How to Approach Businesses?

As a person who has done this countless times I can give you the most appropriate advise from my perspective.

  1. Be honest: Don’t believe you must lie or give away your entire profits to get the client, be honest in what you sell and know what you sell. The knowing part will allow you to answer any spot questions they might have.
  2. Don’t bad mouth: In the most part, clients often get their loved ones, friend or even themselves to do their website. The reason they are giving you a call is because they realized their ‘do it for nothing’ approach has failed them. Now they are trying to find a match for their business, the last thing they need is to find a match who is bad mouthing their loved one.
  3. Recommendations and Word of Mouth: In a world where people don’t trust one another, you can’t expect people to trust your business without knowing you first. You must supply significant examples of your past work, or alternatively be recommended through a friend or existing business. Advertising works, but don’t expect miracles. Some people I know showed off huge successes with cold calling, but from my experience this rarely worked.
  4. Advertising: If you’re looking to get the world out make some cheap business cards via moo, and give them out to your local businesses. There are some businesses that would allow you to put out cards for their customers to see. There is no harm in trying.

I completely understand what you’re saying. I have to be honest in that this industry is riddled with bad/problematic clients, they almost prey and hunt for youngsters like yourself.

You just have to keep reminding them on the hours you’ve spent and how you can’t just keep working for free. I had a case today whereby a client did not want to pay for 2 days work I did and stated that they thought it was free. I simply told them the hours I’ve spend, the work I carried out and what I achieved for them, therefore I have to charge. I sent them the invoice, which is the main thing to do, and let the client take it from there. In the message to them I noted that the work done was significantly discounted so therefore the client would feel bad to dispute anything further. If the client does not pay I will no doubt need to call him and explain how unfair this approach is. If they still refuse to pay then unfortunately this is where two things will happen, either the support I give them will change significantly (become worse and less responsive), or I would need to ask them to go somewhere else. I will never do anything for them again without quoting them the full price and them agreeing to it. Sometimes though this can be counter-productive, and it’s easier to do the work and tell them how much it cost, but you always take the risk.

There are businesses that need websites more than others. From experience office style jobs with extensive use of emails need you. Barbers, mechanics, joiners, painters aren’t your best choices. They won’t appreciate the work you do for them, and ultimately they are probably better off going to somewhere like Wix for their website.

You can’t! There is no way you can make it if you chase dead weight. Understand that most people out there want to spend the least possible amount of money. Out of 10 businesses only 1 or 2 would be suited for you. Most won’t, and wasting your time chasing them can be a daunting experience.

Even though this is true. If you speak to enough people you’d have enough connections who will need websites. It might take 3 years to build a few up but with connections everything is possible. I have to be honest in that I’ve never showed anybody a website I produced to get them to be my client. All I did is mention I do websites. I feel there is far too much attention on working for free. I will never encourage anybody to do this. We all have to work for money. What I normally did is showed them a few websites on the internet, quote them on the website and functionality and once they agreed completed it for them. A lot of the people I spoke to where more interest in the functionality and the support rather than the design.

On the end of the day, this industry is not all fun. It’s difficult because of difficult people. Just remind yourself that you’re not doing this because you love it, you’re doing this for the money. If you’re not getting paid then you might as well do something for yourself and not for people looking to exploit you.

PS: I used to be in your predicament. I no longer have this issue. Remove the love from your job, and remind yourself that it’s all for the money. Nobody works for free, and neither should you.

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@Sega,

Excellent post. Thanks for the wisdom and kind words. It doesn’t fix my dire financial situation, but it does make me feel a little better.

I’m an “oldster”, not a “youngster” which makes my problem worse!

With my first client, I created a spreadsheet that is a day by day running total of hours spent. The columns are: Date, Hours Worked, Billable ($20/hr), Billable ($50/hr), Billable ($100/hr), and Amount Earned/Hour (i.e. Fixed Price/Hours Spent).

On my client last week, I made $19/hour. On another long term client, it has come out to $15/hour/ And of course I have at least three clients who came out to $0/hour.

I am making less than a lot of people doing yard work off of Craigslist…

Good to know.

When you are behind the 8-ball, what choice do you have? Had I not let this one client exploit me, I would have made $0 versus $1,200. (At least that paid a few bills and bought me an exra week.)

[quote=“Sega, post:21, topic:195870, full:true”]

Even though this is true. If you speak to enough people you’d have enough connections who will need websites. It might take 3 years to build a few up but with connections everything is possible. I have to be honest in that I’ve never showed anybody a website I produced to get them to be my client. All I did is mention I do websites.[/quote]

That is how I felt. In the past, people always hired me off my knowledge and confidence versus having to show examples. I can talk a good talk, so I am hoping having a basic site and business cards so people can contact me is enough. Obviously I don’t mind showing people my work, but I would like to think talking to me is enough. (When is the last time you required a YouTube video of a plumber in action before you hired him to fix your clogged drain?!)

It hurts so bad to have spent a lifetime learning about IT and business and then being reduced down to someone who does yard work.

Unfortunately the global economy and things like WordPress have taken IT from being prestigious to being a commodity.

So how do you ensure you get paid?

I am afraid to quote jobs on a fixed total basis for fear I will get screwed.

Yet if I quote on an hourly basis, clients feel you are out to screw them.

And either way, how do you instill the “fear of God” in people to make sure they respect you and that you get paid?

People don’t haggle with attorneys or doctors - they just “grin and bear it”.

I don’t see how to have that level of swagger and still get business. If people bitch about what I charge when it comes in at under $20/hour, then how can I approach things like a doctor or attorney bill out at over $150/hour… You know?

Sorry for the assumption. :blush:

Seriously, anythiing we do is for the money. If you can make more money by doing yard work and you enjoy it then do that. Unfortunately however, I cannot see anybody doing this kind of work full time without facing huge hurdles to pay the bills.

You can’t be thinking like this. Don’t let people exploit you, do something else, maybe completely different and do this on the extra. I need over 100 clients to be able to do this full time, and that’s just not the case.

I only deal with people I know will pay me. I don’t take new people on without clearing everything up with them. If I smell they aren’t going to pay I don’t encourage them. It all goes down to the monthly hosting plan, if they can’t pay for that they ain’t good to me. There is no freebies, and I certainly don’t need any clients.By choosing me they are saving themselves a bundle, and if they want to continue saving they have to keep paying for my time and efforts, otherwise they can approach the multi-national firms, and they’d charge them at least double.

Not really. It depends on yourself and the client. Extra functionality means more money, as simple as. Use templates to do your job, and allow the client to pick the design they want which saves time. Any custom coding and design work has to be charged by the hour. You have to let them know of this. They can keep changing their minds, but they still have to pay for this. Get paid every week or couple of days for the hours you’ve worked, and keep them informed. To start work get a deposit that covers at least 1 weeks pay, then every week ask for the money of your worked week, if they don’t pay stop until they have cleared the money owed. This way you’d never have money owed to you.

Personally I just prefer to deal with the very few people I know and trust. Anybody else isn’t worth my time and I certainly don’t need the stress of anybody new. I really need to know them and trust them to join my services.

From the sounds of things you’re a long way off. You’d almost certainly need to deal with huge corporate firms for this. They are likely to approach firms, and not a one-man band.

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So you are saying there is no money in freelance web development?

So what do you do fora living?

Whatever you do, it sounds like you are doing well.

I see you have the “swagger” I want.

[quote=“Sega, post:23, topic:195870, full:true”]

Not really. It depends on yourself and the client. Extra functionality means more money, as simple as. Use templates to do your job, and allow the client to pick the design they want which saves time. Any custom coding and design work has to be charged by the hour. You have to let them know of this. They can keep changing their minds, but they still have to pay for this. Get paid every week or couple of days for the hours you’ve worked, and keep them informed.[/quote]

Good idea.

Excellent idea!! :thumbsup:

Okay.

Again, so you make it seem like this direction I am considering is a dead-end. :frowning:

Kind of. Unfortunately to make real money in freelance web design you must have a large client base or have a few clients that pay you a considerable amount of money. In either case it’s hard. Large client’s are hard to get because they want real quality and somebody with a vast amount of experience. Smaller clients are easier to get but you need at least a hundred of them.

Anything that pays. I work for my farther and run a catering business. In addition to this I do anything else I can think of. The more I do the better. However, I can’t say I will focus on dead beat clients, or chase loose ends. I just don’t have the time, and if I had the time I would rather do something else :smile:

Not entirely, but yes.

Think of it like a map or pathway, most of the paths lead to a dead end, some manage to make a bad living from it, and the very few manage to make an average living. The ultra-minority reap all the rewards. Think of it like a footballers player’s career.

How many aspiring footballers or painters are there in this world? How many make it?

On the end of the day you have to survive, you must eat and you need to make some money. The answer is, how long can you live of nothing before you through the towel in? I am guessing not long.

Change your path, do something else on the side to make some money and do this as well to top that up.

I see so many people in the industry who pretend to have money so they can attract new clients. It’s worrying. I am being honest with you. Most web based freelancers struggle to survive. The ones who do have hundreds of clients, or very few that pay them lots and have been doing it for many many years. Most however give up before then and either end up working for a firm or change career completely.

I hope this has not discouraged you, but I feel you deserve to know how the industry is.

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You paint a very sad picture of my new direction, but I appreciate you being honest with me.

I’m not sure what to think or do.

If I felt having a “day job” was so easy and rewarding I would pursue that, but the reason I am in the situation I am in is that the 9-to-5 is at least as cut-throat as being a free-lance web developer!

20 years ago it was easy to make a comfortable living in IT in the U.S. Now all I see is people struggling and people walking over each other to survive.

Such a shame.

Working for firms is a little different, but freelancing is like you said. I feel that web design work is even more difficult that a normal job as you’re chasing for the money, whereas a normal job (not sales) you’ll be getting paid so all you have to focus on is being good at your job.

If you love web design work, then keep it as a hobby, don’t give it up. I would hate to do this. It’s quite fun to learn whilst you go along. However, your hobby in a full blown working environment will no longer be a hobby.

You must also understand many outsource work to India and third world countries. Just look at placed like fiverr or peopleperhour. People are literally available to do what you do for the fraction of the cost. Because these people live in poorer countries, or find a way to group things, they are able to make a substituted living from these websites.

A person from India could make a living from fiverr, but an American person would likely have another job to make ends meat.

I am so sorry to be painting this picture, but we need to be realistic.

There is another path, which might be more attractive. If you work with firms for quite a while and they know you they might eventually keep you on a good salary and let you work from home. Again, I know a few this has happened to.

Just keep that in mind, there are many scenarios. Unfortunately however, freelance from the get go on it’s own is going to be a tough ride (regardless of the amount of eBooks out there).

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Good advice.

Well, don’t think this is a good idea for sales (How many people read your card ?)

I saw many companies use DATA (information like tel. or email of people) and that seem to be not effective.

Go door to door introducing myself and passing out business cards.

It is better

Have you actually done that, and if so…

  • Where is your location?

  • What were people’s responses?

  • Did you gain any new customers?

True! yet those people have or will learn it the hard way that a $100 website will end up costing their biz a sweet amount of $$$. Lots of good businesses do understand that cheap, unresponsive, low quality websites will not do justice to their biz, so they usualy agree paying for a quality service.
My 2 cents: do your website (makes them trust you) and each time you get the chance to talk to businesses needing a website, try to explain them the real cost of a cheap website. Hmmm i should write an article about it on my blog :)) this might help others.

Having walked in similar shoes, when I started out years ago. I know things are not always straight forward, and at times the obstacles can seem impossible to pass.

As you start up, you are unknown and that makes it very difficult. During the first few years, you will struggle. Then things will most probably start to look brighter as you get new customers through word of mouth.

During the first years, you will most probably also need to look for any payable work on the side as well. I know that without looking for and taking on odd jobs in between the web work, there is no way I would have been able to provide for my family at the start. Then as time goes on, you will start getting more and more web work, until it is at a point that you have more than enough work.

From that point, is when you are able to start increasing your hourly rate as you have more work than you can handle. And slowly but steadily you will reach the hourly rate your looking for.

Note. This is assuming you will actually do the work required, as you will only be able to charge at higher rates when your customer see you as an expert in the field. So progressing the hourly rate, will also mean keeping up with the development in the field and improving your skills.

One thing you will notice here, as you develop your skill and are able to raise the hourly rate, is that the customers will start behaving differently. They will stop challenging what you say, and if you suggest a different approach is better for their business or problem, they will actually listen.

I wish you good luck, it is not an easy walk you have started, but it is doable.

Please note, that I do not agree with many of the former posters that say there is no money in this business anymore. There is a lot of money, but it is not easy getting access to the customers that has it. The only way is through hard work, and continue to improve your skills, both for web development and sales.

There is a difference in the “nature” of the clients.

When you are dealing with “low ballers”. Basically meaning someone who tries to always haggle on the price, and get you to work almost for free. Then they will complain even if/when you give them a sizable discount, trying to get even more value for their money. Many times, these are customers who are struggling themselves, or who want to create a business website for an idea they have.

As you increase your hourly rate and change our your customer base, the higher the hourly rate becomes, the less haggling/arguing you will receive. But at the same time, you have to accept that these customers will have a much higher quality expectations on the product you deliver.

One of the most common advices you will get here is to avoid the “low baller” clients, but when you have a family to feed, this is not always an option. Sometimes you have to take a project, even if the hourly rate is horrible as there are bills to pay.

Be careful in what you promise to archive, claiming that you will get them X traffic, is not a good idea unless you can back it up. Instead it will be better to go with, on average our customers have had an increase of X% on their traffic after we setup their new website. etc. Though, be prepared to prove this if they request proof.

Advice when taking on low baller clients:
I strongly recommend that you create a clear list of what the project will include before starting it. Then have them sign off/agree on it. This can be as easy as writing them an email, and them have them confirm that this is the scope of the project. Also mention in the end that any changes etc. to the list will be considered new billable work. In addition, on larger jobs make certain you get an initial deposit before you start on the job, on smaller ask for all in advance.

Note. The best thing would be to have this on a contract, and then signed by the customer. Though if the job is small, this is not always feasible. Though in either case, make certain you state the remaining amounts are due at X date, or X days after you have completed your work, even if the client has not completed their part. (It has happened that a customer decided they did not want the website mid project, and just delayed delivering their content so the website could not be completed. This became an expensive lesson).

Even if you do not have a written contract, but can show email communication that there was an agreement in place, you are able to take them to small claims court if they do not pay.

A final thing, even if you are upset at a customer due to constant revisions/updates, do not let it show. Treat them professional, and try to go the extra mile. Especially at the start it is important to get happy customers that will start talking about the work you did for them.

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@TheRedDevil,

Excellent advice!!

Thanks!

One way to build relationships is to join local business association. Then they are much more likely to trust you then, than if you just cold call them.

If you find companies with bad website, you can email them with feedback about the website. Show them how it is bad and what could be done to make it better, so they could get more customers. Don’t just try to advertise yourself straight away, but build trust and respect for your skills.

I suggest, before you appear in their office doorsteps, introduce yourself first. How?

  1. Email marketing - send them an email introducing yourself and your company
  2. Connect to them on LinkedIn - when they see your profile they will know where you work and what your company does
  3. Follow them on Twitter - get close to them

Remember that the sending of unsolicited marketing e-mails is Spam. In some countries it’s illegal, and in many (most?) cases it’s likely to result in the e-mail simply ending up in Junk and never being read.

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From reading some of your initial comments, there’s some frustrating points to address:

  • your sense of urgency to make $$$ immediately to feed yourself is not going to help you think rationally enough to genuinely make this work
  • building a reputation for ongoing work requires consistent and long-term effort to build your profile
  • you DEFINITELY need to have your own website that reflects your skills - this is without doubt
  • you may need to do some love jobs (free work) for suitable clients and organisations in exchange for great testimonials that you can spread around on your own website, Google Plus page, Facebook page. This is probably your most important thing you can invest in, make them small jobs, do not expect money but do expect a good portfolio to be built with excellent client references that will sell you. Importantly, you need to get those references out there - get them on your social media pages, make sure they are written directly on them
  • be careful to manage their expectations on what you do/don’t do re SEO. It’s easy for clients to get annoyed if they are not ranking because they confuse web design with SEO which are completely different services. you MUST define your scope with yourself and to your client so that they don’t expect something you are not providing and ensure you charge for any additional things you do outside of scope
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Well! as far as I think, call is not the best thing to do! Calls are not effective for securing position in a business, especially if they don’t know you! I think visiting the local businesses personally by introducing yourself is the best option to go for.

Being in business is a little tough but worth it if you succeed. Anyway, to get your target markets, you should know your product or services very well. It is one way to attract people to one’s business. Second find ways to let people know the great points of your products or services. Right there, search for the best ways on how to make it leverage among others by using traditional and online advertising methods as well.