Web Design Business Rule #1 - Don’t Pitch the Bitch
February 25th, 2008
I was in Sydney a few weeks ago running some SEO training and I caught up with a web designer friend of mine. He mainly deals in small to medium businesses and builds web sites in the $6-10k price range.
Anyway, we were discussing the topic of difficult clients at which point he said: “It took me a year or so to work it out, but the golden rule is ‘don’t pitch the bitch.’
When I asked him what he meant he told me about a cult movie called Boiler Room.
In one of the scenes in this movie a rookie stock trader is being trained in the art of selling stocks on the phone.
The conversation in this scene goes:
Trainer: Don’t pitch the bitch.
Rookie: Wh-what?
Trainer: Don’t pitch the bitch! We don’t make deals with women. If the stock points fall she’ll call you every day. And God forbid if the stock points go up she’ll call you every 15 minutes. Don’t pitch the bitch.
Rookie: Ok ok don’t pitch the bitch.
This web designer told me that in his opinion, female sole traders were a nightmare to deal with. He said they can’t make up their minds, they make constant “final” changes, they want it all for nothing and they ask constant questions about process rather than defining exactly what they want.
They also have a nasty habit by getting hundreds of opinions from their friends, all who seem to be experts in web design, colour schemes, business processes and the going rates for web design services.
Often they don’t know what they want, but they do know what they don’t want - once you’ve done it.
He went on to say that to discourage such clients he often adds a $700 premium to his web design quotes. If they accept it fine, he’s being paid for all the rework, hassle and scope-creep. If they don’t accept the quote then fine also. He figures he’s better off without them.
When I asked him about women in partnership with their husband or other business partner, he said: “no problems. I haven’t had any problems with women who are a partner in a business or work for a business. It’s the sole traders, be they life coaches, photographers, florists, personal trainers, IT consultants, accountants, solicitors or retailers who seem to generate the most pain.
He added that the absolute worst potential client was the Female Internet Dreamer , the woman with a great idea for getting rich online, no money and no experience in business. He sends these “prospects” to his web design competitors. “You’re probably better off contacting the XYZ Web Emporium, they love clients with good ideas like you.”
Who’s your nightmare client? What is common about them? Who are your best clients? Have you found that the more you charge, the easier they are to work with?
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Yes, sad but true. Don’t pitch the bitch. I like the idea of quoting more - shake them off politely, or get paid for the extra rework. Way to go Dude !
I heard a guy called Merv Neal discuss the fact that you should define the make-up of your ideal client, a good client, an adequate client, a strategic client and a bad client with a view to shooting the bad ones and pitching your marketing effort to the good and adequate clients in the hope of turning them into an ideal clients. That does it for me.
I had a mate who was a fencer. He use to put 10% on top of every quote on the basis that 1 in 10 clients would hassle him about his work and never pay. Some people are never satisfied and want you to come back time and time again and will hold onto the money until they believe the job has been finished to their satisfaction. The 10% rule meant that he could avoid their calls and not worry about not getting paid.
It is true! Actually I think most sole trader’s, not only bitches
can be troublesome. The solution is either not to take up the work or get realistic about the expectations upfront (and they will go away faster than you think)
Interesting reading. Very inaccurate in my opinion though. I am a female trader and have encountered equal doses of decisiveness amongst both men and women. Good to see sexism is still alive and well though. Keep up the good work.