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Client Acquisition and
Onboarding: A Case Study
The Freelance Developer’s Definitive Guide
http://margreffell.com/hacker-you-freelance/
Finding Your Niche
Narrowing down your field of practice is often
avoided because people don’t want to
EXCLUDE potential clients.
Don’t be afraid! Clients will actually gravitate
towards professionals who excel in one key
area.
Finding Your Niche
Example:
If you were a hairstylist who was solely a
colourist, and only worked with females that
wanted to achieve the perfect shade of
blonde…
Super specific === higher demand & specialty
rates
Example Niches That Need Experts
● Wordpress
● Javascript
● PHP
● e-Commerce
● CRM Platforms
● Membership Portals
● Forums
● SEO & Analytics
● Forms
● Responsive/Mobile
● HTML5 video/audio
● System Integration
● Landing Pages
● Sales Pages
Narrowing Your Niche
You can also hone in on exactly the kind of
client you want to work with within that
niche.
Example: You could work only on wedding
websites that allow online RSVP’s and gift
purchasing from a registry.
Where do you find clients???
● Meetups
● Cold Calls
● Referrals
● Organic Google Search
● Social Gatherings
● Social Media
● Referring Links (your link at the bottom of site)
● Stalking - We’ll talk about this one, it’s my fave
● Retreat/Mastermind/Conference Groups
● Teaching/Mentoring
Most Effective Ways To Get Clients
All of the ways we’ve discussed can
have various degrees of efficacy.
Let’s dive into the top 3 ways to
utilize each technique for optimal
results!
Technique 1 ~ Meetups
● Go to meetups that are NOT in your
industry, but rather in your target industry
● On introduction, tell them exactly what you
do. This is where practice for your elevator
pitch comes in.
● Have stories, anecdotes and jokes
prepared. Be direct and don’t linger.
Technique 2 ~ Cold Calls
Cold Calls no longer just mean that you have
to sit in front of the phonebook and start
dialing.
“Cold Calling” can be a really warm and
friendly experience, and it now comes in many
forms.
Technique 2 ~ Cold Calls Pt. 2
● Free informative presentations and
workshops (similar to this one)
● Calling up businesses that you are invested
in and make them an offer (a local cafe, or
charity)
● Contacting a person/ business you have a
rapport with (past employer, family friend)
Technique 3 ~ Referrals
This is the Golden Goose of any Budding
business.
● Don’t be afraid to ask for testimonials
● Tap into a community that has obvious lack
of high end websites (ie: Massage
Therapists, hairstylists)
● Offer financial kickbacks ** tread lightly
Technique 4 ~ Organic Google Search
● Blog consistently about once per weeks
● Use google keyword search tool to find
topics
● Video blogs with transcription
● Well coded up-to-date website
● Comment engagement
● Social media engagement and sharing
Technique 5 ~ Social Gatherings
● Have your 30 second intro down!
● Instead of a card, get them to follow you on
Twitter (or IG)
● Ask people questions about what they do,
and offer suggestions when appropriate.
● Offer value, make a strong impact and a
prompt exit.
● Don’t get too drunk
Technique 6 ~ Social Media
● Take screencaps of your fave work and post
pics on twitter, IG
● Ask questions and create social engagement
● Ask potential clients what their pain points
are - shows you care about their needs
● Share things that are genuinely helpful, not
self-serving
Technique 7 ~ Referring Links
● Volunteer to be a guest blogger on other
websites your core demographic reads
● Ask clients if you can attach a link to your
website in their footer
● Volunteer for Podcasts and interviews
● Comment frequently on the blogs you love
and your potential clients are reading.
Offer insight and help, don’t troll
Technique 8 ~ Stalking your Heros
The importance of a mentor is huge! Reach
out to those you admire, and offer whatever
you can .
● Tweet and email them. Chances are they’re
super busy, offer to take some work off
their hands.
● Blow them away with your incredible work!
Technique 9 ~ Conferences/Retreats
● Connects you with colleagues that have
different areas of expertise
● Learn from the experiences of others
● Make global connections that often
translate into leads
● Shows people you are serious about what
you do and you invest time and money in
building your skills and business.
Technique 10 ~ Teaching/Mentoring
● Allows you to practice the technical
explanation of events. Translates to better
client communications
● Positions you as an expert
● Shows that you are passionate, and that
development is not “just a job” for you
● Helping people pays off in spades #karma
Onboarding New Client Process
● Automation vs. Individual Attention
● Creating a System of responses to cater to
most common questionso Gravity Intake forms
o Automated emails or mailing list addition
o Templated auto-replies
o Typeform
o Establish Core questions for interview
Top Questions to ask in intake form
1. Do you currently have a website?
2. What is the primary objective of your
website - checkboxes
3. What industry are you in - select list
4. Do you have a design, or do you need full
design/development? - yes/no
Top Questions to ask in intake form
5. What is your expected Timeline? Is the
launch of your site dependant on any
external factors (ie: a book launch, live
workshop…) - select list w/text box
6. What range does your budget fall within?
Top Questions to ask in intake form
Note: People are much more likely to select a
range from a list of options than to say exact
numbers out loud #truth
These 5 allow you to scan prospects for fit.
Top Questions to Ask in person
This is your chance to dig deep. Get to know
the persons ambition, goals and offer
technical insight into how they can accomplish
them.
Top Questions to Ask in person
1. Where is your business now? ie: blog
frequency, followers, mailing list, product
offers
2. Where do you see your company in 2 years?
3. What Features do you want included on
your site?
Top Questions to Ask in person
4. On average, how many pages would your
site need?
5. Do you want the ability to update the site
yourself? Or, should all of the content be
set and static?
Let’s Get Started!!
Case Study Info
35 Male ~ Troy
Baker who owns a brick and mortar gourmet
doughnut shop.
No Online Presence
Wants to start catering to Parties/Events and
Baker Troy
Social functions.
Troy wants to allow people to order his
doughnuts online
Let’s Check out his questionnaire answers...
Baker Troy
1. Currently has a website built in flash made
by WIX troysdoughnuts.com
2. Primary Objective: Sell physical products
3. Industry - Restaurant/Hospitality
4. Needs a Design
5. 1 - 3 months. No dependencies
6. $2,000 - $5,000
Baker Troy ~ In person interview
1. Physical store with regular sales. Website is
just static page with contact info.
2. Cater gourmet doughnuts to large events.
allow online orders for events.
3. e-commerce, online payments, email list,
google maps, blog, contact form, slider,
pop-up box for featured products.
Baker Troy ~ In person interview
4. approx 5 pages
5. Ability for kids to update with ease.
Any extra features ?????
Maybe instagram
Baker Troy ~ Proposal Preparation
● Keeping options within range
● He is willing to go with the design of a PSD
template
● Wants “clean and simple” looking design
● Built on CMS - most likely wordpress
● Expects about 1 - 2 online orders per week
max.
Proposal Components
● Executive Summary
● Mutual Security - Mutual NDA
● Scope/Expectations
● Description Of Process
● Timeline
● Payment Schedule/Deposit
● Additional “Out of Scope” fees
● Software Training
Proposal Components
● Sitemap (optional)
● What’s not included - ie: hosting
● Browser compatibility
● Device compatibility - responsive?
● Deliverables
● Final Ownership of assets and final site
● Case Study/Testimonial Clause
● Final Quote Range
Executive Summary
● Identifies how the site currently exists
● Outlines the final goals that the site will
achieve on completion
● Outline best software to be used (CRM,
CMS)
Mutual Security ~ NDA
When credit card and banking information is
being collected from the end user and you
need access to your client accounts, this
protects both of your interests.
Online transactions can be high risk. Cover
your butt!!
Scope/Expectations
This may be the most important. Be extremely
clear about the functionality that you can
supply.
More importantly, be extremely clear about
what is not included! (ie: compatibility wth
older browsers…)
Description of Processes
Break it into easy-to-understand short bullet
points
● Discovery
● Design
● Development
● Deployment
Timeline
When establishing a timeline, always base it
on expectations of them getting their content
to you on time
“Providing you get all of your content within
the first 30 days, our estimated launch date is
(blank). Deadlines are subject to extend based
on delayed content.”
Payment Schedule/Deposit
Ensure that you outline the milestones on
which payment will be received, and how long
they have to make payment (5 - 10 business
days is reasonable)
If additional features are added on, additional
costs are typically added to the final payment.
Payment Schedule/Deposit
My typical payment schedule looks like this.
● Deposit to reserve timeline:
$500 - $1,000 depending on project
● 30% on commencement
● 30% on launch to testing server
● 40% on launch to live server
Additional “Out of Scope” Fees
Scope creep happens on every project no
matter how diligent you are in the interview
process. Remember to be upfront with the
client when their scope begins to increase, or
content is long overdue.
Be clear in the documentation, so you can
always refer back!
Additional “Out of Scope” Fees
Examples of “out of scope fees” could include
● Keep Alive fee - for projects that take way
too long to get content
● Additional features (API integration) billed
on top of project
● Live POS to replace current in-store system
Software Training
What kind of follow up are you offering to
your client. Have they use this software
before? My training schedule looks like this.
● 3 - 5, 3 min videos for reference (private)
● 14 days of support following launch to fix
anything (can include up to 2 days in person
● 30 days of email support following launch
Sitemap
It can give a client a much more visual
representation of your work if you can plan
out their site including their customer
interactions and the pages.
Wireframe/sitemap or a mix if the two.
What’s Not Included?
It’s important to point out to the client what
is not included in your quote, so they are clear
that there are usually extra expenses
associated with the website.
Don’t assume anything!
Examples of What’s not included
● Costs of Hosting
● Copywriting
● Stock Photography Costs
● Additional Software (premium plugins)
● Specialty Hosts (Shopify)
● Website Maintenance Beyond Launch
● Theme Costs
Browser/Device Compatibility
Be explicit about what is supported and what
is not.
If you are doing a responsive design, make
sure what Operating Systems you will be
supporting/testing for
Deliverables
Similar to scope and expectations, but I prefer
to write out an explicit list of
● What software will be implemented (or
options of potential software)
● What they will be able to do with the site
● What is supported, and how it will be
optimized
Final Ownership of site/Assets
Do the final designs/website belong to you or
does everything become the property of the
client on final payment.
I prefer to give a “conditional transfer of
ownership” See next slide...
Testimonials/Case Studies
Conditional transfer of ownership.
The clients retains complete ownership of the
site and all of the assets, under the condition
that I can use their site as a care study, and
any approved statements of praise as
testimonials.
Final Quote
There are a couple ways to reach a final quote
1. Hourly Based - an approximation of hours
that the project will take multiplied by
your hourly rate.
2. Value Based - A quote is created based on
the company’s projected potential revenue
and streamlining.
Final Quote ~ Hourly Based
Pros
● Easy Calculation to explain to clients
● Standardized and Objective
Cons
● It usually takes longer than estimated hours
● Customers start “removing” hours to cut
costs.
Final Quote ~ Value Based
Pros
● Based on the value
● Ability to charge more and iterate to come
up with the best solution
Cons
● Less quantifiable - more subjective
● Harder to explain to clients
Thank You!
margreffell.com
@margreffell
http://margreffell.com/hacker-you-freelance/