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The Web Design Business Kit 2.0
Brendon's business philosophy is based on solid (but not too common) business sense, combined with radical new approaches that has made Brendon's web design business one of the most successful in Australia.
His philosophy is based on four fundamentals:
1. YOUR WEB DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT SKILLS DON'T MATTERYour average client can't determine the difference between a good and a bad web site. They can't really look at your portfolio and say: "This person makes profitable web sites." Instead, they consider other factors when evaluating you for the job. For example: recommendations from other people, the quality of your brochure, the way you dress or simply your handshake. In the kit, Brendon shows how to make the client very confident that you are the best choice they can make.
2. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE, AND SHOULDN'T BE THE CHEAPEST BIDDER TO WINBrendon's company is almost always several times more expensive than his competitors, but he still gets 90% of the jobs he pitches for. This is due to his customer service, his meeting approach, his proposals and, well, you'll have to read the kit to find out.
3. WHEN THE PROJECT FINISHES, YOUR INCOME SHOULD NOTWeb development is very well adapted for selling extra services. Most of Brendon's income is from services bought by existing clients. Brendon is a big believer in keeping clients for life, and in this kit, he explains in great detail exactly how he does it.
4. YOUR CLIENTS ARE EVERYWHEREBrendon retells the story of how a 50 cent map of a conference floor with exhibitor names lead to over $100,000 in new business for his firm. The kit is chock-full of ideas for finding, and reaching new prospects for your services, including your competitor's clients.
What does the kit contain?
When you order The Web Design Business Kit 2.0, you will receive a rather large box delivered straight to your doorstep. The box will contain two folders and a CD-ROM.
Folder 1: The Manual
Folder 1 contains 509 8.5x11 letter-size pages divided into 5 major sections, each designed to walk you through Brendon's approach towards being successful in business.
Proven techniques for building a successful web design business. Strategies to win more business and boost income. Overcome the fear of selling yourself and your business. Practical advice on organizing your business. Simple techniques to maximize revenue from existing and new clients. Template documents (including contracts) covering a wide range of business functions. How to sell yourself What should you charge? How to keep clients for life How to manage budgets How to hire and fire employees And so much more!Folder 2: The Documents
Folder 2 contains 73 ready-to-use business documents, consisting of 182 8.5x11 letter-size pages, categorized into the following sections:
Business Planning and Financial Documents Promotional Tools Client Contact Documents Surveys Employment Documents Office DocumentsThese are the same documents Brendon uses himself, and have been tweaked for maximum effectiveness over the years.
CD-ROM: Document Library
You'll also receive a CD-ROM containing all the electronic versions of all the business documents represented in Folder 2. These are ready to use - just add your own logo and company name.
- GenresWebsite Design
690 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2003
1 person is currently reading
31 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 9, 2021
This SitePoint kit is packed with actionable advice and recommendations for web design and development businesses. The author draws on 10 years of firsthand experience plus tips from other successful web professionals. It’s a well-organized, easy read with summaries and key points. There are plenty of anecdotes and case studies to illustrate the concepts. Overall, it’s both practical and incredibly motivational. I highly recommend it!
One thing that stands out is how much time Sinclair devotes to hobnobbing with prospects and clients. As the executive director of his web development and marketing firm, he has other people to do the actual design and development work, giving him time to spend on socializing and marketing.
My favorite topics were pitching, marketing, developing your unique advantage, sales and add-on sales, and client relations. A few topics weren’t relevant to me at this time, such as finding large clients, managing employees, finding an office, and expanding the business.
A second binder contains sample documents including a business plan, promotional letters, thank you letters, proposals, and contracts/service agreements. These weren’t as helpful as I thought they’d be, probably because I’ve already looked at so many examples when creating my own.
Major points
• It’s never about the price. It’s about the perceived value for money.
• Contact + care = profits. Communicate regularly with clients and provide superior service. Build a database of prospects and clients, including their birthdays, interests, etc., and use this to find reasons to contact them.
• Rewarded behavior gets repeated. Send thank-yous and gifts to clients, business partners, contractors, and referrers.
• View sales as creating long-term relationships, not making short-term transactions.
• Pre-qualify clients by asking lots of questions to understand their true needs.
• Most work will come via word-of-mouth, within a 50 mile radius from you.
Presentation and perception
• Clients don’t care about your abilities. They only care about whether you’ll make them money. So, they judge you on dress, communication, and professionalism.
• The client’s perception of you is reality, regardless of facts.
• Present yourself as skilled and successful.
Marketing
• Ask clients how they found you or your competitors, then use those marketing channels.
• Your marketing message: tell the prospect their problem (such as not making enough money), then offer the solution: a better website. Finally, ask them to contact you. Be professional but entertaining to stand out.
• Don’t provide free work unless there’s an obvious and achievable benefit, such as referrals, publicity, making a good portfolio piece, etc.
Promotional options
• write articles
• hold seminars
• ask for referrals, especially from local computer and Internet businesses
• write reports and offer them free
• speak at events
• send newsletters
• attend networking events
• write press releases
Pitches, proposals, and quotes
• Your business exists to help your clients prosper. For business clients, this means making them more money.
• Clients care more about convenience and value for money than price.
• Provide a proposal, not a quote. A proposal includes recommendations and quantifiable benefits (financial or otherwise) of the site.
• Ask the client what their budget is, in order to provide an accurate proposal.
• Overcoming budget objections: break the proposal down into pieces to show the value of each, and complete the project in phases. Don’t give anything for free!
• When a client says no, they often just mean, “not now.”
How to pitch to prospects
Put on a show, demonstrate expertise, and charge accordingly.
1. Demonstrate your expertise by mentioning your experience and results.
2. Tell stories and anecdotes.
3. Prove your credibility with testimonials or media appearances.
4. Leave price until the end, once you’ve quantified benefits.
Pricing
• Don’t charge hourly or match your competition’s pricing; those don’t scale. Charge based on the value you deliver to the client.
• Charge clients up front a 50% deposit plus the cost of purchases made on behalf of the client.
Sales
• Sales isn’t manipulating people to do something they don’t really want to do; it’s persuading people to do what they want to do.
• Tell prospects and clients what their problems are, then offer the solution.
• Show clients that you can make their business succeed and be better than their competition.
• Offer superior service, not price, as your unique selling proposition.
• Communicate regularly with prospects, clients, and even prospects who’ve rejected you. The more contact, the more sales.
• The longer you spend with prospects, the more likely they are to buy.
• Ask for the sale. Don’t just send a quote. Walk through the proposal, then ask, “Would you like us to work on this with you?”
Repeat and add-on sales
• Offer add-on sales to existing clients. Educate them about new technology and trends and propose adding them to their sites. Recommend add-ons when nearing completion of the initial site, and also after launching the site.
• Don’t offer add-ons as options; offer them as custom solutions you recommended. Clients want solutions, not a range of choices.
• Don’t include maintenance in the initial proposal. Say that you’ll provide a proposal later, near the end of the initial design. Propose when about 75% complete. They’ll be more likely to agree because they’re financially and emotionally committed to the site.
Client relations
• Service is more important than product or price.
• Show clients you care by keeping them informed.
• Satisfied clients won’t stay with you; only delighted ones will. Exceed their expectations, and make sure they know it by telling them what extras you’ve given them.
• Stay in the minds of prospects and clients by using phone calls, handwritten thank-yous, occasion cards, and gifts.
• When the client asks for something out of scope, say, “Good idea. I can do that for $x and it will delay the site y days. Would you like to proceed?”
• Actively seek out complaints to learn how to improve and satisfy clients.
• Don’t undervalue your skills by making your work sound easy.
• When possible, buy from your clients’ businesses to show your support.
Legal
• In your agreement letter, state that payment of invoice represents agreement to terms.
One thing that stands out is how much time Sinclair devotes to hobnobbing with prospects and clients. As the executive director of his web development and marketing firm, he has other people to do the actual design and development work, giving him time to spend on socializing and marketing.
My favorite topics were pitching, marketing, developing your unique advantage, sales and add-on sales, and client relations. A few topics weren’t relevant to me at this time, such as finding large clients, managing employees, finding an office, and expanding the business.
A second binder contains sample documents including a business plan, promotional letters, thank you letters, proposals, and contracts/service agreements. These weren’t as helpful as I thought they’d be, probably because I’ve already looked at so many examples when creating my own.
Major points
• It’s never about the price. It’s about the perceived value for money.
• Contact + care = profits. Communicate regularly with clients and provide superior service. Build a database of prospects and clients, including their birthdays, interests, etc., and use this to find reasons to contact them.
• Rewarded behavior gets repeated. Send thank-yous and gifts to clients, business partners, contractors, and referrers.
• View sales as creating long-term relationships, not making short-term transactions.
• Pre-qualify clients by asking lots of questions to understand their true needs.
• Most work will come via word-of-mouth, within a 50 mile radius from you.
Presentation and perception
• Clients don’t care about your abilities. They only care about whether you’ll make them money. So, they judge you on dress, communication, and professionalism.
• The client’s perception of you is reality, regardless of facts.
• Present yourself as skilled and successful.
Marketing
• Ask clients how they found you or your competitors, then use those marketing channels.
• Your marketing message: tell the prospect their problem (such as not making enough money), then offer the solution: a better website. Finally, ask them to contact you. Be professional but entertaining to stand out.
• Don’t provide free work unless there’s an obvious and achievable benefit, such as referrals, publicity, making a good portfolio piece, etc.
Promotional options
• write articles
• hold seminars
• ask for referrals, especially from local computer and Internet businesses
• write reports and offer them free
• speak at events
• send newsletters
• attend networking events
• write press releases
Pitches, proposals, and quotes
• Your business exists to help your clients prosper. For business clients, this means making them more money.
• Clients care more about convenience and value for money than price.
• Provide a proposal, not a quote. A proposal includes recommendations and quantifiable benefits (financial or otherwise) of the site.
• Ask the client what their budget is, in order to provide an accurate proposal.
• Overcoming budget objections: break the proposal down into pieces to show the value of each, and complete the project in phases. Don’t give anything for free!
• When a client says no, they often just mean, “not now.”
How to pitch to prospects
Put on a show, demonstrate expertise, and charge accordingly.
1. Demonstrate your expertise by mentioning your experience and results.
2. Tell stories and anecdotes.
3. Prove your credibility with testimonials or media appearances.
4. Leave price until the end, once you’ve quantified benefits.
Pricing
• Don’t charge hourly or match your competition’s pricing; those don’t scale. Charge based on the value you deliver to the client.
• Charge clients up front a 50% deposit plus the cost of purchases made on behalf of the client.
Sales
• Sales isn’t manipulating people to do something they don’t really want to do; it’s persuading people to do what they want to do.
• Tell prospects and clients what their problems are, then offer the solution.
• Show clients that you can make their business succeed and be better than their competition.
• Offer superior service, not price, as your unique selling proposition.
• Communicate regularly with prospects, clients, and even prospects who’ve rejected you. The more contact, the more sales.
• The longer you spend with prospects, the more likely they are to buy.
• Ask for the sale. Don’t just send a quote. Walk through the proposal, then ask, “Would you like us to work on this with you?”
Repeat and add-on sales
• Offer add-on sales to existing clients. Educate them about new technology and trends and propose adding them to their sites. Recommend add-ons when nearing completion of the initial site, and also after launching the site.
• Don’t offer add-ons as options; offer them as custom solutions you recommended. Clients want solutions, not a range of choices.
• Don’t include maintenance in the initial proposal. Say that you’ll provide a proposal later, near the end of the initial design. Propose when about 75% complete. They’ll be more likely to agree because they’re financially and emotionally committed to the site.
Client relations
• Service is more important than product or price.
• Show clients you care by keeping them informed.
• Satisfied clients won’t stay with you; only delighted ones will. Exceed their expectations, and make sure they know it by telling them what extras you’ve given them.
• Stay in the minds of prospects and clients by using phone calls, handwritten thank-yous, occasion cards, and gifts.
• When the client asks for something out of scope, say, “Good idea. I can do that for $x and it will delay the site y days. Would you like to proceed?”
• Actively seek out complaints to learn how to improve and satisfy clients.
• Don’t undervalue your skills by making your work sound easy.
• When possible, buy from your clients’ businesses to show your support.
Legal
• In your agreement letter, state that payment of invoice represents agreement to terms.
Displaying 1 of 1 review