Dusting eyes or how to get more development orders

Most companies and freelancers have their own vision of how to attract customers and convert them into customers. Some people do it well, some worse, but for many this is a problem, even if they themselves are unaware of it.



If you have a modern website, a representative portfolio and market rates, the percentage of orders you have remains relatively low, then most likely the reason is the wrong process of initial communication. How to make it more effective? This will be discussed under the cut.

Today I want to share with you a set of simple techniques that contribute to the accelerated conversion of a client into a customer. This is not God knows what "kung fu", but as practice shows, that it is useful to voice these obvious techniques.
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Tell us about yourself. Over the past 8 years I have been on both sides of the barricades, both from the corporate customer and from the developer company. Now I am working on software projects in one of the largest content aggregators in Russia. By the nature of their activities, we have to constantly interact with Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian developers, as well as periodically look for partners for new projects. We can say that the list below is the quintessence of "sore."

Disclaimer

The text below is solely my personal opinion, which may seem controversial to you. This is not an attempt to comb one size fits all or formulate the fundamental rules, it is rather an understanding of previous experience.

Site

Immediately skip the part where it says that your site should be attractive, modern, have a clear structure, not be overloaded with graphics / texts, etc.

Giving advice on the structure of the site in Habré is extremely ungrateful, but there are a number of points to which a potential client pays special attention:

1. Contact information . It should be visible and easily accessible on all pages of the site. Strange, but sometimes this basic rule is not respected.
2. Discard the feedback form . The form is not suitable for initial communication. On the contrary, it repels, demonstrates your secrecy, opacity and the desire to set your own rules from the very beginning.
3. Moscow city number . Play on stereotypes, rent a Moscow city number. To do this is simple with the help of numerous SIP-operators. Even if you are a regional company, the number trick can play into your hands. There is a category of potential clients who prefer to work with Moscow and St. Petersburg. If your site is not scared away and you have the magic code "+7 (495)" or "+7 (499)", then the probability of contact increases.
4. Portfolio needed . I think it is not necessary to explain that a portfolio is your capital. Under what tough NDAs you wouldn’t work, always insist on the right to list projects in your portfolio. IS ALWAYS. Be flexible, cunning, but try to drag this item into the contract. Remember, the mention of at least one project for a large, well-known customer will increase the flow of potential customers.
5. Relevance . Nobody is interested in your projects 4-5 years ago. At best, they are not paid attention, but they can work against you. A potential client can take the old project for a new one and make wrong, far-reaching conclusions about the qualifications of your employees.
6. Archive of works . Even if you have a portfolio on the site at its best, and a potential client wants to see it, in no case do not send it to the site. The phrase: “we have a portfolio on the site” sounds like a slap in the face and disinterest. So always be ready to send an archive with your best work on demand.
7. Cases better portfolio . Portfolio needed, but case studies are better. I would say that one well-described case costs 5-6 works in a regular portfolio.
   Make full descriptions of projects you are proud of. It will be interesting for the potential client to see: what was the task, how did you look for the solution, how was the development, what was the result and what profit did the customer receive.
   Sketches, diagrams, photographs, rejected design layouts - all this will add a lot of points and tell potential clients about your team more than the boring “How we work” presentation with vague infographics about the next agile methodology.
8. Photos of employees . We all enjoy chatting with real people, not emails. Lay out photos of employees with whom to communicate to a potential client, this will add humanity to your company.
9. Happiness in numbers . It is reliably known that 86% of people trust statistics taken from the ceiling;) If you say that 97% of your projects are completed ahead of time, or 78% of clients return to you with a second order, no matter how funny it is, but people will believe in it. Just do not abuse, more than one such “fact” is not worth writing.

First communication

We will proceed from the assumption that a potential client will most likely start an e-mail communication. We also immediately recognize that, most likely, he has already sent similar requests to your competitors.

In an ideal world, the customer chooses the contractor based on the criteria: previous experience of the contractor, competitive price, realistic deadlines, availability of the necessary resources, references from partners, etc. In fact, the emotional component is added to this list - the impression of the first communication. Those. how you show yourself at the very beginning depends on whether you receive the order (sometimes even despite the price above average).

1. Response rate Respond promptly to a potential customer request. Reply to emails no later than 1-2 hours after receipt.
2. Status . If the request is answered by the “CEO” or “Director of Customer Relationships”, this increases the QS of the potential client, and you get points. The copy of the answer may be “sales manager”, which will continue further communication, but at this stage it is important to show the level of interest.
3. Sexism . The most controversial point, but practice shows that girls, other things being equal, give the impression of less competent IT managers than their male counterparts. Most often this is not true, but the customer does not have time to find out the competence of your employee, it automatically includes stereotypical thinking regarding her and that’s all. Hold your charming manager to the moment when the order will be in your pocket and only then get acquainted with the customer. Again, this is a stereotypical perception that we all have. Your task is to remember this and skillfully use it.
4. Content . In response to the request, introduce yourself, thank you for your interest, ask 2-3 questions about the project (think it’s important that the questions were substantive), agree on the time of the first call to discuss the project (preferably on the same day).
5. Interested . General questions are asked by everyone, but if you ask a question on the merits that a potential client has not yet had time to think about - Bingo (!), You made an impression, showed your professionalism, experience and seem to know in advance about the "pitfalls" of the project. In fact, it is simple, the main thing is not to ask technical questions of a narrow focus.
6. Call In order to convince a potential client, it is necessary to establish a verbal contact as quickly as possible - to call. Before the call, of course, you need to prepare: study the customer, such projects, carefully read the description of the task, prepare a list of additional questions, which were discussed above. Try to limit yourself to 10-12 questions so as not to delay communication longer than 15 minutes. Ask about the goals, objectives, plans, expectations and details of the project. This will create the impression of your full interest.
7. No familiarity . Never start communicating with a potential customer for "you." You do not know how old a person is and how much ChSV is inflated with him, do not take risks.
8. Presentation in the first letter . You do not need to send presentations “About us” or “How we work” in the first letter. If there is a burning desire to send a presentation, then it should be as sharp as possible for the customer, and not oriented at all.
9. Auto signature Be sure to turn on the automatic signature in your email client settings: first name and surname, position, mobile, skype. This is the golden mean. You do not need anything beyond this, and even more sophisticated in non-standard design.
10. Recognition Another little thing that helps to stand out in the general flow of letters. In the mail client settings, after the last name, enter the company name in brackets. This is rarely done, therefore your company name will often flicker in front of the customer’s gaze and gradually be deposited in his subconscious.
11. Offer Never do an offer for 20 pages, where 19 pages are written about what a great team you have and what great customers, and the order estimate is somewhere in the middle.
    A good offer takes 3-4 pages. All sections should be essentially: project name, list of persons on your part, brief project description, table with decomposition into subtasks and evaluation of each time and cost, payment plan (do not forget to specify with or without VAT), warranty service conditions, rights to work results, contacts for communication

The above techniques will definitely play in your favor. However, no one has canceled the main selection criteria: competitive price, reasonable time, consistently high quality results.