By Étienne Garbugli | October 6, 2010 | 0 Comment
The hardest contract to sign is the first.
Until you’re actually doing work for a client, your skill level and value are abstract notions; your sales tactics and supporting material won’t make your rates appear lower than they are. Seeing real results might.
If you see potential for repeat business with a client, reduce your fees on the first contract (lower rate or lower number of hours depending on what’s visible).
This will help establish the relationship, overcome the cost barrier and could be a great foot in the door (Robert Cialdini). Your regular costs won’t be an issue on following contracts once the value is demonstrated. This is tried, tested and true.
Etienne works at the intersection of Technology, Product Design and Marketing. He’s a three-time Startup Founder, a five-time entrepreneur, and a UX research expert. Etienne is also the Author of Lean B2B: Build Products Businesses Want. Lean B2B is a framework used by thousands of entrepreneurs & innovators to reduce the risk of their B2B ventures.
Everyone's an expert at something. Sometimes you're the expert, other times you're not but, that hat needs to be shared....