The Client Letter
July 17, 2012
Sedona, Arizona
Sunny 70 degrees
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The quickest way to get better clients is to make a better YOU. Get this.
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I was on the phone yesterday with the owner of a web design firm. One of his challenges was dealing with prospects who pressure him for a quote. He did his best to resist just spitting out a price, but eventually he relented and threw out a number.
He then had to deal with the prospect balking at his quoted price – telling him it was higher than “the other guy.”
How do you get out of a crappy situation like this?
The best way to get out of this is to never get into this.
“Steppeth not in *&@^.” That’s the motto.
So here are some suggestions if you ever find yourself in a similar situation.
First of all, if anyone is coming to you asking for a “quote,” then you’ve most likely already lost.
That very question is a clue that your positioning is not going to be adequate to produce the respect and the fees you want.
If the client comes to you knowing what they want instead of coming to you to get help figuring out what they need, then there’s a good chance you’ll meet some resistance when it comes to the terms of the engagement.
Does ANYONE go to a doctor and ask for a heart transplant at the best possible rate?
Nope.
They “consult” with the doctor. The doctor is heavily involved in the diagnosis and the prescription.
In fact, they can’t order up a heart transplant. Only the doctor can.
If you find yourself getting bombarded with requests for quotes or prices, understand that you need to make a change in your marketing.
In the interim, however, you still need to operate.
So consider putting the question below in your arsenal.
Here’s the scenario:
Client comes to you and says, “Could you give me a quote for [insert service request?]”
At this point, you have 3 options:
- Spit out a number. [not smart]
- Don’t spit out a number and stall. [not smart]
- Meet the challenge head on and say, “Considering the goals you’re trying to reach, what makes you think [insert service request] is the best choice here?”
They asked for a quote, you asked them what makes them think their course of action is appropriate for the goals they have?
Try it, I bet you’ll be surprised at what happens.