Possible Session on "Models for Working with Clients" -- Especially Small Business/Non-Profit Clients
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Posted on: Sun, 01/27/2008 - 11:58am
Possible Session on "Models for Working with Clients" -- Especially Small Business/Non-Profit Clients
I’m interested in moderating a panel which explores how “shops” (including individual freelancers) work with clients. How have you designed your relationship with clients to maximize a profitable business for the “shop” and an excellent relationship with the client. Consider the following areas:
- RFP process
- work-flow
- pricing
- terms of contract
- training
- maintainance/ongoing relationship
- ???
In my own case, I’m just in the process of starting a shop and I’m looking to create what I think is a somewhat alternative model. I see a lot of problems with RFPs, especially with small business and smallish non-profits. Frankly, their RFPs are often terrible because they don’t know what they want — what would most benefit their business model — and they don’t understand the technologies available. Bigger businesses or non-profits often hire a consultant to write the RFP and possibly to project-manage the project from the client’s side. Small businesses/Non-profits often can’t hire such a consultant. I’m trying to develop a model in which a “shop” can function in multiple capacities including an emphasis on mentoring and training the client. This evolving model includes:
- Long development cycle but with quick launch with basic functionality
- iterative approach with client where the spec-sheet for the site evolves over time based on experiments on a live site
- commitment by both the “shop” and the “client” to training
- one-stop shopping for for client re: marketing/strategy and web development. (This is one of the hallmarks of big shops. Seems like part of the power of Drupal is that smaller shops would be able to provide site-building and strategy because the power/flexibility/ease of use of the CMS allows a small shop to focus more on clients’ content and how the site fits into overall business plan of the non-profit or small business.
At first I thought about offering my own session but then I thought it would be more interesting to organize a panel where shop owners or freelancers could share their model for working with clients.
Anybody interested in being on such a panel?
Feedback on this idea?
Shai
I’d love to attend a session on this. I’m just starting out as a fulltime freelancer, so this would help me out a lot. I don’t know that I’d have much to offer as I generally haven’t worked much with clients who go the whole hog with paperwork. But I’d like to hear from the more experienced folks.
Dave
mybesinformatik.com - Drupal website development
It would be great to meet other people who are freelancing and/or starting up Drupal shops to share experiences, best practices, etc. Count me in if it gets accepted.
Shai, I like your session plan a lot. If you don’t get anyone for the panel soon (it would be great to have someone from a Drupal shop much farther along the way to figuring out how to run everything than we are), I suggest you put in your proposal but build an openness into it, that is, you can always invite people to do a panel-type discussion as part of your session.
At Agaric Design Collective we’ve always been bothered that virtually all resources portray two options – freelance or own a business with employees – with no mention of the possibilities of collective control and cooperative organization. We’d love to help make a permanent resource that addresses this option as part of the launch and development practices, client relationships, and other needs of any business which you mention.
benjamin, Agaric Design Collective
Shai,
As an independent consultant for the past 7 years, I think I might be able to add something to your panel. I’ve worked with all types of clients in the past, and the one thing I’ve learned is that I’m still learning!
You’re right on the mark about smaller clients not always knowing what they want, and how the role of the developer in the beginning is most often that of an “interviewer” - working with the client in determining exactly what they need based on their desires and your knowledge. I have walked away from clients that just wanted to hire a robot programmer to do whatever they asked. I feel that I have much more to offer - as do most Drupal consultants.
On the backside, once the site is built, many clients still have the “if I build it, they will come” mentality and are often surprised when no one visits their site after the initial launch. I often push SEO and advertising and necessary steps for a successful site.
As a developer, I think it is important to be well-versed in all three phases (discovery, development, marketing) in order to serve the client well and to fuel referrals.
-mike
I’m really pleased with the encouraging response I’ve gotten here on the forum and also via email. It seems like the best role for me will be moderator, laying out some of the questions and keeping a good discussion going between panelists making time for questions from the audience.
I want to submit the proposal by Sunday with names of panelists. If you are interested in being a panelist, and haven’t already been in touch with me, give a hoot soon.
I’m hopeful this will fly.
Shai
content2zero
There are a couple sessions now that may overlap with this, including this one on client expectations.
benjamin, Agaric Design Collective
Hi, one of the goals of this conference is to raise session quality. In many cases that means more preparation time for presentations, more view points, more panelists agreeing on the most important concepts.
If you see a similar session proposal, reach out to the presenter and offer to do a joint session. If you don’t do it, the co-chairs will probably do it for you.
There’s already 98 session proposals for 64 general session spots, so it’s quite competitive.
Cheers,
Kieran
I had recruited and gotten affirmative responses from Benjamin Melancon, ultimike (Michael Anello), and Tiffany Ferris of Palantir. Of the three speakers I lined up it seems like Tiffany is the most similar to Gene and Shane from Acro Media’s proposal. Benjamin provides the model of working as a collective. Michael represents the experienced small shop. Those perspectives/approaches could be quite different from the Acro folks.
I’ll contact Gene and Shane and see if they are interested in a combined proposal.
I really get where Kieran and the committee are coming from. It’s just that sometimes when you try to cram too many visions into one session, the combined version can end up being worse than either one on its own. I’m not saying that is the case here — it’s just a possibility.
content2zero
Hey, we, at www.hrw.org are going to the Drupalcon. We want to present what we are doing (and what we want to do with Drupal).
Working with developers and designers is one of the main challenges of our project. Are you interested in our point of view? We were looking for a session to present our work and project, and maybe a space to hear from developers about what is that they are looking for. In other words, we are interested in how to build a better bridge between clients (us) and developers/designers.
It also can be useful if you know about other sessions where this may be fit better. Thanks all!
The dog ate my homework.
No really, I wrote up a really amazing version of this discussion as a session proposal, proposing to the panel a fantastic set of questions which challenged some of the normal ways we work with clients… it’s late, I’m fighting the deadline and, and, …. I click on the “markdown syntax” link cause I want my bullets to be nice — I navigate away from the page, and — poof, gone! — just like I’ve heard from a client, “My precious work…”
Oh well, is there a lesson in this? There are already 164 session proposals for 64 slots. So I’ll look for related sessions, seek you all out, and maybe put together a BOF on this topic.
And certainly the lesson is: get more sleep!
See ya at DrupalCon
content2zero
I am interested in this session…