hy freelance workshop presentation

Client Acquisition and

Onboarding: A Case Study

The Freelance Developer’s Definitive Guide

http://margreffell.com/hacker-you-freelance/


Finding Your Niche

Narrowing down your field of practice is often

avoided because people don’t want to

EXCLUDE potential clients.

Don’t be afraid! Clients will actually gravitate

towards professionals who excel in one key

area.

Finding Your Niche

Example:

If you were a hairstylist who was solely a

colourist, and only worked with females that

wanted to achieve the perfect shade of

blonde…

Super specific === higher demand & specialty

rates

Example Niches That Need Experts

● Wordpress

● Javascript

● PHP

● e-Commerce

● CRM Platforms

● Membership Portals

● Forums

● SEO & Analytics

● Forms

● Responsive/Mobile

● HTML5 video/audio

● System Integration

● Landing Pages

● Sales Pages

Narrowing Your Niche

You can also hone in on exactly the kind of

client you want to work with within that

niche.

Example: You could work only on wedding

websites that allow online RSVP’s and gift

purchasing from a registry.

Where do you find clients???

● Meetups

● Cold Calls

● Referrals

● Organic Google Search

● Social Gatherings

● Social Media

● Referring Links (your link at the bottom of site)

● Stalking - We’ll talk about this one, it’s my fave

● Retreat/Mastermind/Conference Groups

● Teaching/Mentoring

Most Effective Ways To Get Clients

All of the ways we’ve discussed can

have various degrees of efficacy.

Let’s dive into the top 3 ways to

utilize each technique for optimal

results!

Technique 1 ~ Meetups

● Go to meetups that are NOT in your

industry, but rather in your target industry

● On introduction, tell them exactly what you

do. This is where practice for your elevator

pitch comes in.

● Have stories, anecdotes and jokes

prepared. Be direct and don’t linger.

Technique 2 ~ Cold Calls

Cold Calls no longer just mean that you have

to sit in front of the phonebook and start

dialing.

“Cold Calling” can be a really warm and

friendly experience, and it now comes in many

forms.

Technique 2 ~ Cold Calls Pt. 2

● Free informative presentations and

workshops (similar to this one)

● Calling up businesses that you are invested

in and make them an offer (a local cafe, or

charity)

● Contacting a person/ business you have a

rapport with (past employer, family friend)

Technique 3 ~ Referrals

This is the Golden Goose of any Budding

business.

● Don’t be afraid to ask for testimonials

● Tap into a community that has obvious lack

of high end websites (ie: Massage

Therapists, hairstylists)

● Offer financial kickbacks ** tread lightly

Technique 4 ~ Organic Google Search

● Blog consistently about once per weeks

● Use google keyword search tool to find

topics

● Video blogs with transcription

● Well coded up-to-date website

● Comment engagement

● Social media engagement and sharing

Technique 5 ~ Social Gatherings

● Have your 30 second intro down!

● Instead of a card, get them to follow you on

Twitter (or IG)

● Ask people questions about what they do,

and offer suggestions when appropriate.

● Offer value, make a strong impact and a

prompt exit.

● Don’t get too drunk

Technique 6 ~ Social Media

● Take screencaps of your fave work and post

pics on twitter, IG

● Ask questions and create social engagement

● Ask potential clients what their pain points

are - shows you care about their needs

● Share things that are genuinely helpful, not

self-serving

Technique 7 ~ Referring Links

● Volunteer to be a guest blogger on other

websites your core demographic reads

● Ask clients if you can attach a link to your

website in their footer

● Volunteer for Podcasts and interviews

● Comment frequently on the blogs you love

and your potential clients are reading.

Offer insight and help, don’t troll

Technique 8 ~ Stalking your Heros

The importance of a mentor is huge! Reach

out to those you admire, and offer whatever

you can .

● Tweet and email them. Chances are they’re

super busy, offer to take some work off

their hands.

● Blow them away with your incredible work!

Technique 9 ~ Conferences/Retreats

● Connects you with colleagues that have

different areas of expertise

● Learn from the experiences of others

● Make global connections that often

translate into leads

● Shows people you are serious about what

you do and you invest time and money in

building your skills and business.

Technique 10 ~ Teaching/Mentoring

● Allows you to practice the technical

explanation of events. Translates to better

client communications

● Positions you as an expert

● Shows that you are passionate, and that

development is not “just a job” for you

● Helping people pays off in spades #karma

Onboarding New Client Process

● Automation vs. Individual Attention

● Creating a System of responses to cater to

most common questionso Gravity Intake forms

o Automated emails or mailing list addition

o Templated auto-replies

o Typeform

o Establish Core questions for interview

Top Questions to ask in intake form

1. Do you currently have a website?

2. What is the primary objective of your

website - checkboxes

3. What industry are you in - select list

4. Do you have a design, or do you need full

design/development? - yes/no


5. What is your expected Timeline? Is the

launch of your site dependant on any

external factors (ie: a book launch, live

workshop…) - select list w/text box

6. What range does your budget fall within?


Note: People are much more likely to select a

range from a list of options than to say exact

numbers out loud #truth

These 5 allow you to scan prospects for fit.

Top Questions to Ask in person

This is your chance to dig deep. Get to know

the persons ambition, goals and offer

technical insight into how they can accomplish

them.


1. Where is your business now? ie: blog

frequency, followers, mailing list, product

offers

2. Where do you see your company in 2 years?

3. What Features do you want included on

your site?


4. On average, how many pages would your

site need?

5. Do you want the ability to update the site

yourself? Or, should all of the content be

set and static?

Let’s Get Started!!

Case Study Info

35 Male ~ Troy

Baker who owns a brick and mortar gourmet

doughnut shop.

No Online Presence

Wants to start catering to Parties/Events and

Baker Troy

Social functions.

Troy wants to allow people to order his

doughnuts online

Let’s Check out his questionnaire answers...

Baker Troy

1. Currently has a website built in flash made

by WIX troysdoughnuts.com

2. Primary Objective: Sell physical products

3. Industry - Restaurant/Hospitality

4. Needs a Design

5. 1 - 3 months. No dependencies

6. $2,000 - $5,000

Baker Troy ~ In person interview

1. Physical store with regular sales. Website is

just static page with contact info.

2. Cater gourmet doughnuts to large events.

allow online orders for events.

3. e-commerce, online payments, email list,

google maps, blog, contact form, slider,

pop-up box for featured products.

Baker Troy ~ In person interview

4. approx 5 pages

5. Ability for kids to update with ease.

Any extra features ?????

Maybe instagram

Baker Troy ~ Proposal Preparation

● Keeping options within range

● He is willing to go with the design of a PSD

template

● Wants “clean and simple” looking design

● Built on CMS - most likely wordpress

● Expects about 1 - 2 online orders per week

max.

Proposal Components

● Executive Summary

● Mutual Security - Mutual NDA

● Scope/Expectations

● Description Of Process

● Timeline

● Payment Schedule/Deposit

● Additional “Out of Scope” fees

● Software Training

Proposal Components

● Sitemap (optional)

● What’s not included - ie: hosting

● Browser compatibility

● Device compatibility - responsive?

● Deliverables

● Final Ownership of assets and final site

● Case Study/Testimonial Clause

● Final Quote Range

Executive Summary

● Identifies how the site currently exists

● Outlines the final goals that the site will

achieve on completion

● Outline best software to be used (CRM,

CMS)

Mutual Security ~ NDA

When credit card and banking information is

being collected from the end user and you

need access to your client accounts, this

protects both of your interests.

Online transactions can be high risk. Cover

your butt!!

Scope/Expectations

This may be the most important. Be extremely

clear about the functionality that you can

supply.

More importantly, be extremely clear about

what is not included! (ie: compatibility wth

older browsers…)

Description of Processes

Break it into easy-to-understand short bullet

points

● Discovery

● Design

● Development

● Deployment

Timeline

When establishing a timeline, always base it

on expectations of them getting their content

to you on time

“Providing you get all of your content within

the first 30 days, our estimated launch date is

(blank). Deadlines are subject to extend based

on delayed content.”

Payment Schedule/Deposit

Ensure that you outline the milestones on

which payment will be received, and how long

they have to make payment (5 - 10 business

days is reasonable)

If additional features are added on, additional

costs are typically added to the final payment.

Payment Schedule/Deposit

My typical payment schedule looks like this.

● Deposit to reserve timeline:

$500 - $1,000 depending on project

● 30% on commencement

● 30% on launch to testing server

● 40% on launch to live server

Additional “Out of Scope” Fees

Scope creep happens on every project no

matter how diligent you are in the interview

process. Remember to be upfront with the

client when their scope begins to increase, or

content is long overdue.

Be clear in the documentation, so you can

always refer back!

Additional “Out of Scope” Fees

Examples of “out of scope fees” could include

● Keep Alive fee - for projects that take way

too long to get content

● Additional features (API integration) billed

on top of project

● Live POS to replace current in-store system

Software Training

What kind of follow up are you offering to

your client. Have they use this software

before? My training schedule looks like this.

● 3 - 5, 3 min videos for reference (private)

● 14 days of support following launch to fix

anything (can include up to 2 days in person

● 30 days of email support following launch

Sitemap

It can give a client a much more visual

representation of your work if you can plan

out their site including their customer

interactions and the pages.

Wireframe/sitemap or a mix if the two.

What’s Not Included?

It’s important to point out to the client what

is not included in your quote, so they are clear

that there are usually extra expenses

associated with the website.

Don’t assume anything!

Examples of What’s not included

● Costs of Hosting

● Copywriting

● Stock Photography Costs

● Additional Software (premium plugins)

● Specialty Hosts (Shopify)

● Website Maintenance Beyond Launch

● Theme Costs

Browser/Device Compatibility

Be explicit about what is supported and what

is not.

If you are doing a responsive design, make

sure what Operating Systems you will be

supporting/testing for

Deliverables

Similar to scope and expectations, but I prefer

to write out an explicit list of

● What software will be implemented (or

options of potential software)

● What they will be able to do with the site

● What is supported, and how it will be

optimized

Final Ownership of site/Assets

Do the final designs/website belong to you or

does everything become the property of the

client on final payment.

I prefer to give a “conditional transfer of

ownership” See next slide...

Testimonials/Case Studies

Conditional transfer of ownership.

The clients retains complete ownership of the

site and all of the assets, under the condition

that I can use their site as a care study, and

any approved statements of praise as

testimonials.

Final Quote

There are a couple ways to reach a final quote

1. Hourly Based - an approximation of hours

that the project will take multiplied by

your hourly rate.

2. Value Based - A quote is created based on

the company’s projected potential revenue

and streamlining.

Final Quote ~ Hourly Based

Pros

● Easy Calculation to explain to clients

● Standardized and Objective

Cons

● It usually takes longer than estimated hours

● Customers start “removing” hours to cut

costs.

Final Quote ~ Value Based

Pros

● Based on the value

● Ability to charge more and iterate to come

up with the best solution

Cons

● Less quantifiable - more subjective

● Harder to explain to clients

Thank You!

margreffell.com

@margreffell





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