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Marketplace Moments

Guarantee Yourself a Sale

When I read through the SitePoint Marketplace I'm always looking for ways that sellers can more easily sell their offerings, more often, and at a better price.

I constantly see potential buyers assessing businesses and doing all they can to ensure that what they're buying is as it was described by the seller. There's lots of correspondence as sellers prove revenue statements, justify expenses, and more.

No one wants to be taken advantage of.

After writing about our satisfied clients above, I realised what would help the buyers sell their offerings faster and, most likely, for a better price. It came to me after I refunded a very unhappy client her full deposit because she hated everything we'd done, and we realised we simply weren't the right developers for her.

The removal of risk from any buying situation leads to more sales. But how can you do that on the Marketplace? Easy -- offer a 100% ironclad moneyback guarantee if the site isn't as you've described it. That would do the trick!

Could this idea work for your next sale?

From The Forums

Talking Price (Finally!)

Hallelujah! Let's talk price! The eagle-eyed forums members -- that's the perceptive ones, not beady-eyed people -- may have noticed a post saying that "...discussions of price on the SitePoint Forums are now acceptable."

That's great, because it's the one area most people struggle with.

I'm always going on about charging for the value you provide, rather than the time it takes to do a project. That's the only way you can build a successful business beyond the grind of 1 hour's work for 1 hour's pay.

So here are some benchmarks that I've taken from the way my business charges, and which I hope will help you.

You want a site you can edit yourself and we asses that WordPress is suitable. To design the site and implement, along with some a few other bits and pieces, is usually about $4,000 US. Sometimes $6,000.

A simple brochure site? We charge at least $3,500.

A simple site with a blog on the homepage? We'd charge $5,000.

As you can see, the price has nothing to do with how long it takes us to complete the sites.

robk72 asks on the forums how to price a web site if the clients don't know what they want.

Clients often know what they want, but very few realise what they need. As the web developer, you're there to provide solutions to problems. So you need to start by identifying what that client's problems are, and then start offering solutions.

As soon as you start offering solutions, you're providing value. When you're providing value you become valuable. Just how valuable you are depends on how much value you provide.

That's why you can charge whatever you like to set up a successful site for a client. It's not about price. It's about value.

Tips & Tricks

YouTube Maps and Directory Critic

Google Maps now displays embedded YouTube videos in Maps. The videos can be found on the Photos & Videos tab of the info bubble that appears when you click on a listing.

I'm always looking for quality directories, and reviewed directories can be a solid way to save some time. Check out Directory Critic for reviews of directories. As always, you should take online reviews with a grain of salt, but this is a good starting point.

Morae: Usability Testing for Software & Web Sites.

An all-digital tool that enables you to:

• Quickly identify website and software design problems
• Affordably conduct user testing. Quickly calculate metrics & graph results.
• Deliver professional results in a fraction of the time.

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