When kicking off with any new project I like to try and find out as much information from the client as possible before getting back to them with a quote or project plan.
It’s a fine balance, you don’t want to put the client off with too much work to begin with but you need to make sure you have enough details to get going.
The questionnaire
These are the questions I like to start off with and a few bit of explaining along with them.
Name:
Company Name:
Website (if existing):
If you’ve already got an existing website that you would like to work on include it here, or include your ideal domain for your new website.
Project Description:
Explain what you’re looking to achieve from this project. “I want a website” is an answer but these are more what I’m after;
- “I have a new product that I would like to sell online”
- “My competitors website is generating lots of sales for them and I want to compete in this space”
- “I want to make it easier for customers to find our location and update them with weekly news”
- “We have an existing website but it doesn’t represent our current brand, I would like to redesign the site and focus on our new fresh approach to xyz and our 25 years previous experience”
Important Timeframes:
Are you launching a product? Have you scheduled other media and ad placements? Do you have to fit this into this years budget? Projects can last a few days or a few months and it depends heavily on external factors and budgets.
Budget:
Try not be be coy, I’m not hear to fleece you for all of your money. What I will do is ensure that you get the most out of the budget available. To me budget equates directly to time, so the more budget you have the more time we spend on your projects success.
Booked out & replying to requests
You should never flatly turn down a project, that’s just not very good for business. I once knew a guy who ran a conveyancing business and was planning on a 3 month trip through Europe. In the lead up to the trip he turned down all business for that time period. When he returned it took him a full 12 months to build the business back up to where it was before they left. The reason was that people got out of the habit of going to him for quotes and subsequently found another place for their conveyancing needs. The competitor did a good job and they then became the recommended business.
Rather than turning work away I tend to respond with something along these lines