You want one of those clients who pays you well, gives you creative freedom, and also is cool with the deadlines you set. When I first started my business, it seemed like I had a ton of clients who were not paying me well, they didn't trust my creative perspective and expertise, and they also just wanted things done yesterday.

In client after client, I'd have different experiences like this, and I began to think “gosh, there's just a bunch of clients out there who are just not a lot of fun to work with.” I started to question whether or not this was a profession I really wanted to be in.

Then one day, I thought “could it really be all these clients are bad to work with or is there something I could do differently so they'd pay me what I was worth, trust and valued my creative perspective, and allow me to set the pace of work?”

I thought about it, and I realized the common denominator across those three things I wanted was the fact I had very little process around what I was doing which was visible to the client. So, I one day decided if I was going to change things, I needed to be more clear about the process I was going to deliver and communicate to a client.

Making the Creative Tangible

What I did was I created a highly documented process which showed the exact steps. I put together a binder where it helped a client understand exactly what the steps were going to be. That solved one problem, which was the timeline. They understood there were certain steps in a certain order and each aspect of the project took a certain amount of time. That got them on board.

I took something very intangible and made it a tangible process. When I was proposing my ideas and solutions to a prospective client, I was doing it very differently than anybody else. I was giving them something they could literally hold on to, and something that really set me apart from my competitors.

After making this change, I was able to ask for more money because there was certainty about what they were getting. They were no longer buying air, they were buying something tangible, and when somebody can buy something tangible, it gives them more confidence they're actually going to get the end result they want. The more certain somebody is about the result they're going to get, the more they are willing to pay. That is how I solved getting paid more.

What does Tangibility Get You?

As a result of having something tangible and having a written process they trusted, what came in the middle was a greater amount of trust around my creative perspective because I showed up to the project with a plan, with an idea, with something certain. Now clients were less likely to question my creative perspective.

If you are having clients give you a hard time, if you are having clients who are setting the schedule, if you are having clients who are not paying what you're worth or don't value your expertise or perspective, then it's likely you have a missing process. You have to put something in place which sets you apart, because if you’re doing it the same way as all the competitors in your space, then you can only charge what they're charging.

When you do it differently, when you show clients the process and make sure they understand there's a certain result, it totally changes things. Put a process into place. It's going to make a big difference in your business.

Want a Head Start?

We have put together a no-cost training that goes over how to design and frame your web design proposal document. We have refined our current process over the past 16 years after building thousands of websites for our customers. In this training, we will show you what to include in your proposal as well as what to say to get your prospective clients to buy.

Mike Schmidt
Founder
AgencyCoach