It makes a lot of sense that when clients are looking for the very best in Calgary’s Web design, they tend to focus on the actual designs they see. But while looking through samples might be a good way to pick up on someone’s artistic flair, know that great web design doesn’t end once your site goes live… in fact, that’s really only the beginning.

Granted, the process of going from concepts to code, ideas to an actual, fully-functional website can be intense. But what happens once you’re online? A lot of business owners and marketing managers don’t think past that moment, even though it’s a virtual certainty that more help will be needed.

That’s because there are always going to be issues with the coding or design, updates to your company’s products or features, new security patches for your hosting software, e-mail and server issues, or any one of a thousand other things that will eventually lead you to pick up the phone. And that, as they say, is where your web design team is really going to earn its money.

What’s more, there could be challenges with your company’s website that don’t even have anything to do with “problems.” It could just be that your site becomes more popular and you need to find ways to promote it through social media, or that you are performing well in certain search engine terms but not others. Again, this is the place where the list could be endless; the only thing you can be sure of is that you’re going to eventually want some assistance.

There’s nothing wrong with evaluating designers and other creative teams first and foremost by the creative work they do. If you really want the best for your business, however, be sure to look beyond the design — because that’s where your web design project begins, but not where it ends.

If you’re looking for a team to design your company’s next website, make sure it gets found by potential customers, or simply get your business moving in the right direction online, contact eKzact — Calgary’s premier web design and online marketing partner.

I wonder how many sales people beat up their competition by injecting rumour, innuendo and sorted negative remarks into discussions with potential clients?  I know at least one web company in Calgary that makes it their practice to undermine the competition with negative remarks. All I have to say is… shame on you.

Our client actually came to us and told us that this sales agent, who also happens to be one of the owners of the other company, was really very negative regarding the fact that this client chose to work with us.  At the time that we were competing for the work all I said to the client about the other company is that I thought that they were a good choice.  I told her that I believed them to be a sound and reputable service provider.

I don’t believe that it is to our advantage to talk poorly of our competition. The fact is that I don’t know very much about them or their business practices.  One thing that I do know, for sure, is that when a relationship between a customer and a service provider “breaks down”… it’s not always the service providers fault. So, the loss of a client is not always a true measure of the service providers performance.  On the other hand, if a service provider loses a lot of clients… then I’d say the writing is on the wall.  When the writing is on the wall, surely I don’t have to say anything.

What’s really interesting about the competitor that tried unsuccessfully to woo our client away with rumours and innuendo is that their efforts would have been better spent trying to preserve their own clients.   You see, my newest client, is this exact same company’s most recent lost client.  He switch to our service because of what he described to be a lack of service and poor billing practices. In fact the client described their practices as falling just short of fraudulent.

Be positive & care about your clients, their business and your own business. Good things will come from small actions that don’t include being negative about people you don’t even know.  If being negative is a part of your sales practice… be sure to clean up your own house first or your clients may leave you too.

Is there room in your sales process for beating the competition up?  Should an Owner who also sells be held to a higher standard?

Tell me your thoughts on this… I would love to see your comment added below.

Cheers -
David A. West

As a website developer, I have learned to “raise red flags” when a prospective client says certain things. for the purposes of this article, I have named these prospects, “The Expert Prospective Client”.

The expert – Knows how long a task will take before they ask.

They often say things like, “That’s just a simple task, isn’t it? I don’t think it will take long for you to do.”

The expert – Knows the value of our service, without asking for a quote.

They often say things like, “I just need this one thing done, it should be quite inexpensive…”

The expert – Has changed service providers recently.

They often have just left a previous service provider on questionable grounds. In some cases, they did not pay their final bill. They will say things like, “My last guy/gal used to nickle & dime me to death. Every time I turned around, they send me an invoice for something…”

The expert – Hires professionals, but openly admits that they could do it themselves.

They may say something like, “I could have done this myself, but my time is too valuable.”

The expert – Often offers to send you lots of new clients, provided you give them a good deal & do a great job for them.

They say things like, “I know a lot of people, if you do a good job for me I’ll refer you lots of business in the future.” These offers sometimes come as veiled threats if a project goes a bit sideways. The expert will say, “I wish we didn’t have to deal with this, I don’t know if I can refer my friends to you if this is how it is going to be…” It has been my experience that the people who use “referrals” as leverage, are the same people who never refer new clients.

My experience has shown that it is difficult to build a client/service provider relationship with the expert prospect.

Do you run across the expert potential client in your business? Have I missed any common traits in my list above?

David A. West

Regards - David A. West