Perhaps the most disheartening experience that we’ve seen our clients go through is mistakenly hiring a developer or firm that isn’t capable of fulfilling a project’s requirements. If you’ve worked in web development for any time at all, you’ve probably gone through this too. You probably had to be the one to tell a client that it’s going to cost them more money to maintain and expand a broken app than it would cost them to just start over. Watching someone realize that they’ve been ripped off is excruciating, and consequently, there is a strong tendency to feel animosity towards the individuals or companies that have put clients in such predicaments.
At Match Strike, we follow a simple rule to prevent our company from ever becoming one of the bad apples in our industry: We say ‘No!’ to our clients and we say it loud.
The Can-do Attitude
At a recent BarCamp event that Rex and I attended, a CEO from a local development firm gave a presentation about how he runs his company. He talked at length about presenting yourself to clients as an authority on as many technical matters as possible to increase the likelihood of additional contract leads in the future. He went on to say that developers should do whatever it takes to satisfy the client’s needs, even if it means learning new technologies. Based on the examples of success and profit that the CEO cited, it seemed obvious that he wasn’t recommending disclosing to the client a lack of experience in anything, ever.
This is exactly the wrong approach and it’s unethical to boot. Every time you do what the well-intentioned CEO suggested, you’re gambling with your client’s time and money. If you’re going to employ this strategy, you should, at the very least, fully disclose to your clients that you’d be using their contract as a learning opportunity. At Match Strike, if we’ve determined a strategic need to learn the technology in question and we have a strong relationship with the client, we’ll fully disclose the extent of our related experience and we’ll offer a discount to make it worth their while to give us the contract anyway. Otherwise, we’ll say ‘No!’
Say ‘No!’ and Say it Loud
Every time you swallow your pride and admit to a client that you’re not capable of fulfilling a need, you’ve demonstrated that you’re looking out for their best interests, that you’re not just saying whatever it takes to get them to sign a contract, and that you’re not willing to take their needs lightly. This is how you build trust.
Of course, saying ‘No!’ still leaves the client with an unfulfilled need. Match Strike maintains a decent sized network of sub-contractors that are way smarter than us when it comes to certain technologies. When we can’t get something done internally, we’ll explain that to our client and then we’ll try to find the right person or company and bring them into the fold. Not only does this provide us with opportunities to learn from experts, but we can take solace in the fact that adequately meeting our client’s need is much less of a gamble.
Admittedly, building a network of contractors is easier said than done. In my case, I was fortunate enough to spend years hand-picking and training the best new talent in the central Florida area, allowing me to build a long list of developers I can trust to get a job done. If you haven’t had similar opportunities, it’s time to start networking. Go to meet-ups, BarCamps, and engage people online. If you’re not surrounding yourself with people that are smarter than you, then you’re probably in trouble.
Our methodology may seem less lucrative because of how much it typically costs to out-source work, but generally speaking, it’s the right thing to do. In addition, we significantly reduce the risk of client dissatisfaction, allowing us to establish longer lasting, stronger relationships with our customers. The possibility of recurring payoffs and referrals in the future is potentially much more lucrative than risking a client relationship for a little bonus income in the short-term. That’s a gamble we can live with.