When you need to improve your service.
- When you should or shouldn’t trust a client, vendor, or potential business partner.
- When you need to save or protect financial reserves for a while.
- When you can sit back and relax for a while. My gut instincts almost never tell me that I can. What about yours?
Develop and trust your instincts. They can …
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