Of the many things I’m learning running my own design studio, is how difficult the sales process can be. At first, it all seems pretty straightforward. Once you start to tap into your network of connections, pitch your services well, you start getting a significant amount of leads. However, the leads are the easy part. They’re just ‘soft’ interest, much like when you walk into a bike store with no true intention of buying a bike — you’re just looking.

The hard part of sales is closing. A.B.C — always be closing. You need to get potential clients to “sign on the line which is dotted” as quickly as possible, to secure paying work for your firm. Yet to get this to happen, you need to imagine yourself in your client’s shoes.

Thinking like a client

If you’re a small business, in need of a website, it’s very difficult these days to locate solid talent. Most likely you don’t have a large enough budget to hire a true agency, and yet the ‘low-end’ of the market is incredibly hard to sort through — who’s talented, and who isn’t? Who’s professional, meets deadlines, and will be there to assist me with future work? Right now, in our market, there are very few signaling channels for small design firms to communicate and connect with clients. Despite vast social networks, the vast majority of leads are still generated word of mouth recommendations.

Again, thinking like a client, the biggest issue is risk and its effect on your return on investment. If you ‘overpay’ for a site by signing with a less than stellar designer and paying a premium, you’ll have made a weak investment — yet if you take a more conservative strategy and underpay, you’re much more likely to end up with a half-baked site. In fact, the only real time a client has an honest chance to evaluate a firm is during contract negotiation. However, this is often times the riskiest time for a design shop as well — they’re simultaneously evaluating the client.

Protecting yourself, and still closing

As a design studio, it’s incredibly risky to take on client’s with tight budgets or poor communication skills. You may have to leave the project, or end up taking a significant loss for your time. However, even the best clients can send mixed signals during negotiation — they’re trying to mitigate their own risk and this oftentimes comes of as cagey or suspicious. Many times, they won’t reveal a true budget. While all of these are red-flags, if you heed them all you’ll never close or sign a single contract.

The strategy that I’m finding most successful, as I work on more and more projects is that being clear, confident and professional during negotiation makes the process easier for everyone. Know your limits on budget, and announce them first thing into negotiations — don’t ever wait. Always explain your work as conservatively as possible, and only discuss the features and value as it applies to the client’s project. It is always, always preferable to undersell and over-deliver. Your clients will appreciate your honesty and clarity, and be more transparent discussing their own limits and goals. The more you can sympathize with their situation (and be fully aware of your own), the easier and more fun it will be to close more projects and kick-off great work.