Habits of successful freelancers on online exchanges
Here in one of the posts it was mentioned that Russian freelancers cannot work with foreign ones (meaning working at freelance sites). I managed to play for both sides both on foreign sites and on Russian ones. After which he made a small selection of observations.
Immediately I will write - this text in no way claims to be absolutely right and true. These are conclusions after observing successful freelancers in Russia and on foreign sites. Always and everywhere have their exceptions and features.
Yes, the situation with inadequate customers is not yet considered - there are all sorts.
')
1. The first application for the project. Extremely want to see the following information:
a) What will be done within the project. Better list of components or tasks, and their approximate time. It is much easier to communicate with a person who has already thought about the project and created his own idea (even if not quite right). But here you have to be careful and not offer php, when you clearly need to develop on with ++
Example: “I can execute your project 5 days after the completion of shaking parts. The project can be executed in the form of two modules: A and B. A will perform the functions X, B will perform the functions of Y. "
Or: "I will test on such and such systems, perform such and such actions, I will send you an exception table with the results of the form: action-result."
Many write - "Contact us, we will do in the best possible way." In fact, you can leave just a blank message :) - once they left a request, it is clear that they will try to do everything in the best possible way. Nobody writes - “contact, we will do more or less some piece”.
b) If there is something already ready and there is a desire to offer it, it would be good to describe it: OS, components, language, functions, price, licensing conditions (if any). If this “ready-made” does not coincide by 100% with the statement of the task - it is desirable to indicate what is missing, the price, terms, functions. It is often easier to take something ready than to work with a developer from scratch.
c) what is planned to be transferred as a result of the project (work) - components, source codes, help, installer, video, results and in what form.
Example: “After the project is completed, you will receive: an executable file, a C ++ project with sources for Visual Studio 2005, a short manual on usage, a program in the InnoSetup installation package, an initial InnoSetup project.”
In this example:
- show the customer what he gets for his money;
- there is an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and experience;
- the sale of not just the work of a freelancer begins, but the concrete implementation of the task
2. If the price of a freelancer is significantly higher than the average, and there are more than ten offers, the customer is unlikely to find out why the price is higher. Perhaps the freelancer is really professional, and we are ready to offer some kind of exclusive. But it is unlikely that the customer will find out. Most likely he will not even get in touch.
If, however, follow point 1, the customer will see the rationale for the price and be able to more easily make contact.
3. Trade and price - not always the high price implies trade. Trade will be only if the offer is unique. I guess the probability of this is not very high.
If there is a desire to bargain - it is better not to indicate the price, but to designate - “I can’t name the price, clarification of details is required”.
4. Now the main thing - the price. Of course, there are customers like "Oriental people" who try to reduce any price several times. This is normal.
A simple case - trading goes around the project with 100% detail. There are no recipes, the freelancer himself is determined by his personal factors - loading, the need for money, etc.
Difficult case - the trade goes around the project, which has 1-2 lines in the description, and the price is already fixed to 1 dollar. This, you see, is rather strange :)
For example, the customer’s budget is $ 100, but I want 200. In this case, you can refine the details of the project - there are a lot of things that are not critical for the customer, but you can save money during development. For example, to use a site that is not personally programmed, but to take a ready-made engine. Or for the customer is not necessary source codes. Or reduce the amount of work due to non-essential functionality for the customer. Or use third-party components and libraries.
In this case, an important point - the customer has a problem and a budget. He needs a solution to the problem that falls into the budget. Almost always the customer will be happy if the problem is solved by 70-90%. Satisfied if the problem is solved by 50-70%. You can find out the basis of the problem and propose a solution that falls into the budget. If necessary, the missing functions will then be ordered to the freelancer for some money.
5. It is also useful to know how the project will be used - for internal use or for distribution. If the internal use with 1-2 installations, then some things can be greatly optimized or cut down - for example, develop under one operating system, use opensource components, remove the installer. Which will certainly affect the price.
If the product is planned to be distributed “to the side”, then immediately it is worth offering (and explaining why) support for different operating systems (XP / Vista / 7), clarifying the use of licensed components, thinking about the installer and updates. The customer will be pleased to see such activity and interest in the high-quality implementation of the project.
6. I really want the freelancer to ask the customer more questions on the essence of the task. I didn’t “eat the brain”, but I would strive to understand what exactly the customer needs. This is very stimulating to continue working with such a freelancer.
The only thing is there is a chance to accidentally convince the customer that either he does not need this project, or the task can be solved without a freelancer :)
Immediately I will write - this text in no way claims to be absolutely right and true. These are conclusions after observing successful freelancers in Russia and on foreign sites. Always and everywhere have their exceptions and features.
Yes, the situation with inadequate customers is not yet considered - there are all sorts.
')
1. The first application for the project. Extremely want to see the following information:
a) What will be done within the project. Better list of components or tasks, and their approximate time. It is much easier to communicate with a person who has already thought about the project and created his own idea (even if not quite right). But here you have to be careful and not offer php, when you clearly need to develop on with ++
Example: “I can execute your project 5 days after the completion of shaking parts. The project can be executed in the form of two modules: A and B. A will perform the functions X, B will perform the functions of Y. "
Or: "I will test on such and such systems, perform such and such actions, I will send you an exception table with the results of the form: action-result."
Many write - "Contact us, we will do in the best possible way." In fact, you can leave just a blank message :) - once they left a request, it is clear that they will try to do everything in the best possible way. Nobody writes - “contact, we will do more or less some piece”.
b) If there is something already ready and there is a desire to offer it, it would be good to describe it: OS, components, language, functions, price, licensing conditions (if any). If this “ready-made” does not coincide by 100% with the statement of the task - it is desirable to indicate what is missing, the price, terms, functions. It is often easier to take something ready than to work with a developer from scratch.
c) what is planned to be transferred as a result of the project (work) - components, source codes, help, installer, video, results and in what form.
Example: “After the project is completed, you will receive: an executable file, a C ++ project with sources for Visual Studio 2005, a short manual on usage, a program in the InnoSetup installation package, an initial InnoSetup project.”
In this example:
- show the customer what he gets for his money;
- there is an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and experience;
- the sale of not just the work of a freelancer begins, but the concrete implementation of the task
2. If the price of a freelancer is significantly higher than the average, and there are more than ten offers, the customer is unlikely to find out why the price is higher. Perhaps the freelancer is really professional, and we are ready to offer some kind of exclusive. But it is unlikely that the customer will find out. Most likely he will not even get in touch.
If, however, follow point 1, the customer will see the rationale for the price and be able to more easily make contact.
3. Trade and price - not always the high price implies trade. Trade will be only if the offer is unique. I guess the probability of this is not very high.
If there is a desire to bargain - it is better not to indicate the price, but to designate - “I can’t name the price, clarification of details is required”.
4. Now the main thing - the price. Of course, there are customers like "Oriental people" who try to reduce any price several times. This is normal.
A simple case - trading goes around the project with 100% detail. There are no recipes, the freelancer himself is determined by his personal factors - loading, the need for money, etc.
Difficult case - the trade goes around the project, which has 1-2 lines in the description, and the price is already fixed to 1 dollar. This, you see, is rather strange :)
For example, the customer’s budget is $ 100, but I want 200. In this case, you can refine the details of the project - there are a lot of things that are not critical for the customer, but you can save money during development. For example, to use a site that is not personally programmed, but to take a ready-made engine. Or for the customer is not necessary source codes. Or reduce the amount of work due to non-essential functionality for the customer. Or use third-party components and libraries.
In this case, an important point - the customer has a problem and a budget. He needs a solution to the problem that falls into the budget. Almost always the customer will be happy if the problem is solved by 70-90%. Satisfied if the problem is solved by 50-70%. You can find out the basis of the problem and propose a solution that falls into the budget. If necessary, the missing functions will then be ordered to the freelancer for some money.
5. It is also useful to know how the project will be used - for internal use or for distribution. If the internal use with 1-2 installations, then some things can be greatly optimized or cut down - for example, develop under one operating system, use opensource components, remove the installer. Which will certainly affect the price.
If the product is planned to be distributed “to the side”, then immediately it is worth offering (and explaining why) support for different operating systems (XP / Vista / 7), clarifying the use of licensed components, thinking about the installer and updates. The customer will be pleased to see such activity and interest in the high-quality implementation of the project.
6. I really want the freelancer to ask the customer more questions on the essence of the task. I didn’t “eat the brain”, but I would strive to understand what exactly the customer needs. This is very stimulating to continue working with such a freelancer.
The only thing is there is a chance to accidentally convince the customer that either he does not need this project, or the task can be solved without a freelancer :)
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/77776/
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