Category — Selected by Jodi

No, not that word – I mean budget. Do your prospects give you odd looks when you mention it?

Sure, you’re only trying to find out what the right solution is. There’s no point recommending a Rolls Royce to someone in the market for a Hyundai.

The trouble is, that many prospects don’t see it that way. Especially if they’re small companies, they’re not used to buying marketing or design services.

They have no frame of reference. So, they wonder if you’re asking in order to squeeze as much cash out of them as possible.

Some ways to get around the problem:

Educate your clients

They know what houses, cars, and toasters cost, but not web sites or logos. Instead of pointing out your professionalism, or years of experience, talk to them in everyday language. Explain what you’re doing and why.

Discuss the effect that design changes will have on the amount of time and effort required to create a new web site. Be clear about what’s included in the estimate you give, and what will drive the price up. For instance, tell them that three design comps (choices) and two rounds of revisions are included. After that, it’s extra.

Be clear about the goals of the project and what’s included

Write up a creative brief (spelling out the market, the positioning, the intended audience, and the messages) and a project scope document – the assumptions behind the price, what the client will get, what you will do, a timeline, changes that could affect the price, etc.)

Create fixed cost products or services

A PC network tune-up (check for viruses, update software, run diagnostic software, optimize the machines). A new blogger package (get domain name, upload Wordpress theme, add 5 essential plugins, guide to how-to post/edit, upload photos). Spell out exactly what’s included, what the client gets, and how much it costs.

Use an “Olympic pricing” strategy

Michel Fortin recommends breaking your services down into three levels, with each one explained, so the client sees why the costs are different.

For instance, tweaking an existing landing page design would be bronze (lowest price).

Creating a completely new landing page, plus some general SEO suggestions, would be silver (higher price).

A new landing page, SEO ideas, and the order form, opt-in and thank you page is the gold level (highest price).

Got any experiences to share about asking for budgets? A lesson learned? Share them in the comments.

Image compliments of Randy son of Robert

This post is inspired by Bob Poole’s post yesterday (Did You Just Sucker Punch a Potential Customer?)

He compared spamming people (sending email to someone who didn’t ask for it, doesn’t want it, and doesn’t know you) to visiting a prospect and punching them in the nose when they open the door.

Not good.

So, a few words about permission, list “rental,” and list building.

You Need Real Permission

There are people (even consultants) who think it’s OK to spam a big list “just once.” Or, to use a two-year-old list that they inherited from another company. Or even that it’s OK to send unsolicited emails as long as they’re text, but not HTML (pretty pictures and fonts).

All bad ideas.

Using names you got from a directory, a contact form, or a carbon copy is not permission. The people on that old list opted in for a different company (not yours). Plus, the list that’s two years old is useless. (Jodi’s rule of lists: Lists are like fish. The older they are, the more they stink).

An out-of-the-blue email from a company they never heard of will go straight to the spam folder.

Yes, it’s technically legal to send email to people out of the blue (an odd quirk of CAN-SPAM is that it created more spam).

However, the people who get it will think it’s junk. They will bounce it, mark it spam, blacklist the company that sent it, and after a while the messages won’t get through.

What do YOU do when you get email like that? Do you smile happily? Or do you hit that spam button as fast as you can?

Is a sucker punch the best way to make a good first impression?

The Truth About Buying Lists

Most email lists for sale are garbage. The rented ones are a bit better, but they’re expensive. B to B lists can be up to $350 per thousand names (minimum order 5,000 names). If someone is offering to send the list directly to you, run away.

Reputable list owners have their emails delivered by a third party. If they’re offering to send three times in one month, run even faster. That list has been burned out.

There is NO such thing as a legitimate opt-in email list of 1,000,000 names for $100. They’re all lemons.

How to Get Permission

If you want to reach people, there are better ways than a sucker punch to build your list.

Here are a few of them:

• Write a helpful (not a sales pitch) article in a relevant magazine or newsletter (with a link to learn more about your services).
• Send out a press release.
• Offer a report of some kind (for free) to build up your list

How to Send Out Your Emails

Use a professional email service (like AWeber). They will manage the opt-ins, opt-outs, and the bounces. You can also get tracking data (showing how many people received your email, the number of people who opened it, and how many clicked through to your web site.

Plus, the delivery rate will be higher, as they’re a recognized, legitimate mailer.
There are more tips in my free Email Made Easy ebook. Download it here. No opt-in needed. Feel free to share it.

Image thanks to :  pamah

There’s a big fuss about the NY Times’s decision to start charging for access to its Web site.  Many people, including me, are upset.

We started out paying for the paper (through a subscription or newsstand), then it went on the web, the price dropped, and now we’ve been trained to expect it for free.

The paper version is losing money – and so the online version must earn extra in order to cover the costs of printing and distributing the dead-tree paper. The bandwidth isn’t the problem.  The paper and distribution is the problem.

Build a Community

The giant squids I’m talking about aren’t actual squids; it’s the nickname for the leaders of Squidoo (an online free publishing platform).  Squidoo gives people the chance to share their passions, make money for charity, or run a business – for free.  You make a page, called a lens, and connect to  selected affiliate sites or your own.  If someone buys something,  you make money.  Or, it goes to your favorite charity. There’s a community to answer questions, show you the ropes, and welcome you.

Add Free Prizes

Squidoo has “free prizes” – badges for people with great lenses, awards for best lens in different categories, and angels who bless lenses they like.  They’re called Giant Squids, Squid Angels, and Squid Greeters.  They get extra options and first crack at new tools for building lenses.

How about a badge system for newspaper readers to reward and highlight frequent viewers or commenters?  Articles with more comments or comments by higher level people would be worth more to advertisers.

Reward Extra Effort

What if the paid version had no ads?  Or, if visitors got points for viewing ads (and credit toward access).  The more people “paid” to view the ad, the more the Times could charge the advertiser.

More points could get more prestige (and more incentive to return and see ads). Different point levels could entitle readers to extra services or goodies, such as access to restaurant reviews before they’re published, or inside tips on sales, or rights to free Kindle access.

What if they gave stuff away, but in a way that brought people in?  Grew their tribe, encouraged communities of New York Times readers generally.  They could if they wanted to.  And, their readers would embrace them (rather than crying foul).

What are you doing in your business to build a community?  What’s working?  What fell flat?  Share your experiences in the comments.

Image:  wikimedia

You’ve heard it countless times. You roll your eyes.

You think, oh Gawd, not again! They’re throwing off my design. It’s gonna look dumb. Why oh why do clients do this???

Here’s the Secret

It’s not that they’re foolish or have no appreciation for design. It’s just that they’re human beings.

The Sweetest Sound (or Sight)

Dale Carnegie said that “a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” “The average person is more interested in his or her own name than in all the other names on earth put together. ” It’s a proven way to get better responses, whether in marketing or in conversation. You wouldn’t turn around if someone yelled, “Hey you,” but you would if they called your name.

It works for logos too. They want the logo big because it’s their name, or their identity, or their company (that they worked so hard to build). They have an emotional relationship with the logo (just like with their name).

So, the next time someone wants the logo bigger, be patient (and understand why they’re asking).

Photo: mijori

Going up the stairs is hard work. Everyone knows it’s better for you to get the exercise, but most people take the escalator. The stairs are hard. The escalator is easy.

But what if you “change the story”? What if you changed going up the stairs from hard work to something people want to do?

Find the fun

Tell a story

Businesses need stories and secret identities too. Not a story about how experienced you are, or your fancy equipment, or even your fancy client list. Instead, you need stories about the satisfaction, the happiness, or the peace of mind that your customers get by working with you.

It’s about helping them achieve their dreams or desires (regardless of whether that dream is a drop-dead gorgeous web site or a house on a lake). Tell them the story of how they can get that dream.

What are your favorite ways to make your clients happy? Share your stories here.

(thanks to Becky Blanton for finding this video and pointing it out)