Just to poke my fat opinion in... I give discounts. But I make the client aware that they are receiving one.
My current method for providing a quote involves doing an initial interview for data gathering and needs assessment, followed by a quick IA mock-up of the site in question (this is purely for my benefit, as it helps me flesh out the sites structure much better, often a simple outline format is best). Once I have an idea of what pages will be needed on the client side, I decypher what pages will be needed on the server side to support these. After I have a full estimation of the pages going into the site, I estimate time on a page by page basis. Based on this, I provide the *potential* client with my quote including my total time to build the site, my rate per hour for that work, the total cost based on hours, and then and only then, after they see the FULL price tag, a discount is applied (if appropriate) and a discounted total is displayed.... this tends to give them a better perspective on what you're doing and for how much. I've never had anyone try to knock me down on a discounted price when presented like this. In the past, when my methodology for pricing a site was more along the lines of "eyeball and guess", I just presented a discounted price of what I thought they could afford, without any mention of normal price and several times had people try to get me to lower it yet again.... which at the time, I likely did, because I had no idea how much time it would take anyway... /me shudders at thoughts of the dark old days. In any case, I think giving a moderate discount to family, friends and regular business affiliates can sometimes be appropriate. I've also found that when you present it in a professional manner, everyone is happy and appreciative rather than greedy and combative. ttfn, Stephen On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 08:31:07 -0400, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > One thing that amazes me is that this guy would think that it was a > possibility to call me and ask me to lower my price. I wonder whether he > would do the same for a plumber or a doctor or a mechanic?? > > The truth is that he doesn't need a big website, if at all. He is a > divorce mediator and his clientele would be here in Columbus, OH. Most > of his clients don't use the internet, so apart from someone local > wanting to find out his contact info there is really no need for him to > have a website. I also do not want to work with someone who thinks they > can "bargain" - and I am not going to give people discounts anymore. At > least this was an "easy" lesson to learn. > > Thanks all, > Riva > > Riva Portman, MCIWD > Certified Webdesigner > Star Quality Designs > www.starqualitydesigns.com > > > > ____ ï The WDVL Discussion List from WDVL.COM ï ____ > To Join wdvltalk, Send An Email To: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Send Your Posts To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To set a personal password send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the words: "set > WDVLTALK pw=yourpassword" in the body of the email. > To change subscription settings to the wdvltalk digest version: > http://wdvl.internet.com/WDVL/Forum/#sub > > ________________ http://www.wdvl.com _______________________ > > You are currently subscribed to wdvltalk as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To unsubscribe via postal mail, please contact us at: > Jupitermedia Corp. > Attn: Discussion List Management > 475 Park Avenue South > New York, NY 10016 > > Please include the email address which you have been contacted with. > > ____ • The WDVL Discussion List from WDVL.COM • ____ To Join wdvltalk, Send An Email To: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Send Your Posts To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To set a personal password send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the words: "set WDVLTALK pw=yourpassword" in the body of the email. To change subscription settings to the wdvltalk digest version: http://wdvl.internet.com/WDVL/Forum/#sub ________________ http://www.wdvl.com _______________________ You are currently subscribed to wdvltalk as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe via postal mail, please contact us at: Jupitermedia Corp. Attn: Discussion List Management 475 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10016 Please include the email address which you have been contacted with.
