RE: FN-FORUM: Hi all (new here)

date posted 5th March 2008 22:01

Anthony wrote:
> Don't forget, some clients will turn you down if you look too cheap. =
The =20
> essential part of quoting is to find out the budget, and the =
expectations

> of cost and functionality. And decide whether you prefer a few=20
> challenging high-budget jobs (and often high-pressure) or lots and =
lots=20
> of small jobs. I like a mixture of the two :)

+1. Good advice when dealing with larger clients, although smaller =
clients
are heavily price-influenced, so this should be borne in mind. Look out
though for small departments within large companies - if your contact at =
the
client doesn't have sufficient sign-off authority, excessive pricing can
make it more difficult to get approval.

I'm a big fan of budget-driven quotes. Get an idea of what the client =
can
afford to spend, then tailor what is included to suit. There are a huge
number of quality factors that can be varied accordingly during a site
build, including:

- Time spent on design(s) and feedback process.
- Whether a specific deadline is committed to.
- SEO thoroughness, UI niceties (e.g., AJAX).
- Whether copywriting/logo design included.
- Technology choices (e.g., Access v SQL Server DB).
- Whether/which sub-contractors used.
- Dynamic functionality that can be included.

Best approach is get at least a feel for the budget, then present 2 or 3
options covering "economy", "mid-range" and "top end".

Agreed, a mix of large and small projects is a good combination - better
profit on bigger projects, the smaller jobs smooth out cash-flow.

Cheers, Ben

--
Ben Johnson, Neogic Web Solutions
// design . development . managed hosting

w | http://www.neogic.com
t | +44 (0)1242 808 262
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