[thelist] Advice on Getting That First Client

[Martin]

On Sunday, May 12, 2002, at 10:52  am, Ben Henick wrote:

>  5.  At any but the smallest companies, there will be political factors
>      beyond your control.

...and the smart way to approach it is to understand those factors
and if you can influence them your way, do. Otherwise you're somewhat
giving up before you start.

> 11.  Eighty percent of your work is demanded by twenty percent of your
>      clients - and usually not to the benefit of your bottom line.

and also 80% of your proft is generated by 20% of your clients. Your
job is to work out which 20% it is and give them the extra service
they've earned.

> 13.  Do not bow and scrape in the face of bad decisions... but don't
>      complain, either.  Your backbone is your most valuable asset.

but if it comes down to it, accept the decision, making damned sure
that you have it in writing as an instruction.

> However, the bad clients are easy to spot, if you know what to look
> and listen for.  They say things like:
>
> - "No, you are REQUIRED to use {name of tool}."

This *can* be OK, it depends on what the background for using
it is. So if you have a client who's spent big on an MS infrastructure,
you shouldn't be surprised if you get asked to use FrontPage. And
if you're going to be handing over stuff for them to maintain, it's
fair for them to ask that it be handed over in the file format they
use. Or if their systems people have decreed that {db/app server
of your choice} is out, just tough.

But all those situations are where the client has actually thought
about it.

Lots of good stuff there, Ben. Like Michele, I think there's definitely
a good article in it.

Cheers
Martin
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