Process is Not a Sales Strategy by Bryan
July 03, 2010 in Business and Startups with 3 Comments
Self-taught designers that work on their own as a freelancer or within a company aren't trained in the service side of a design business, so many budding designers look to process as the magical selling point of design. The reality is, companies aren't interested in being sold process. They simply want results.
Indeed, process is effective and companies want to know you have one, but they're really all about seeing a finished, polished product. The concept of a design process is often unclear to customers and clients. It may seem like a waste of time, with steps that only slow things down or add to the designer's time. Some companies are also concerned process is a threat to their control over the project.
The good news is, "design" is both a process and a result. People pay for results, but the benefit of design is that it's an effective way to solve business problems. We've found that the best approach is to sell on results and educate with process. It takes more time to build a business relationship this way, but it keeps the cash flow moving while you build long term clients. As an added bonus, these long-term clients will come to appreciate the importance of the design process, making future projects run more smoothly.
3 Comments
Jeremy (ZURB) says:
This is definitely true. As a freelance or solo designer you want to be in love with your craft, but it's easy to forget the people paying for the work don't necessarily care--nor should they right out of the gate.
Often you'll find that the best way to sell design thinking is to sell results up front and then subtly educate a new client or team along the way. Design methods tend to be approachable in practice when taken one at a time. Through the course of one project or two or more, you find opportunities to train other people to understand, speak, and practice design too.
cy says:
true true ! and i am still learning this too.. both side of me and clients..
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