anyone else get nervous before meeting with client?

Since most clients I never meet face to face when I actually do have to meet face to face I get nervous a bit.

I have design already to show him, contract, receipts, and I know what I want to charge him and how much im going to ask for deposit.. also dress clothes are cleaned but still a bit worried how its going to go.

For a basic business website with custom CMS that is 7-10 pages do you think 2k is too much?

Also do you as them their budget?

We haven't talked about any prices yet.. They are a steel company with multiple facilities so I am hoping that price isn't much of an issue with them as much as quality because they will get that from me.

Any advice would be appreciated

PM me a link to your portfolio please if you don't mind?

2k isn't cheap but still reasonable. The site's worth whatever value you're able to sell yourself at. Seems more than reasonable given their size.

Don't get nervous. What's meant to be, will be.

thanks, pm sent

It's normal to be nervous before sitting down with a client face to face. It's a whole different ball game than when you're sending an email or even talking on the phone. Nature seems to have decided that IT guys aren't good at dealing with customers. Didn't you watch Office Space?

But I know what you're feeling. "Will they think I'm a phony? What if I say the wrong thing? What if they don't like me?" Problems can compound quickly if you don't keep your cool in business to business sales. It's an art form, but there's really no right way to do it. Every salesman has his own approach and what works best for one guy isn't neccessarily going to work for the next guy.

My best advice is to BE YOURSELF and come prepared. Clients like to know exactly what they're spending their money on so have the details down to every last dollar.

-Try to speak in real dollars, not percentages.
-Ask a lot of questions about their business. It shows them that you're interested in what they do and that you're paying attention to what they say.
-Like I said, be prepared with an exact breakdown of where every penny of theirs is going. They will LOVE you for this
-Don't bad mouth competitors. Keep things in a positive direction. You never want to delve into the negative.
-Don't just ask yes or no questions, but open ended questions that gets them talking.
-Be CONFIDENT and sure of what you're doing and that you are offering a real service with value. Clients can see bullshit a mile away.

I'm actually making a living on my ability to do business-to-business sales right now, so if it's something you can master, you can make a lot of money.

Everyone loves to buy, but they hate to be sold.

What you are feeling is the fear of rejection. The fear of being told no.

Act like you don't give a fuck and it will go away.

If you don't have confidence in your own offer, how can you expect a customer to have confidence that you will deliver on your promises.

As for the price, people don't buy on price. They buy on value. Demonstrate value in the offer.

It's human nature to get nervous. Brain plays game with us. Just be confident and try giving your best.

Cheers

Well here is how it went. I was a nervous wreck when I got there but the secretary started talking to me about stupid shit so that loosened me up a bit while waiting for the the owner. He comes and we go to a conference room and he started asking me about my business and shit, everything was kinda stiff at first and I was kinda freakin out cuz he had keep questioning me a bunch of questions and seemed like he wasn't 100% sold yet. After I showed him 2 designs that I did for on my laptop he got excited and then I showed him my really good portfolio and he loved it, some of my design has some good stories behind them so I started talking about them and things begin to go good. I showed him wp-admin and how to mange a few things and explained that I will be showing him more after his site is done. By this time he was sold, I then asked him if he is ready to go ahead and get started and he asked the price. I told him 2k and he said that sounds reasonable to me then I work up a quick invoice and have him sign a contract and he wrote out my check. It was great, oh also the marketing manager was supposed to be there and she shows up middle of meeting which lasted 1hr and she so sexy I want her.. I know by the way she lookin at me she wants me hahaha

Since the site was already designed and he didnt want much changes, I started coding the theme a few hrs ago and almost done with it. BAMM

Congrats on the close =]]

To be honest ... getting that meeting with the client is the hardest step! You've walked into a huge company and walked away with a 4-figure check. Good job!

Now you've got some serious punch to add to your portfolio. Approach similar markets and sell your work to them using the traditional ... "i was able to increase xxx's traffic and sales by xx%, would you like me to do this for you?" approach.

One side note, don't forget to contact your client once a month just to ask how everything is. Not only does it keep everything professional, it also ensures that you are in their mind for any other work they need, so more money comes your way!

Best of luck for the future!

Haha, that was a nice one. You might have scored 2 in 1, who knows! If you know what I mean..