Recently I had to make a decision on which landscaping contractor to go with. I had a lot of work that needed to be done and several businesses to select from, but we narrowed it down to two.
The first was a well-established but pricey business with good reputation and several employees, however, they also had a not-so-personable and hard to get a hold of owner. The other was a smaller business that wasn‘t so established and probably fewer employees, but they had a more personable owner who was easy to get a hold of and happy to meet in person in person and give free advice.
I asked Brian whom he thought I should go with. He said, “Go with the small guy.” I asked him why he thought that was the best solution considering the amount of work I needed done. Brian went on to explain that the big reputable business looks at you as “a job” where the smaller business looks at you as “a client.”
He went on to say, “You‘ll get better quality work, more open communication, and probably even a more affordable quote from the smaller guy.”
The interesting thing is that is where my gut was going but I did have a sense of nervousness going with someone so small and that he wasn‘t already booked with work. It‘s not an easy decision to make when you‘re talking about spending thousands of dollars or more on a project. Much like a web Project, you don‘t always want to go with the most affordable guy on the block.
Building Trust
Aside from just selecting a business to go with based on common metrics (price, quality, availability, manpower, etc.) you also need to look at some of the more critical issues when it comes to communication such as your trust with the business, your relationship with your contacts at that business, the contact‘s ability to hear you out as well as provide guidance. Plainly put, who can you trust?
I don‘t say these things lightly here. Trust is a very important factor with doing business. Trust is not something that can be built overnight. It is something that is formed from the first glance you make when meeting someone (see Malcolm Gladwell‘s book, Blink). As they say, first impressions count.
Showing Up
My gut was telling me to go with the small guy because he was more personable than anyone we had worked with. He seemed to be just as well versed as any of the others, and more importantly he showed up.
I was surprised at the number of contractors I worked with who didn‘t bother to show up at the job site a second time and personally hand deliver their quote or to go over the details of the project and any questions that came up.
Not every business can afford to send their people out to the job site just to close a deal but showing up and just meeting people face to face really goes a long way in building a good business relationship. When possible always try to meet with the client face to face. As a professional you want to shake your clients hand when they agree to choose your firm for the project.
Remember, you‘re in the service industry
Working in a service industry means that your business relationships need to be reciprocal. In order to get something from the client you must be willing to give something, or in some cases give up something. Sometimes it‘s well worth it, other times it isn‘t. To the client the same is true. This is why it‘s just as important, if not more important to listen as much as it is to talk.
Developing a business relationship with your client is something more than just taking and giving up involves showing respect for one another. You should respect the client as an expert in their business, likewise the client should respect you as an expert in the web industry. If that respect isn‘t there the project will amount to nothing more than a big tug-of-war battle… a lot of pushing and pulling and little reward to show for it.
While the some say the customer is always right, you as an expert have the right to explain the customer is not always the CEO, the customer of a web site is often the client‘s customer. So don‘t be afraid to actually ask the customer what their needs are even if they contradict the client‘s needs (the business goals). Sometimes learning about the customer‘s needs opens new doors and new ways to look at solving old problems.
Pulling it all together
Ultimately picking the right business to work with is a two way street and price and quality are only two factors to consider. The factors often overlooked are trust, respect, good communication, and just showing up. Treat your clients as respected equals in the business relationship and you can‘t go wrong wether you‘re building a web application or just planting some sod. The right amount of nurturing and that business relationship will grow into other business relationships and future projects.
I had a similar situation when it came to selecting an inspecter for my condo. One was very personalable and easy to communicate with and willing to work with my shedule even if it meant having to give the job to another person. The others were gruff and really left me feeling cold, especially when I started to get the hard sell.
I went with my gut and with the the guy who was more personable; it worked out great. He made sure I got everything I needed covered and worked with me on the price since it’s not a large condo. He even did allot of things that went beyond spec at no charge.
The whole experience was great and I never doubted my decision.
I recently had to choose between three patio contractors. In my case the large, expensive firm had the personable owner and the mid-price firm was fronted by a guy who was OK, but a bit disorganized. The price disparity was great enough that I went with mid-price firm (which does adequate work) but I’ve been recommending the high-end firm to friends who are planning fancier projects than mine.
Interestingly, when I emailed the high-end firm to explain that while I liked their quality, I couldn’t afford it for my particular job, he emailed back. In his email, he thanked me for responding to the bid — apparently lots of people ask for bids, and then never acknowledge them.