Here's a look into the strategy and emails that won me my first $10k+ website development contract. #freelance #webdev



(1/14)

I received an email from a previous client of mine introducing me to a colleague of theirs (both in the Real Estate industry).



(2/14)

We set up a phone call.



(3/14)

On the phone call, I steered the conversation toward addressing the main 2-3 gripes they have with their current website and how they hope a new website could solve their problems.



(4/14)

I put a simple quote together and sent it their way. No proposal (yet).



(5/14)

Here's the full quote.



(6/14)

After seeing the quote, they had a question or two about integrating the website with their CRM so they could funnel leads to their team. They were a little skeptical about how this would work since their CRM doesn't have a great API, so I prepared a proposal.



(7/14)

Here's the proposal (all two pages of it..)



(8/14)

Okay. With the proposal submitted, now we wait... If I don't hear back, I typically hold off 3-4 days before checking in.



(9/14)

It was a busy summer.. and well... that 3-4 days turned into 3-4 weeks.. But finally, I checked in.



(10/14)

I pushed for a call since things move slowly when your only communication is through email. During the call, they were still pretty hung up on the CRM integration piece. I offered to bite off a small 'discovery' phase to work through this roadblock.



(11/14)

I'm a HUGE fan of a paid discovery phase. Not only does it steer a project in the right direction from the start, but the client is now financially invested in you. Even though this one was only a few hundred dollars, it was very unlikely they'd walk away.



(12/14)

The 'Discovery' phase got approved! I got to work and I put my findings together in a short document, along with an invoice for my time.

*Tip* Offer to credit the discovery balance toward the full project price should they move forward with your services.



(13/14)

And there it is- 3 months and a whole bunch of emails later, the news I'd been hoping for!

Conclusion: Deals, especially bigger ones, can take a long time to close. Hang in there, and find ways to get over whatever is blocking them from moving forward. Good luck!

(14/14)