LET YOUR CLIENTS RUN THE SHOW

photo courtesy of bathroom girl

Make Your Clients Stakeholders

As a web writer you’ll quickly discover that some clients are easy to work with while others are a royal pain. The way I look at it, if you don’t have final text after one revision, your client isn’t giving you good input. And the last thing you want to do is get in to a “trial-and-error” situation where each draft is a roll of the dice.

So how do you tame these time-wasters? Make them stakeholders in the project.

The Discovery Phase

This is, perhaps, the most important part of the project. This is the time you determine what the client wants and what his or her expectations are.

Who is the text targeted at? What is the purpose of the text and what’s the most desired action or MDA? Get the client to commit to these basics in writing. You can do that by preparing a statement of work (SOW) or by asking the client to spec the job for you. This is even better. A client who puts it in writing is already a stakeholder, though you’re far from a smooth-sailing assignment. Even with specs in writing, some clients are more than happy to change the project parameters, aka, project creep.

This usually takes the form of “just one more little thing” or “would you mind re-writing the second half of the book in a more technical style?” You’ve got a problem.

Get Approvals

I always prepare a “reaction piece” – a short body of text designed for all stakeholders to tear to shreds. Wrong tone. (Or right tone!!! Yay!!), scope is too broad or narrow, too much tech talk, etc.

It’s a good idea to ask the client to track changes on the approval piece and to insert comments where appropriate and changes as required. This forces the client to think about changes. Further, by making recommendations for change, you’ve created a stakeholder. That client isn’t going to ask for changes to his or her own idea or concept.

Again, get it in writing. The ideal? A marked up red-line of the reaction piece with lots of notes. This is your road map to a short and sweet project and a happy client who’s put his nose on your baby.

Get More Approvals

If the project involves a lot of text – an e-book for example – submit your work chapter by chapter. This way, the client can be calling for revisions on previously-written chapters without slowing you up.

Be aware that some clients don’t know what they want until they see it or read it. That’s why it’s essential to keep the client involved throughout the content creation process. This prevents extensive re-writes at the precise time the project should be finished.

Communicate

A time-wasting client is costing you money. Time is money and if you’re rewriting text over and over, you’re losing money. It’s as simple as that.

If you find yourself working with a client who is totally clueless, time for a chat. Don’t accuse. Don’t be angry or annoyed. Simply explain that you have a schedule and that the project must be finished in order for you to move on and get to work on the next assignment.

Most professionals will understand your dilemma and do their best to wrap things up quickly. However, you run in to the occasional prima donna who thinks his $300 bought you for life. It’s important to keep clients happy but you don’t owe them 20 revisions for $300.

Know when to draw the line. Know when to walk away. If you can’t make the client commit, if you can’t make the client a stakeholder, you’re better off walking away from the job.

This is NOT the kind of client you want to add to your regular client base.

webwordslinger.com

AUTOMATE CUSTOMER RELATIONS

Automate Email Responses:

Save Time, Keep ‘em Happy & Make a Sale

For many of us who’ve “opted in” for a newsletter or free e-book, we think of auto responders as the spam that fills our inboxes once the webmaster has our email addresses. An email every other day, once a week or even daily urging us to buy this or try that. When used improperly and ineffectively, auto responders are a nuisance. Used properly, they’ll save time, keep your customers happy and even generate some sales.

What is an auto responder?

It’s pretty much what the name implies – an email that is sent automatically in response to some action on the part of a visitor to a web site. That action can be sending you an email, asking a question by telephone or, again, providing an email address in exchange for something that sounds useful.

How do they work?

Automatically. There are software packages and even online businesses that handle these emailing chores. You can purchase auto responder software. However, before you do, check to see if your web hosting service offers the software free. The better ones do. These server-side packages can be used with your site’s email system, or they can generate an HTML web page for distribution to customers.

If you want to have someone else manage the auto responder side of things, check out the companies that deliver this service free.

When searching for a free auto responder service, look for these key features:

• No advertising. Some of these companies send emails to your registrants with their ads or paid ads from other companies. It’s distracting and it looks kind of cheesy.

• No limits on message length. You’ll find that many free services limit the length of messages (sometimes to 100 words or less) and limit the number of characters per line, making formatting a chore.

• Look for options. Some companies handle responses to direct queries from customers. Others offer options for timed deliveries of emails over a specified period. Each of these options has a different purpose and you want as many options to serve as many purposes as possible.

• Finally, read the fine print. Some auto responder companies offer teaser incentives to sign on with them but, once you’ve passed certain quotas, i.e. number per mailing, HTML mailings or length of message, the fees kick in and all of a sudden that free service is costing you a bundle.

How do I use auto responders?

Auto responders fall into two broad categories: routine responses to customer queries and marketing a site. Let’s look at both uses, pros and cons.

Routine Responses

If your inbox is packed each morning with questions and comments from customers (or would-be customers) then you spend a good part of your day answering these emails. Not a very productive use of your time, but absolutely necessary. Customer care is key to customer retention and customer retention is key to long-term site success. Conversely, if you receive a couple of emails a day from customers, stick with the personalized response. It makes a very positive impression on customers who know an auto responder from a personalized email.

Develop routine responses to routine business matters. For example, if you receive a lot of requests about order status, develop an auto responder that provides customers with the information they’re after. Or, if you receive the same questions over and over about a product or service, develop an email or HTML page that answers those questions and even provides a bit of prodding to induce the receiver to buy from you.

Today, customers expect results. Quickly. Even to routine questions. If you can’t handle the work load of prepping personal responses, don’t leave your client base wondering. Use auto responders to get the response out quickly. And be sure to provide additional contact information (a telephone number is always appreciated) in your auto responder.

Marketing Your Site

Auto responders are also a low-cost method of marketing your goods or services. In fact, many web hosts allow unlimited auto responders even with their lowest-tiered pricing plans. It’s not a big expense for the host so why not?

Now, you can’t just buy a list of email addresses and start spamming people at random. It’s frowned upon by law and the TOS (Terms of Service) of web portals like AOL and Yahoo. Any hint of spamming sets off alarm bells at portal HQ so don’t even bother. Besides, the positive responses to these mass mailings are usually well below 1%. In other words, they just don’t work.

However, if site visitors request information (opt in) in the form of an e-book (the bait) or a “free” newsletter (another kind of bait) then the site owner has established a business relationship with the opt in and is free to email that person without repercussions – all legal and legit. That’s one reason for the proliferation of downloadable e-books, quotes of the day in your email, and weekly or monthly newsletters. Once visitors opt in, you can market the wares unimpeded.

There are some general rules about this type of marketing auto responder, though research on just how successful this technique is isn’t available. However, because the marketing effort is free (or should be) it really doesn’t matter if the conversion rate is low. Even one new buyer is a plus.

Time marketing auto responders so the first one arrives immediately after the opt in. This first automated response thanks the individual for downloading the e-book or other bait, and prepares the reader for the additional emails coming over the next few weeks: “In the next couple of weeks, we’ll be sending you additional information on this unique investment opportunity.” In this way, the opt in knows who you are and that yours is the site that offered the bait. (Another reason for the bait to be good, BTW.)

Allow time in between e-mailings. If the receiver sees an email a day from you, you’ll be categorized as a nuisance and your emails will be trashed unread. Initially, auto responders can be sent every few days but as more time passes, the intervals between mailings should increase. So, during week one, opt ins receive two emails, then one a week for a few weeks, then a follow-up email a month or two later and finally, a “last time opportunity” email five or six months later.

Consumers must hear or see a product brand name six or seven times before it sinks in, or so goes the old Madison-Avenue-traditional-marketing adage. So it’s okay to keep your name in front of the consumer through auto responders, but don’t be a pest.

Include useful, interesting info in each auto responder. The straight hard sell hype every week isn’t going to be read. However, a few tips, suggestions or notification of money-saving opportunities will be opened and read.

Finally, don’t over do it. One company sent out 13 auto responders over a period of six weeks. 13! If you haven’t closed the customer or made the sale after six attempts, give it up. The chances of it happening on the 10^th auto responder are slim and zip.

So, step one: check to see if your web host offers free auto responder software. It would be a part of your site email or database offerings.

Step two: if no software is available free, buy some software. It’s not pricey and it’ll be loaded on your hard drive rather than the host’s server.

Step three: develop auto responders for routine email chores first. It’ll free up enough time each day to manage an auto responder marketing campaign. You can use your existing customer list (an invaluable resource) or you can plant some bait on the site to entice opt ins. If you use auto responders judiciously, they can be an effective means of growing site revenues.

Whether you’re trying to cut down on email chores to focus on other, more critical matters of business, or you’re looking for a low-cost means of marketing your site, auto responders can be an important tool in managing your workload and your site’s profitability.

The conclusion? It’s so low cost it’s worth experimenting. And even if you don’t use auto responders as a marketing tool, you can use it to cut your daily workload by freeing up hours of customer care. So, go for it!

Before your next email blast, call me. We'll talk.

Webwordslinger

GIVE CLIENTS A STAKE IN THEIR OWN PROJECTS. SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE.

Make Your Clients Stakeholders

As a web writer you’ll quickly discover that some clients are easy to work with while others are a royal pain. The way I look at it, if you don’t have final text after one revision, your client isn’t giving you good input. And the last thing you want to do is get in to a “trial-and-error” situation where each draft is a roll of the dice.

So how do you tame these time-wasters? Make them stakeholders in the project.

The Discovery Phase

This is, perhaps, the most important part of the project. This is the time you determine what the client wants and what his or her expectations are.

Who is the text targeted at? What is the purpose of the text and what’s the most desired action or MDA? Get the client to commit to these basics in writing. You can do that by preparing a statement of work (SOW) or by asking the client to spec the job for you. This is even better. A client who puts it in writing is already a stakeholder, though you’re far from a smooth-sailing assignment. Even with specs in writing, some clients are more than happy to change the project parameters, aka, project creep.

This usually takes the form of “just one more little thing” or “would you mind re-writing the second half of the book in a more technical style?” You’ve got a problem.

Get Approvals

I always prepare a “reaction piece” – a short body of text designed for all stakeholders to tear to shreds. Wrong tone. (Or right tone!!! Yay!!), scope is too broad or narrow, too much tech talk, etc.

It’s a good idea to ask the client to track changes on the approval piece and to insert comments where appropriate and changes as required. This forces the client to think about changes. Further, by making recommendations for change, you’ve created a stakeholder. That client isn’t going to ask for changes to his or her own idea or concept.

Again, get it in writing. The ideal? A marked up red-line of the reaction piece with lots of notes. This is your road map to a short and sweet project and a happy client who’s put his nose on your baby.

Get More Approvals

If the project involves a lot of text – an e-book for example – submit your work chapter by chapter. This way, the client can be calling for revisions on previously-written chapters without slowing you up.

Be aware that some clients don’t know what they want until they see it or read it. That’s why it’s essential to keep the client involved throughout the content creation process. This prevents extensive re-writes at the precise time the project should be finished.

Communicate

A time-wasting client is costing you money. Time is money and if you’re rewriting text over and over, you’re losing money. It’s as simple as that.

If you find yourself working with a client who is totally clueless, time for a chat. Don’t accuse. Don’t be angry or annoyed. Simply explain that you have a schedule and that the project must be finished in order for you to move on and get to work on the next assignment.

Most professionals will understand your dilemma and do their best to wrap things up quickly. However, you run in to the occasional prima donna who thinks his $300 bought you for life. It’s important to keep clients happy but you don’t owe them 20 revisions for $300.

Know when to draw the line. Know when to walk away. If you can’t make the client commit, if you can’t make the client a stakeholder, you’re better off walking away from the job.

This is NOT the kind of client you want to add to your regular client base.

Client managment is all part of the job. Need some help?

Call me.

Webwordslinger.com

NO THANKS, MAYBE NEXT TIME: MANAGING CUSTOMER OBJECTIONS

"Are you people total idiots, or what?"

Oh yeah, she'll be back.

Controlling Customer Objections On Line:

It Ain't Like Main Street

If you work in the world of commerce (you do, that's why you're reading this) you most certainly encounter customer objections - reasons the customer or client gives for NOT buying your products or services.

Now, in the 3-D, Main Street world, you hear these objections and address them as they arise. Face to face. That's what sales and marketing are all about. But, if you own a web-based business, there's no face time. So how do you address customer objections?

Anticipation. Preparation. Transparency. Trust. Your site text, the design, the look and feel - all of these should be targeted to address anticipated customer objections. The "push-back" as it's sometimes called on car lots. (Lots of face time, there.)

So, get ready for 'NO, THANKS' and a bounce rate high enough to cause a nose bleed. How do you handle the objections of site visitors? Well, if you know what you're doing, if you know your buyers' needs and expectations, it's not rocket science.

Check it out.

If you’ve built a career in sales you know all about customer objections. Objections are the reasons prospective customers give for NOT buying a product or service. It’s too expensive. It’s too complicated. I don’t really need it. These are common customer objections whether we’re talking about buying a new car or whatever it is you sell on your web site.

Even if you sell the best products or provide A-1 services, and even if you have the lowest prices on the entire web, you’ll encounter objections. Problem is, you won’t encounter them face to face in the world of e-commerce, which means you won’t have the opportunity to address objections face to face. Therefore, controlling objections must take place in the content of your website.

Additionally, in the real world, managing objections is reactive. The customer objects. The salesperson reacts with a counter to the objection. In the impersonal marketplace of the W3, managing customer objections must be proactive. Assume you will encounter objections and address them before the visitor clicks off to another site.

What Objections Will You Get?

Depending on what you’re selling, objections will differ. For example, most customers won’t be concerned with a long-term warranty on a $15 calculator. If it dies, buy a new one. On the other hand, if you’re selling $2,000 laptops, your customers are going to be looking at your warranties, guaranties, return policies – anything and everything that protects them from being ripped off.

And as a good citizen of the web community, you should have no problem posting warranties and return policies where they can be easily found and easily read! (Wouldn’t you like to get your hands on the guy who invented fine print?)

So what objections are you likely to encounter?

It costs too much money.

I saw it for a lower price.

I don’t have the money right now.

My old one is good enough.

It looks confusing.

I don’t understand how it works.

I don’t understand the guaranty.

I don’t (really) need it.

My (insert relation’s name here) would kill me.

Maybe another time.

There are plenty more. I’ve already got one; I want something with more features or fewer features (usually not the same consumer, btw); I don’t like the color, shape, size, design, feng shui or some other aspect of the product. The list is as varied as the customers who visit your web site.

And you better know what objections visitors will raise and proactively address them in your site’s content.

How Do I Address A Customer Objection?

Once you’ve determined which objections you’ll most likely encounter from site visitors you develop a strategy to address the objection before it even becomes an objection.

Example #1: It’s too complicated.

Okay, take a look at this 3-minute Flash demo that’ll show you how to assemble the (whatever it is you sell). You’re not addressing the objection with a long body of text explaining how to assemble your gizmo. You’re providing a clip that actually shows each step of assembly with text burns identifying key steps and just where Tab A is.

Example #2: It’s too expensive.

How will the product improve productivity or quality of life? Let’s say you’re selling hot tubs. You point out the benefits to the consumer. Forget product features. The “too-expensive” buyer must see personal benefit(s) in order for you to manage the objection.

“You come home from a stressful day, hop into the heated, soothing water, turn on the relaxing massage jets and feel the cares of the day melt away.” The buyer who believes “it’s” too expensive doesn’t care about the 15hp motor, the 18 water jets and the automated chlor-tab release. S/he needs to see personal benefit. Once that’s established, move on to features in you sales copy.

Example #3: I saw it for less at www.thecheapestsiteintheworld.com.

If you can’t beat the competition on price – and many times you won’t be able to compete with big box store prices – time to highlight the quality of your service, your easy return policy and the fact that there’s no re-stocking fee. (Wouldn’t you like to get your hands on the guy who invented the restocking fee?)

Some sites offer a “Beat any legitimate price” guarantee. You can, too. Even if your price is a bit higher, most visitors won’t take the time to find the lowest of the low and if they do, you’ve lost a few bucks but have a happy customer – one who’ll be back to buy the accessories.

Example #4: I don’t want to buy a (fill in the blank) on the web.

Would you buy a $4,000 diamond engagement ring online? From a site you never heard of? Not many people would. Too many risks. For all the buyer knows, you’re selling “diamacroids” as real diamonds. And if you’re half way around the world, the buyer has no recourse.

Establish trust be establishing verifiable credentials. Member of the online BBB, certified by the Diamond Sellers Association of the World, graduate of the School of Gemology, 140 years in business, etc. You’d buy a diamond online from Tiffany’s because the trust factor is built in. Not so for www.billscutratediamondbazaar.com – no matter how low Bill’s prices.

You get the idea. To successfully convert a visitor into a buyer requires that all objections be addressed in site content using a variety of media to get the job done. A Flash demo, an audio clip and picture of you, a picture of your factory, a virtual 360° tour, a step-by-step, idiot-proof assembly guide, 24-hour tech support – whatever works best to counter the objection.

All kinds of people will stop by your web site and each will come with his or her own expectations and objections. Meet those expectations and counter those objections right from the start. It’ll do wonders for your conversion ratio.

It’ll also keep your repeat buyer list growing. Why? No objections.

Call me.

Webwordslinger.com

CUSTOMER RETENTION: WANT THEM TO COME BACK?

Customer Retention:

Keep Them Locked In Place

How much did it cost you to get your latest customer? $0.50? You should be so lucky. $5.00? Ummmm, maybe. $10.00? You’re getting warmer.

The fact is, most site owners don’t have a clue how much it cost them to acquire a customer. More importantly, they don’t know if the customer made enough of an initial purchase to even cover customer acquisition costs such as Google AdWords, a press release, syndicated content or some other means of attracting attention on the W3.

However, you can get a rough estimate of cost per customer by totaling up marketing and promotion expenses and dividing by the number of customers – not just site visitors but visitors who converted to buyers. And this is far from a pointless exercise. When you determine just how much it cost you to recruit a customer – a paying customer – you’re going to want to keep that person coming back time and time again.

The Importance of Customer Retention to Site Success

It’s called customer retention and if you’re just starting out in the wild world of e-commerce, you’ll soon realize how critical customer retention is to your long-term success. And, even if you’ve been doing this a while, there are plenty of steps you can take to retain the customers you’ve accumulated over the years. Is it worth it? What do you think?

So here are a few tips that have worked for companies as diverse as Amazon and Netflix. And both of those e-businesses are doing well with their customer retention strategies.

Personalize the Buying Experience

You can do this using your database to deliver customized content to each visitor. You can welcome each customer by name and offer suggestions for purchase based on their past buying history.

Gather Customer Data

Two ways to do this: either through the use of metrics software or by providing repeat buyers (those are the ones you love) a form to write both gripes and praise. Fix the gripes. Expand the praiseworthy features. Easy. Oh, and don’t forget to mention that this form is for repeat customers only so you can improve both your products and services to enhance that repeat buyer’s on-site experience.

By the way, this kind of “personalized” input will probably reveal problems that never occurred to you. Conversely, it’ll point out your site’s under-utilized strengths like a one-click checkout, for instance.

Stay In Touch

Even small sites have new products and special sales. Use your database to provide email announcements for “customers” only.

Now don’t overdo this or your emails will end up in the recycling bin. However, the judicious use of email is very effective. Check out ajferrari.com. It’s a relatively small site that does big business in selling authentic Italian olive oils and other hard-to-find foods from Italy.

During the holiday season and a few weeks before Mother’s or Father’s day, this company sends out an email announcing gift ideas – and these emails pull big time.

Create a Customers Only Section

This requires a log in name and a password but it provides lots of useful informational content about the company’s products or services. Again, not too much hype. Keep the content informational to provide a little bonus for your regulars.

You may also want to consider adding a customer’s forum in this section – a place where regulars can share their experiences – good or bad – with your company (fix the bad) – they can exchange recipes, strategies, ask and answer questions. It’s a great way to build a site community – a group that returns to your site on a regular basis. And buys stuff.

Reward Loyalty

Free stuff. That’s always a nice reward. Offer free shipping to all of your regulars or offer a free gift with their next purchase. A free ebook download – anything that says “Thank you, we appreciate your patronage.”

BTW, these loyalty rewards may do better when placed in the “Customer Only” section so you don’t alienate newcomers to your site.

Surprise Savings

Regular customers will stay that way when you offer surprise savings on certain items. As items are placed in the shopping cart, you can flash a “Surprise Savings” icon announcing that “because you’re a regular customer, this item is only $5.99 instead of the $10.99 new customers pay.” Think of the old-time Blue Light Specials. It’s like free money and your regulars will definitely appreciate it.

Coupons work, too. Place them throughout your site so that visitors have to search for them, like a treasure hunt. Coupons can knock 10% off your total purchase price, provide free shipping and handling or offer a free thank-you gift – a show of appreciation for the customer’s regular patronage. And the customer gets the benefit today at the POP!

Simplify Everything

Keep things simple for regulars. Provide a one click checkout so these regulars can load up their shopping carts, make a single checkout click and their goods are on the way. Easy.

Provide a 24-hour customer service line. And even if you’re just starting out and cash is tight, this might be worth outsourcing. Otherwise you may end up spending your days handling customer care – not a happy thought – when you could put your time and energy to better use – like growing the business!

Make returns easy, too. Larger online businesses keep complete records of the buying practices of their customers. So, if you call in with a problem, your account pops up on screen telling the representative everything s/he needs to know about you.

If you’re a big spender and a regular, the service rep will do handstands to make sure you’re happy – even if it means the business loses money on this one sale. Your customer profile shows you’re worth keeping.

However, if you’re a first-time buyer or, worse, a customer who complains about every purchase, don’t expect the same treatment that good customers receive. Good customers are worth the effort. Problem buyers aren’t.

Always Over Deliver

One online company that caters to new brides always includes a little extra gift no matter how small the order. One woman ordered two bed side lamps and received, as a gift, four place mats – which probably cost as much as the two lamps she ordered. Think that customer will be back? She will.

This is a great way to get rid of excess inventory and maintain customer retention. But it doesn’t have to be a gift. It can be going the extra mile – overnight delivery or a special order – anything that makes the buyer feel as though you care – because you do care…a lot.

It costs you money for every buyer you get so it just makes sense that once they’ve become a customer, you keep them coming back by creating customer loyalty in lots of little ways.

Finally, No Unpleasant Surprises, Please.

Don’t forget to eliminate any unpleasant surprises. For example, a customer places a $9.95 order only to discover at the checkout that there’s a $7.95 shipping and handling fee. There’s an abandoned shopping cart and rest assured, that customer won’t be back.

Or, how about advertising an item on site only to inform the buyer that the item has been back ordered and won’t ship until the boat arrives from China. Think that customer will be pleased upon hearing that? How about orders that take six weeks to fill? That’s a no-no for sure.

Look you worked hard and paid for every one of your customers so everything you can do to keep them customers is, in the long run, going to improve your bottom line.

Back in the day, there was the view among merchants that “The customer is always right.” Somewhere along the way, that idea got lost. But in the intensely competitive world of e-commerce, the idea is making a comeback.

So, have a sign made up. Hang it where all employees (including you) can see it. In big bold letters, it should read:

THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT. ALWAYS!

That’s the best way to keep the customer base you’ve worked so hard to build.

Hey, it costs 10 times the dough to find a new client than to keep an existing client. Doesn't it make sense to keep the clients you have? Call me. Let's talk.

Later,

Webwordslinger.com

DOA: PROJECT CREEP WILL KILL YOUR SERVICE BUSINESS.

Putting A Stop to Project Creep:

Protect Yourself and Your Business

Any service provider is aware of the concept of “project creep.” The project is agreed to by both service provider and client but, as the project moves forward, the client asks for “just one more little thing.”

Now, you want to keep the client happy and coming back for more of your services but when the client asks for five “little things,” you’re losing money because none of these project elements was discussed before the project was undertaken.

Project creep gobbles up time and money (same thing, actually) that the small service provider simply can’t afford to lose.

Now, not all service providers are in the enviable position of vetting clients to determine whether they become part of the client base. Many of us simply have to take the work that comes our way – especially if we’re just starting out as SEOs, site designers or CPAs. It doesn’t matter. If you have clients, you need to understand how to prevent project creep.

The Dangers of Project Creep

The most obvious danger is, of course, the loss of time. Man-hours translate to dollars in a small shop so if you’re spending time doing just “one little sales letter” on top of contractual deliverables, it’s a give-away and you’re the one who’s giving it away.

However, there’s a more serious danger. WOM. Word of mouth. If you say ‘no’ to project creep, you may save a few dollars but end up with an unhappy client. And that unhappy client is not going to sing your praises at the next conference or seminar. Bad WOM spreads like kudzu. It should be avoided at all costs. Yes, even the little extras should be thrown in. Why?

Because if that client walks away feeling she got a good deal and good service from you, she’ll talk you up to her network and that one job that cost you a few hundred dollars in man-hours can deliver tens of thousands of dollars in new work – and an expanding, stable client base – one you don’t have to replenish. Repeat business is your bread and butter.

So, the dangers are: (1) you lose some time and money on project creep and (2) you lose the best salesperson you’ll ever have – a satisfied client.

Google The New Client and Do Your Research

If it breathes, it’s indexed in Google somewhere. Do a quick background search. Check out the company website and check Whois, the directory of domain owners. It’s always nice to know who you might be working with.

If it’s a big project – six figures let’s say – pull a D & B on the company. Dunn and Bradstreet report on all corporations doing business in the U.S. and provides background, credit history and other useful information.

Talk to the decision maker. If a face-to-face meeting is possible, great. Otherwise, check the company website for design and production values, features and other tell-tale signs of a successful, or at least well-run, company.

Know with whom you’ll do business. Request a credit check if there’s any doubts about how deep you want to go with a particular client. It may be better (if possible) to try a small project before jumping into a $40,000 website with every bell, whistle and live feed you can find.

The SOW (Statement of Work)

The statement of work is often a separate document from the work agreement or contract. The contract usually states that you or your small company will complete all work in the SOW to the satisfaction of the client.

So, that SOW should be very, very specific to prevent project creep and hard feelings down the road.

Work and Payment Schedules

The SOW should provide detailed milestones and payment dates. This does a couple of things for you. If you deliver early, you score points for promptness. You’re already ahead of the game. Also, with a payment schedule you never get too deep into a project – especially with a new client.

If the client misses a payment, the work gets put to one side – at least until the client makes good on his or her SOW agreement.

Deliverables Inventory

The list of deliverables should be extremely detailed, describing the deliverable, format, placement, number of revisions and any other project specs.

In addition, the SOW should also include a list of items that won’t be delivered as part of the agreement. For example, if you’re building a website and the client asks if you could do a quick “5-part, auto-responder series,” ARs should be on your list of components that are NOT included in the price.

The client may be responsible for product pictures, for example, or site text or baseline metrics. Make sure everyone is clear on what’s included and what isn’t in the SOW.

However, it’s good form to offer a discount on this additional work to keep the client happy. Just make sure you at least break even.

Make the Client a Stakeholder

This is often overlooked, even by long-time business owners.

If your company simply presents storyboards or sample web pages to the client, the client has no vested interest in those design elements. So, early in the discovery phase, ask the client to recommend things like color schemes he likes, fonts that she finds attractive and other design elements.

This makes the client a stakeholder in the finished project, whatever it may be. It’s difficult to say you don’t like the color combination when you picked it out. Don’t back the client into a corner, i.e. “But these are the colors you chose!” Great way to lose a client, who, as we all know, is ALWAYS right.

However, by giving the client a say in project development, you lock in design or other project aspects more quickly.

Deliver Pages

Throughout the process, stay in touch with the client and get approvals at every possible stage. Roughs, boards, reaction text (too hypey?), sample site pages or the quarterly financial report – keep the customer informed.

Clients hate to be ignored and this shows you and your team are on the job. It also enables you to make changes when they’re easy to make. This is a real time saver, and if the client knows what s/he wants, all the better.

Managing Project Creep

A solid statement of work is the best place to start. But don’t stop there.

If the client asks for an additional deliverables and you can do it in an hour and it’s going to make him happy, do it. However, recognize that you’ve opened the door for a few more “little things.”

At some point, early in the project, introduce the concept of client alterations – changes after approvals, additions, you know, project creep. Be straightforward. This project creep is hurting your business and “while I’d love to give you another 20 pages of site text, I just don’t have the time.”

You have to draw the line. Otherwise, the client will keep on adding to the list of deliverables and you watch as your margins grow thinner with each “little thing.”

Your time and your expertise are the two commodities you sell. If you give these assets away, you diminish their value in the eyes of the client. Remember, you’re not just being paid for what you do…you’re also being paid for what you know.

And that’s what makes you the best ever there was.