Recently, we lost a few deals… or should I say, I intentionally rejected those deals. A client talked to us about revamping his website. We asked about his previous web designer and why he did not want to engage his services again in the revamp (Incidentally, This is a key question on our evaluation if we would like to work with you. I believe business is more of a long-term relationship as opposed to a one off affair….)

Normally, we hear reasons like:

• Because we cannot contact our X designer
• Because our X designer is not very responsive to our needs

We would go ahead with the client as We feel that… YES… indeed we can solve these problems. We understand that a lot of company’s website are built by freelancers or part-time students and as such, maintenance after that becomes a big headache.

If we hear reasons like:

• Because our X designer charges too much

In instances like this, we are wary. We understand too well that designing is very labour intensive work. Generally, designers would be willing to do the first job at a lower rate so as to build up their portfolio and establish an account with the client. From here, we will ask specifically about their designer charges.

If we find that the charges are reasonable, we will not handle the project. Our company is more focused in building LONG TERM relationships with our clients than on ruthless Under Cutting.
Recently, we heard a most interesting reason:

• Because our designer is deaf and can only communicate with us over email

In such a case, we definitely WILL NOT handle the project. In fact, we are really happy that our prospective client is giving the handicapped a chance to prove their self worth and actually contribute to our society. If the rates are reasonable, please support the less fortunate. It will be great hipocrisy if we were to pledge large sums of donations on one hand and actually snatch their livelihood away from another.

Another instance when we rejected a client straight off was when we were told that he had requested several mockup samples from other web designers. While this is an accepted practise for bigger design projects, it is definitely not a norm for budget web projects. A mockup easily costs 4-5 hours of hardwork from our designers and as such we hope that our clients have a certain amount of commitment when they choose to work with us….

And boy does it feel good to turn down customers!