[Tfug] What to do with extra work requests

[keith smith]

Hi Glen,

Thank you for your feedback.  Until now my goal was to be a one-man-band.  As things progress I realize that is not practical.  There are things that I simply cannot do or do not have the time to learn.

I think I can do so much more if I had a few people around me that were experts in their area.

So to answer your question I see at least in the short term finding people with the appropriate skill to contract on certain jobs.

The list you provide are my dream clients.  Most of the people I have run across over the years do not understand budgeting for IT.  I'm not sure most small business owners actually budget.

You suggest several questions:

2. Is the project budget higher than the minimum we have set?

I find it difficult to get this info.  Maybe because there is no budget or they do not what to say in hopes I will offer to work for less.

3. Is the client likely to have larger projects in the future?

I find most do not budget.  And when someone tells me "If this works out I might have more work for you.", I think that is a carrot and they are using that promise to generate a lower fee.  I'm looking for customers that have an ongoing need.  It is easier to work with someone you have already built rapport with and kinda know their overall needs.

4. How much money is the client willing to pay right now?

This is the golden question.  When I get a request for proposal off my website I find most have no idea what they are asking for and how much it will cost.  Most of the requests I get off my website are on the low end.  They have $500 for a $2000 job.  Of course I do not accept their project.  Others are looking for cheap labor at $25 to maybe $40 and hour.

5. Does the client have a yearly budget for the website? IE. Are
   they dedicating money to it next year too?

This is my ideal customer.  

I would like to have 10 or 12 regular customers that I can handle by myself with minimal outside help, maybe... that mind set is starting to change.

The question at hand is what to do with a request for quote a day off my website.  These prospects for the most part are sub-prime.

I know there are people who are willing to work for $25 to $40 an hour however that is not me.  As I do more SEO and get ranked for the 10 terms I have selected, eventually I will show up on the first page of about 100,000 search results related to PHP programming and development.  I expect to get 10 or more requests a day if all else is equal.  This is not the kind of work I personally would like to do or handle however I do see some potential here.

Should I sell these leads?  And if so how and for how much.

Here are some of the ideas I have:
1) add a want ads section to my website
- will draw more traffic
- might not allow me to get the "good contracts" or maybe it will because I will have differentiated myself as the site owner and "expert".
2) instead of selling the leads create a membership area
- charge a small monthly fee to participate
3) make the want ads 2 tear. 
- free to browse.
- upgrade to being able to register and filter the type of projects you want to get notified about.
- maybe even sell ads to consultants.

I can ad some affiliate marketing to this and maybe make some money.

I find the best clients come out of the local community not from my website.  I did get a gem of a client off my website though.  The ratio seems to be 1 in 100 or more... 

>From the limited amount of experience I have had with web generated proposals I do not expect to "grow" my business from these prospects.

My goal is to take my website from a cost center to a profit center. At some point I would like to make my living off the web. I want to get away from  exchanging hours for dollars. Or at least my hours. I would like to do a combination of service and affiliate marketing.

Having a group of people I could keep relatively busy appeals to me as well. At that point I would be the marketing, quotes processor, and conductor.

Thoughts? 


 

Glen Pfeiffer <glen at thepfeiffers.net> wrote: On 06/23/2007 01:04 PM, keith smith wrote:
> I made the below post on the AZPHP list and am wondering what
> your input might be.
>
> [snip]
> I am not able to handle most of the work.  And as I continue to
> work on my website and get more traffic, I suspect more
> requests will pour in.
> [snip]

It depends on your goals. Do you want to remain a one-man shop,
or do you have hopes of building a team? Do you want to work on
small, medium, or large projects? The strategies you choose need
to reflect the goals you have.

If your desire is to grow a team, you probably want to contract
out some of the work. The goal of this is not only to accept more
contracts, but also to find someone to hire or partner with.

Regardless of the strategy you might consider prospecting your
clients. Repeat after me: it is okay to turn away a prospective
client if they are not a good match. Here are some questions that
we use at my company to help us determine if a client is one we
want to work with.

1. Do you have domain knowledge of the industry?
2. Is the project budget higher than the minimum we have set?
3. Is the client likely to have larger projects in the future?
4. How much money is the client willing to pay right now?
5. Does the client have a yearly budget for the website? IE. Are
   they dedicating money to it next year too?

Best of luck!

-- 
Glen


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------------------------
Keith Smith
(480) 584-4772
PHP Programming


 
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