How to pitch your design work like a mattress salesman
I had a meeting the other day about making a website for a potential client. This was an associate of a friend of mine that is starting up an HR business. Sometimes when I want to get a freelance job, I will mock something up without being asked. This was easy for this client, she had no website, no logo or anything. I used an existing template I had created some time ago and added a simple logo, some dummy text, a few buttons with some appropriate names. The mockup was pretty quick to throw together. At most I spent an hour and fifteen minutes on it.
My approach on my original cold call to her was “Hey, I know you don’t have a site and that’s bad. You need a way for people to read more about your services. Look at how quickly you can set up a site.” And I sent a long a link to my mockup. My thought was, she is a one person act, doesn’t know much about this stuff, probably wants to ease into a website by going the cheap route.
The little bit of initiative I took paid off. It always does in case you were wondering. I got my chance to interview with her to talk about a potential relationship. I saw it more of how I would be doing her a favor than anything else. I also made several assumptions of what I would be talking about. I should have paid more attention when she told me she was interviewing other designers too. But truly, I wasn’t in dire need for the client. It’s more experiential and relationship-building from my perspective since food is already on the table.
I took all these cues from her during our meeting at the bagel shop about pricing. I explained that a large site wasn’t necessary, she could rest easy. I had several ways to crank out a site with minimal time, one that though not as fancy, could be up and running in a few days. I’d also be happy to work with another graphic designer which she was possibly going to use as a branding and logo developer.
It was a pretty good meeting despite me not bringing any samples. I did bring a notepad and a color swatch book in case we got into planning. We never did but everything was positive and I was happy to meet her and try out this interview process that I’m not used to.
Some time went by (summer vacation delays) but I finally heard back from her that she went with another web developer, one who “works with a company that provides a full range of services to get me started and to support my site as it grows.”
Web development is pretty competitive and a refusal doesn’t really hurt me at this point having a 8-5 job, but I still feel that pang of “What did I do wrong?” I actually appreciate the chance to deconstruct the situation. And though her brief final email probably isn’t enough to work from, I’ll attempt to analyze what went wrong.
1. Assumptions – I went in knowing in my mind that this was a small time site. I was sure that there would be more time spent meeting than actual site work and that she would want to pay as little as possible and start small. And remember those cues I picked up on that she was concerned about price? Well of course those cues would be there. The question is what important cues did I miss due to my assumptions clouding my picture?
2. No examples or case studies brought to the table – Now that isn’t entirely true, because she knew that I did some work for an associate of hers. What was missing was printed out examples as a way to compare another’s situation with hers. Now the nice thing is, I don’t actually need to have done these websites I could use as case studies. I could just use them to feel out what this client might need or contrast from. I should have brought a range of case studies from the small time to the large scale site. three or four case studies would have done it. I also probably embarassed myself and my bad drawing skills trying to draw something on my notepad to illustrate a sidebar or navigation menu. Had I a few printouts, even Xeroxes, I could have just pointed to them.
3. Lack of relationship building | wrong model – I pitched the cheap, one and done self-sufficiency model when I should have pitched the service model “I can do anything you need, working with you on the cost and we’ll build it together. I’m be here long term.” My actual approach might have worried her that I didn’t want to spend a lot of time on it. We all know that when you buy cheap goods, the personal attention, care and precision are often compromised in the product. Who would blame her in having similar expectations with a ‘cheapo’ easy site. She doesn’t know I always go above and beyond because she doesn’t know me.
4. No proposal sent after our meeting – It’s obvious now why she’s going to go with another company. They probably assessed the situation, described all their potential services and then sent a proposal with a reasonable estimate. Was their estimate higher than mine would be? Probably so, but from her perspective, the money is worth it when you have a full service developer who tells you exactly what you can expect. I should have sent a proposal with an estimate, or sent a sales sheet that contains the services list and average costs of the packages.
5. Didn’t fall into the middle of the road – Most people don’t need the best expensive, but they don’t want the cheapest either. When I bought a mattress years back, the salesman had me lay on the absolute cheapest mattress in the size category first. Uhh, no thanks, I like my posture the way it is thank you. He then worked his way up through the middle to higher prices. At that point, I was wanting to get the best mattress I could afford because the salesman reminded me that my sleep was in fact important to me and affected by my purchase. Most people mattress shopping don’t want to pay for the hand carved oak bed set, but they aren’t going to get themselves a long term mistake. They want the mattress that is satisfying, one that will last a while, not one that makes them say “If only I would have spent a little more money for a better one.” A website, just like a mattress isn’t easy to get rid of. The mattress is already in place, you’ve dragged it up the stairs and covered it. The website gets printed on your business cards, email signatures, letterhead.
The final point of breakdown is that I failed to inspire something in my her. By going the cheap route the only inspiration or benefit is being finished quickly. But where was the sense of possibility or the feeling that the site was going to help grow her business? Right now, the other company or designer who may or may not be better than me is probably going to make more money than I would have due to instilling the sense of assurance and inspiration for her. Sure she could have only spent a couple hundred dollars with me and her site might be done already. Now she might be spending two to ten thousand dollars to have a killer site and a long term relationshop. Inspiration could have made it mine.
What matters at the pitch is the high expectation. One can always back pedal as they get more into that company’s proposal. With mine, I didn’t offer her anything else but the low end. I guess now I’ll have some extra time to work a little on my pitches.
One Response to “How to pitch your design work like a mattress salesman”
July 20, 2006 at 12:22 pm | general | 1 comment
Well. As someone wise once told me… make sure you get the whole picture first. Find out what she really wants. maybe price was never a concern. Obviously price was never really a concern. Unless you have the whole picture first… you have nowhere to start!
the reality of the situation is… you have an 8-5 job to pay the bills and this job represented easy sidework. However, somewhere out there, there is a poor shmuck working for a web development company, struggling to make his quotas. This guy is willing to bend over backwards and give even the smallest of customers everything, just so he can count another deal on the books! Keeping his menial job one month longer! Is that harsh?
Or the web development company realizes the potential lifetime value of even the smallest customers. Leading the way through complete, courteous and professional services no matter the size of business!
I would bet on the desperate salesman first. but then again, I am jaded!