[thelist] Convincing the client to change hosts

[Kasimir K]

Hello Alex

Ah, clients, they are tricky little beasts to program... But if you 
leave your own feelings out, and arm yourself with some cool common 
sense, it's a lot easier.

> I have a client who is adamant that he is staying with the BT hosting.
...
> How do i go about convincing him its worth the trouble of changing hosts?

First you find out what are the reasons your client wants to stay with 
BT, what he thinks or feels he gets from BT that he likes. Make a list 
of these reasons/thoughts/feelings. Then you one by one go through that 
list, and tell your client how each item is covered/dealt better with a 
proper host, and prove your points too. E.g:
He says: "BT is cheap", you say: "Other hosts are cheaper, look at these 
price lists".
He says: "BT is reliable", you say: "Other hosts are more reliable, look 
at these independent studies"
etc.

Don't accept ambiguous reasons, but insist breaking them down to 
explicit reasons. E.g:
He says: "BT is good", you say: "How good a host is depends on many 
factors, and on your needs. Please specify."

> If i cant, do i change clients (!?!)

If what your client wants can be done with BT, then do it. If doing it 
with BT is more difficult than with a proper host, tell your client you 
must charge more.

If your client wants things, that are impossible with BT, tell him that 
he must either change what he wants, or change host. If he refuses to do 
either, then you are unable to deliver what he wants, and in this case, 
you obviously can not have him as a client.

Of course one thing to keep in mind is how many new clients are knocking 
behind your door...

hth,
.kasimir