14 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
14 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Important Meeting Tomorrow with My First Big Client- Advice Needed

by Ehanson
11 replies
I'm meeting with a very important client tomorrow to finalize a deal. This client is a large real estate firm here in Midtown Manhattan that does millions per year in sales which is great and amazing since I managed to get them from a Craigslist ad. I'm excited and nervous understandably about the possibility of landing a client like this.

I just got off a conference call with several people from their marketing department there and they need a blog with videos of their listings and social media integration and agreed on my quote of $600 for the setup of that, not including the monthly maintenance fee.

They know nothing about how to setup a Wordpress blog or anything about Internet Marketing.

I'm going in tomorrow with a contract and a request of a down payment, I'm not leaving there without a check or payment if they sign the contract.

I'm wondering though, how should I draft my contract?

What questions should I ask them? During the conference call they asked what I needed from them and I just told them pictures and info about listings.

How much of the final should I ask for? I usually ask for half on the spot but this has scared away smaller clients in the past, I'd be suprised if a major company would have a problem handing over $300 to a freelancer after striking a deal. That should be pennies to them.

What else should I upsell them on? Google Places? Article Marketing?

Sorry for the long post but I've never dealt with a client this large and I really don't want to blow it as they've budgeted a lot for a long term relationship with a freelancer who can give them what they need.
#advice #big #client #important #meeting #needed #tomorrow
  • Profile picture of the author Doran Peck
    In your contract have your services listed with Checkoff blocks in front of with just the blog stuff checked. They might ask you about the rest, or let's you bring it up when you are going over the contract.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3792549].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Warrior AllStars
    Also you may be under charging a bit on this one... dont give away too much...give them a basic thing for that price and leave room to tack some other stuff on...

    Google Places Backlinking... Face book pages you name it.

    You can charge $400 for a backlinking package offline, that you can get here on the WF for probably $60 Bucks for example... If they look like they have alot of money and they think they are taking advantage of you, I would go in and show them..."Hey, if you want to play, we can really spend here...". And make it their option.
    Signature

    Make a Donation - Facebook Page - The Blog
    About the WSO
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3792630].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author mrcouchpotato
      As a formal real estate agent, I have a few concerns about your post. In it you mentioned they want videos of their listings and you told them to send you photos and info about the listings.

      Does this mean that YOU will be the one to create videos of all their current and future listings? If so, be prepared to spend a lot of time in front of your computer (unless they only have a limited amount of listings per year).

      Also, you said they want a blog. Does this mean that you will be regularly posting articles to the blog? If so, be prepared to spend a lot of time in front of your computer (again). The real estate niche can be very difficult to get to the top of Google simply because of the competition. I'm sure Manhattan has quite a few brokers that you'd be competing against as well as the big boys like Realtor.com, Zillow, Homes.com, etc.

      So my questions would be as follows...

      1. Do you plan on having me create listing videos for you or will you be doing those. If I'll be doing them, then the cost would be $$. If you'll be doing them, then I can come in and train your agents how to do it using (whatever) program and the cost would be $$.

      2. Do you plan on updating and maintaining the blog or will I? If I'll be doing it, then the cost will be $$ per post if you supply me the articles or $$ per post if I write them. If you'll be updating the blog, I can train your agents and the cost would be $$.

      3. Does your brokerage have a specific customer niche or type of listings that you specialize in? For instance, do you specialize in high rise condos? Commercial buildings? Executive clientele? Etc. (Basically, try to narrow them down to a specific niche that you can rank the website/blog with. Some other types of niches to give you an idea are....First time home buyers, Ranches, homes for the military, oceanfront properties, million dollar homes, etc.)

      So I guess the moral to my post is to make sure you know exactly what's expected of you before you price your services. Real estate agents and brokers is not a "Set it and forget it" type of customer. Their needs are always changing.

      Mike
      Signature
      Let Me Show You How You Can Turn Your
      Existing PLR CONTENT Into CASH MONEY
      In Dozens Of Different Ways!
      CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3792838].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
    There's a lot to cover to really answer all your questions...

    But I think whatever they are specifically looking for, your price sounds too low. I'd agree with Mr Mike couch potato, who would be doing all the videos etc? A 'client this large' as you put it strikes me as odd they would seek a firm off Craigslist to do this?...

    anyway, since you have a confirmed appt, I would only offer an attitude trick:
    Forget they are a big company, go in as if YOU are deciding whether you want to even do this with them at all. ....and quote them a total price that ensures the job is worth getting.
    _____
    Bruce
    Signature
    Get Offline Clients With NO Resistance!-CLICK HERE
    POWER LETTERS Get Offline Appointments
    These Email Templates Land You Great Clients!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3793467].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Ehanson
      The meeting went well and we both had enough information for him to pay half upfront.

      He had no problem signing the contract and wrote me a check without batting an eyelash. The owner of this company wants to get this blog up asap because he knows how competitive his market is and how not having a larger web presence is.

      Amazing how quickly you can make money offline when you do it the right way; and I wasn't even trying.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3799737].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Mike Grant
        Originally Posted by Ehanson View Post

        He had no problem signing the contract and wrote me a check without batting an eyelash.
        You charged way too little, then.
        Signature
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3799778].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Adaptise
          Originally Posted by Mike Grant View Post

          You charged way too little, then.
          Completely agree....however, everyone has to start somewhere.

          When I first started, I charged clients around $300/mo for a full SEO package that included tons of articles, press releases, videos, full on backlinking and on page optimizations with full site audits etc.....and I thought THAT was expensive!

          These days I'll tell a client that my fees START at $500 a month, and the initial part of the proposal only includes keyword research, on page stuff and some light back linking. I tell them if they want me to throw a lot more at their site, then we'll be looking at upwards of $2k a month.

          Eventually I'll build things up where I won't bat an eyelid when telling clients (due to my referrals and evangelists of course!) my rates are starting at 10k a month.
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3801762].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author roypreece
        Originally Posted by Ehanson View Post

        The meeting went well and we both had enough information for him to pay half upfront.

        He had no problem signing the contract and wrote me a check without batting an eyelash. The owner of this company wants to get this blog up asap because he knows how competitive his market is and how not having a larger web presence is.

        Amazing how quickly you can make money offline when you do it the right way; and I wasn't even trying.
        Congratulations!

        (Now for the upsells ...)
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3811567].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author aokiji1
          I bet you've had a good presentation or you were just too cheap? Well anyways, I'd say you partly had a good presentation since you both had agree. When you meet up with clients, always be ready with an impressive presentation. You guys are entrepreneurs so always use your judgement on base on who and what you are about to discuss. You can read more details and tips about a business quote sample here.

          Some few tips on how to have a good and impressive presentation:
          1. Be ready with questions and always answer them immediately.
          2. Answer questions with evidences.
          3. Prepare case studies to show to your clients about your evidences.
          4. You may use your own samples to support your evidences.
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5249179].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Zuljit
    Article submission is required and necessary while to show your work to the client. Convincing the client requires some basic knowledge and successful projects also.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3811266].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author cherry_b
    StudioPress Theme Demo

    I've looked at this theme before - have yet to have my first real estate client. There are other similar themes. Remember what real estate companies are looking for and more importantly what buyers are looking for.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3811420].message }}

Trending Topics