Most modern web designers are aware of web standards and their positive impact on the web. Although the importance of using web standards isn’t an issue for many of us, how we talk about them, especially to potential clients in a sales pitch is.
The Pitch
Imagine the following: You’re pitching to a prospective client that is in need of a site redesign.
You’ve got one hour.
You talk through your prospective client’s challenges, maybe even solve a few along the way. You discuss look and feel, messaging, and how the site will work. The excitement builds as you both begin to “see” the site.
Twenty minutes to go.
You present your process and your work. Time line and budget are discussed, and the potential client begins to feel like a new client. You should feel happy, but the meeting isn’t complete.
What’s Missing?
It’s your duty as a web designer to explain the importance of web standards to a potential client. The problem is, if you try explaining web standards during a sales pitch, there’s a good chance that your prospective client’s eyes will glaze over.
Why?
It is my belief that it comes down to two specific reasons:
Client Expectations During a Sales Pitch
Prospective clients more than likely will hire you for your ideas, and not for your knowledge about web standards.
A Prospective Client’s Lack of Understanding Web Standards
A lot of the time web standards are hard enough to sell to our fellow designers, so expecting a prospective client to understand them just isn’t realistic either.
What can we do?
If you know about web standards and their benefits, a prospective client needs to understand them as well. The more information we spread about web standards to the community that resides outside of our skill set the better. Try the following approach:
- Reference web standards briefly during the sales process, and include a few points on their benefits (search engine optimization, decreased page weight, shortened development cycles).
- Provide the client a document that explains web standards along with your development process.
- Discuss web standards more in depth during the project kick off.
I am currently developing a leave-behind that helps our prospective clients and their teams understand the benefits of using web standards. I hope this helps spread the knowledge… only time will tell.
Questions for You
During a sales pitch, how much time does your team spend talking about web standards? If you do discuss web standards during a sales pitch, does it give you an edge over your competition? Lastly, if it does give you an edge, how do you measure it?
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