How Do I Get Work and How Do I Work?!
Tuesday, May 15th, 2007 |
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I had a call from Yell.com this morning asking me what I do and if I wanted to advertise on Yell.com.
I tried to get across that I develop bespoke (customised) solutions for customers and don’t really sell off-the-shelf packaged software, and that my experience of advertising in directories under sections like “Internet Services” and “Web Site Design” has not been great.
Even though such advertising has brought significant interest, I simply get the wrong type of client. For example; I’d get a shop asking me to their website and want to know a price. I tell the prospective customer that I cannot give a price until I have met them, understood what they do and how they work so that I can propose one or more solutions for them. But they still insist on a price over the phone or by email. I know I cannot give a price because I don;t know what I can do for them that will actually help their business. That’s when I realise I cannot help such a client.
Going back to the chap from Yell.com, when he asked me what keywords or categories would be most appropriate, I told him none (thinking that I have been to see people and companies with the intention of helping with web development or some type of IT service and have actually come out helping them safely get an individual from one country to another, managing investments, troubleshooting emotional problems or something very different from what most people’s knowledge about what I do.
Anyway, back to the chap from Yell.com, I said it’s not the keywords or the categories that get me work, it’s mostly other experiences of working with me that gets me referrals to prospective new clients. Also, it’s not what I do that’s important, but more so who want to work with me… How do I place an advert for that?!
And finally on this odd article, I asked a client to send me a testimonial which popped into my inbox just before starting this gibberish and you can read it here. I want to start adding more to testimonials and will start requesting them soon and if I get any more then I’ll publish them here.
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