By Chris Lahey
Friday, June 05, 2009
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Client Relationships
Every time that you win a bid with a client, you are not just getting money from them. You are creating a relationship that is not unlike a relationship that you would develop with a friend or a loved one. There are unspoken and spoken rules of conduct and there are also obligations that must be met in order for the relationship, and ultimately the project to be a success.
Starting Off On The Right Foot
I've been in the web design and development business for almost 10 years, long enough to see many of these such relationships come and go. Some are one time things, and some are lasting partnerships. With all of the different types of projects and relationships, there is one thing that remains the same. And that is the position with which you start the relationship. In order for any project to be a success, the relationship has to be initiated from a position of strength. And more importantly, it must be beneficial for both parties. The money might only flow one way, but there is an equal and opposite energetic response to that check.
I've seen companies in the past that would do anything for a check. They would lie, mislead, and sell you up the river and back again. I've also seen companies underbid the first project and then attempt to get the money back in future projects. There is no room for prospecting in client-based work. I've seen companies set up with an amazingly large gulf in between the sales and development departments. Sales always over promises which in turns causes the development team to under deliver. This cycle always exists to the detriment of the project and the client relationship.
Know Yourself
Bidding is never fun. You do your best to come up with the most appropriate solution for the client and hope that you hit the mark; one that is going to achieve their goals and will also be beneficial for you as a design/development company. Every now and then, a project comes across your desk that appears to be the makings of a great relationship. However, there are a few things that you must be cautious of that can sour an otherwise great relationship.
In order to function with clients you need to have a solid understanding of who you are and who you are not. This applies to you as an individual and also to you as a company. In the courting phase, pre contract signing, you need to be able to put your best face forward. And you'll also need to stand your ground when you're boundaries are pushed. If you don't have a solid understanding of yourself, your business, and your product the client will pick up on this and the relationship may never have the chance to come to fruition.
Cheap, Fast, & Good - Juggling Expectations
Every relationship starts off with predefined expectations. Managing them is paramount to navigating a successful project. Does the client have unrealistic expectations? Are they asking for too much work for the budget? Do they have extremely tight deadlines? The old saying applies now just as it did then: "There are three things a project can be: cheap, fast, and good. But you can only have two."
You can have it cheap and fast, but it won't be good. And you can have it fast and good, but it sure isn't going to be cheap.
These Boots Were Made For Walkin'
If a client is demanding that they get all three. Walk away. No project or relationship that is founded on those expectations is worth it and it will never result in a quality product. Furthermore, you will be setting a precedent that will never be able to be broken with that particular client. And when the next project for that client comes along, you will be stuck in the same unprofitable mode that you were in with the first project. Knowing when to let a project pass you by can is a tough lesson to learn. However, it will define you as an individual and it will define you as a competent and ethical business.
To sum it all up, working with clients is like dating. Be open, be honest, and be true to yourself. It could lead to something amazing.
By Chris Lahey
Friday, April 03, 2009
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We just launched our new website yesterday evening. Launching is always a frantic event. No matter how much you pre-plan, it always seems to be a frenzy of last minute To-Do's that make a launch an especially stressful event. It took us about 6 months from the moment we decided to do a redesign to get it launched. Take into consideration that we were doing client work concurrently. The standard "cobbler's family with no shoes" syndrome.
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By Chris Olberding
Thursday, October 30, 2008
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Recently I was asked by a university student studying web design if they could interview me as part of a class project. I agreed, however I was too busy for a phone interview so I ended up responding in length to a set of questions in writing. I believe a much of what I wrote would be applicable to all design students interested in web design so I'm posting my interview here.
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By Chris Lahey
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
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Over the past few days I've been going back and forth with the support team at Mosso. They are great by the way. However, we couldn't seem to find a solution for the problem that I was having. I needed to return 301 redirects for .html pages and have them redirect to their proper .aspx pages in a newly redesigned website.
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By Admin
Monday, September 01, 2008
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Regarding the compilation of notions of a one Terry Barrett on Artworlds and Definitions:
I think writing of a personal experience, and of the opinion that I am loosely grasping as of this moment, when it comes to the definition of art, would perhaps be more interesting for you. That is, rather than simply regurgitating what this one, I’m sure very competent and credible art critic, Mr. Barrett, has to say on the subject.
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By Chris Lahey
Saturday, August 30, 2008
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I had a rather frustrating experience today that was worth mentioning.
At Station Four, we deal with a number of website hosting companies. Some are better than others, but for the most part, they are all the same. I'll take a moment here and describe a scenario that, in all my years or development, has happend more times than I can remember. Seeing as how we do almost all of our work from scratch, we often have a database driven application that we have running on our servers during development. When it comes time to launch, depending on the client's preferences, we begin to push the code and the database to the preferred production servers.
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On Wednesday I receive a call in the office from someone telling me that they are with Google and needed to confirm my address on my local business listing. The caller had a thick accent and their phone connection kept dropping. After confirming my address it seems that the caller wants to call back later in the week. Through the garbled connection he asks if Friday at 2pm would be okay. I say sure.
On Thursday I ignore a call from an 800-number, the speaker leaves a message trying to confirm something for Friday at 2pm without mentioning her company or a callback number. I shrug it off.
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By Admin
Monday, August 11, 2008
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“About four or five years ago something came over me and I just had to paint all the time.”
As tempting as it may be to interject with a quick and spirited “that’s what she said”, followed by an I-just-can’t-help-myself, shit-eating grin, I’ll restrain myself.
Reluctantly.
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By Admin
Friday, August 01, 2008
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I feel I should make a kind of introduction of sorts before moving forward with such an outward display of my own personal reflections relevant to the team at Station Four.
Time and again, with weary consideration, I mull and brood over this thing called Art. And a broody brood I am at that. This whole love/hate relationship I’ve developed over the years spent surrounded, touched, and ultimately wounded by my beloved Art, with prospects now of permanent scarring, has left me with quite a stranglehold on this one single quote…
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What do you do when search results for your name or company prominently returns results that contain negative or otherwise undesireable infomation? Can you remove these from the search index or otherwise prevent interested parties in uncovering the information contain therein?
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