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Advice Needed Today: Client wants to retain me for 90 days!

by marketingrep4u
3 replies
Hello Offliners.

I have a client that wants to retain me for 90 days. This is SUPER good news, since revenue is down.

Originally, he wanted to hire me to revamp his website. He's very SEO savvy and has done all his own SEO and ranks really well for his keywords, as well as the fact that he's making some great money selling his product to home owners online.

I provided him with 3 package options. Each of those options would have been done in 8 weeks per my standard project management flow for any large website. (His site has over 100 pages with video, illustrations, and ecommerce.)

The third option included some desktop video production and other content creation, as well as 3 additional landing pages. I quoted him $21,640 for this option which would be completed in 8 weeks.

He's asking for 12 weeks of my attention (40hrs per week) to do all of this and then some. He wants me to start researching the profitable rabbit trails and create new micro sites that all lead to him.

In essence, he wants the third option plus some additional offline marketing work.

The advice I'm looking for is about pricing.

Right now, my plan is to ask for $32,460 for the entire 12 weeks to be paid out weekly or bi-weekly.

Here's how I came up with this number: 3rd option: $21,640 for 8 weeks of work = $2,705 per week.

He needs me for 12 weeks: 12 x $2,705 = $32,460

Am I going about this the correct way? I don't want to over price myself and at the same time I don't want to under price myself.

Also, I realize this is only a 90 day gig, but I don't want this client to think he owns me, leaving me in a place where I can't work with other clients.

I really don't want to screw this up, since this client would be my biggest account, ever.

Your thoughts?

Rich
#advice #client #days #needed #retain #today
  • Profile picture of the author MaxReferrals
    Well, I think more than the $$ figures is going to be complete details
    on what he's getting for that money. So I presume you already
    have that listed out in the RFP you're providing him.

    That's important to also protect yourself, so you know exactly
    what services are being contracted and are within scope.

    Do a thorough job to to impress the guy; but also more importantly
    so you have a written doc that outlines services and deliverables,
    ideally with dates.

    And get it signed, BEFORE you start ANY work or accept any money.
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  • Profile picture of the author SmallBusinessCoach
    It was not clear if you will be working at the client's business or from your own.

    If the latter, then you should position yourself as a consultant, not an employee. As a contractor, you decide how you project manage and if you outsource any part of that work. If you work at the client's location in delivering the contract, you could be considered a short-term/interim employee, which may have implications for your own business and possibly tax issues.

    You had not mentioned if you have ongoing client obligations or it's just new clients that you ar hoping to pick up. If ongoing obligations, you will need to think how you will meet those, or if you can take on new clients.

    I know your specific question was about pricing, but you may want to consider related issues in order to decide what will be your preferred pricing option.

    You indicated asking for payment on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, which suggests that a similar amount of work is done each week. Is this so?

    Pricing is an area of challenge for many, so you need to decide if you are merely selling your time or you are providing great value for your clients.

    Best wishes.

    Small Business Coach
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    Your Small Business Coach
    Find out how to set and achieve business goals with fewer pitfalls and save time:
    www.yoursmallbusinesscoach.co.uk

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    • Profile picture of the author jimbo13
      Okay, reading your post I will say 99% that he will think that he owns you for those 90 days.

      So whether you are at his premises or not he will expect you to be available to him.

      You need to clarify this before you continue if this is something you are not comfortable with.

      Dan
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