So, will you work for free?
Will you work for nothing?
I just read this article called “What Should You Do When You’re Asked to Work For Free?” and it really hit home to me because I had recently been lured down this path.
They said to me, “You know that if you look after us on this deal, we will have 6 more websites for you to build for the other businesses that we run . . .“
How many times have you had a client say to you . . .
“Look after us on this first deal and there will be lots more work to follow“.
Or,
“We have several different businesses and they all need your services“.
Or the most common one . . .
“I know lots of people, so do a good price for me on this deal and I can refer you to all my contacts“.
They all sound so tempting – the lure of easy referrals and easy business.
You’d be crazy to turn them down, right?
RIGHT ? ?
WRONG ! !
So . . .
What is this really about?
Firstly, experienced business owners know that these promises rarely pan out the way that they are presented.
Once the job is done and the client has what they need, their urgency for the deal drops while yours remains high.
It’s like you are both getting ready to sit down to a meal. You are both hungry for something. But after you deliver your service, their hunger is depleted. Their urgency has dropped, but you are still very hungry.
Even more hungry now because you have done a lot of work for far less return that you are worth.
You’ve put in all the hard work for the client on the promise of all this extra business in the future.
It actually flies in the face of normal business dealings where a discount is offered for a Bulk Purchase, and not for the Promise of a bulk purchase!
So, have these guys intentionally set out to “rip you off”?
No, they probably genuinely believe that they can and will add value to your business at some future point.
But at this stage, they are weighing up a lot of factors, including:
- their desire to ‘get a good deal’
- their budget and cash flow
- their uncertainty about what you can deliver
- how to value your services compared with your competition
And, they may genuinely want to use your services, and even believe that your solution is the best on offer. But they just don’t have the budget right now.
There is a better way to respond
Bottom line is that someone haggling with you over price either:
- does not have the money to buy what they want, or
- they are unsure what you can deliver and whether it is worth investing with you
And it is your job to find out which it is and act accordingly.
You really cannot do anything about the bargain hunters and low ball offers.
If they just don’t have the money, you are probably going to have ongoing problems of this nature with this client.
So you have a decision to make right there.
If they do have money to spend, then you just need to overcome the other objections that they have, and the job is yours at your price . . .
By the time they get to you, they have probably already talked with other providers, and no doubt have received a bottom of the barrel cheap quote which has set their price expectations low.
Someone has promised them a so-called “all-inclusive, full service” for maybe 1/2 or 1/4 of your price.
So they start to doubt their decision that you can provide enough extra value to justify the extra expenditure.
Nowhere does this happen more so than in the website industry where it is impossible to compare apples with apples, because it is ALWAYS a case of comparing apples with monkey wrenches . . .
That’s right, it is impossible to make a practical comparison between 2 website proposals because there is so much left unquantified by most proposals.
So your sales process should endeavour to . . .
Lower the risk to the client
If the client continues to haggle over price, then their level of uncertainty about your services is still too high for them to bear.
So, your solution is to discover what their reservations are and provide answers and/or solutions without discounting the value of your services.
When you compete on price, then you are automatically setting your price at the same level as the cheapest in the market – regardless of the value of your service or the cost to you of delivering it.
When you compete on service and value provided, it may take a bit more effort to make this clear to your prospective client, but the rewards to you long term are well worth it.
After all, the amount of effort to you to deliver your service to the standard you set is the same, regardless of what you charge for it.
And you are much better off serving 10 clients at full price, than providing the same service to 20 clients for 1/2 price.
Well, that is quite simple really!
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What should you do now?
- Find out what your client wants and what their objections are.
- Then respond to those points.
- Want some help or ideas? Just contact us at Hotpink Websites now.
Or, CLICK HERE if you need a new website – Website Enquiry.
Quote
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.
~ Adam Smith
Remember – Will you work for free?
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