…do you have other recommendations for a mid sized company like my clients that would enable us to grow into the potential we have as a direct to consumer player? A tall order, I know, but love your thoughts.

While I am not a marketing expert, I do feel comfortable speaking from the standpoint of tools and usability. There needs to be a new emphasis on lowering the operational footprint of the tools we provide for clients. After all, the building that a store resides in shouldn’t require the level of attention that marketing, products and customers demand. As a developer, I believe that is the philosophy that we need to emphasize moving forward – the tool needs to be built with a clear emphasis on fitting into existing business processes as much as possible instead of carelessly redefining them, and in the process creating more work on the operational side. In addition, the tools themselves need to serve marketing directives better, which means adding features in that allow marketing departments to test, gather and abstract data into something that can be employed in marketing and operational directives.

In the context of e-commerce, the problem lies in the fact that otherwise decent core e-commerce packages, make it cost prohibitive to make any sort of change to the system, and it doesn’t need to be like that. If designed right, the actual code framework should be able to handle most or all of the customization needs a client has. That way, if something does need to change, less time can be spent customizing and therefore reducing TCO (total cost of ownership) of the tool set.

Generally speaking I see the rising stars in direct to consumer as having expertise with and providing non-invasive, adaptable, (robust, portable) open source tools as well as being experts at converting raw data into real marketing and operational strategies for their clients. These are lofty goals to be sure, but it is time for us, the techies to listen to the marketers and to the users to create tools that work with and serve the clients better.

What do you think?

Okay, let’s say the client is a perfect client in the sense that they never challenge the limit of what the quote ecompasses in terms of project scope. How often have any of you had a client who doesn’t challenge those boundaries in passive-aggressive ways if not directly? I’m going to guess the answer is “rarely”. Feel free to correct me on that assumption.

So, we all are trying to build strong working relationships with these clients, but whether they know it or not, they always have a bigger picture in mind no matter how clearly defined the project’s tasks are. At some point, its just not worth it to spell it out due to time constraints anyway, right?

So, if that is the challenge, how do we try to mitigate the risk of overruns while keeping a client happy? Here are a few improved uses of your quoting time to ensure you get a fair price and minimize the risk of going over on the quote.

Tip 1: Ask more questions, ask relevant questions, and ask follow-up questions

The golden rule should be “assume nothing and ask everything” when in the discovery process. Don’t just find out what the tool is for, ask how they execute in real life. This will give you a much better understanding of the operational side that you are most likely being paid to automate to a certain extent. If you can’t visualize yourself doing a given task then ask more questions until you feel like you could go in and do the task or process yourself with minimal guidance. Sure, you may be committing more time at this stage than usual, but you are reducing the potential for massive time drainers later that come when you have to change something already built.

Tip 2: Put the cost in context – justify your price with a cost analysis

The more information about the current cost of doing whatever it is you are going to assist them with, the better off you are. If you present them with a $5000 quote out of context, the first question they will have is “why so much?” But if you find out that the only alternative is a 3rd-party system that charges a setup fee and a monthly fee, you can show them savings over time instead of the initial investment. What is even better is that when you come back with a slightly lower quote, you can mention the savings you are giving them when compared to the other option they are considering. If they are not aware of an alternative, be bold – find that alternative, figure out a 3-year cost for them, and then you can show them how they will save money by working with you instead.

Tip 3: Present the draft quote to the potential client and eliminate the uncertainties as much as possible

When I started freelancing, in my eagerness to get started on a project I would hand off a quote as a final quote and then say something like “we can tackle the unknowns as they come”, which is amazingly reckless and of course, I was sinking my own ship. I had no defense when the client would remember an 11th-hour feature that needed to be there, and to keep them happy, I would just throw it in. After a while I realized I needed to slow down, and approach the situation from in a much more careful, thorough manner. That isn’t to say I don’t still have quotes where I underestimate, but it happens a lot less than it used to.

Tip 4: If you can, build in a financial safety net

If you think you can squeak in a percentage of the total quote as a financial safety net, you should. Although I would recommend a 10% buffer, anything helps. You also reduce headaches for your client by not needing to get additional funds approved for the little stuff.

Of course, there are many other ways to refine your quoting process, but my personal experience has shown that emphasizing these four things has helped smooth out the process, keep the client satisfied, and keep the value of the project from becoming an issue. If you have other tips or techniques, I’d love to hear about them. Thanks for reading!