@aaronware#wcbos
AND BE AN ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELFPlease put your awesome tagline here
EMPOWER YOUR CLIENTS
AARON WARE
President @ Linchpin Co-Organizer of WordPress RI + WordCamp RI Biz Owner, Plugin Author, Doer of WordPress Nearly 20 Years in the Industry.
@aaronware jetpack.pro/profile/aware
LIL OL' ME
@aaronware#wcbos
WE’RE HIRING 3
HOW MANY WORDS YOU PRESS?
https://linchpin.agency/careers
$
WORDCAMP RI
SEPTEMBER 30TH & OCTOBER 1ST NEW ENGLAND TECH
EAST GREENWICH CAMPUS
TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE! 2016.RHODEISLAND.WORDCAMP.ORG
LET’S GET STARTED
Post Live Relationship Supporting your client and/or
project as needed
Pitch +
Contract Establishing Expertise and
Setting Project Expectations
Kickoff
Putting the plan into action
Doing the
Work Following the plan and
getting all the things done
5@aaronware#wcbos
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WHY DID THIS PROSPECT COME TO YOU?
@aaronware#wcbos
YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL + THE EXPERT First and foremost, do not lose sight of this.
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@aaronware#wcbos
SO ACT LIKE ITDress professionally for first meetings, show up on time. Have materials ready before you show up or sceenshare
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@aaronware#wcbos
TRY NOT TO FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE ITtoo much…
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YOU ARE NOT LABOR
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@aaronware#wcbos
SETTING EXPECTATIONS STARTS EARLY
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GETTING ON THE SAME PAGE
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deliverables You provide, proposal,
SOW etc..Do A they get B in C time
frame for (D)inero
deviation Effects A,B,C and
potentially D
requirements RFP, User Stories, A
simple email, cocktail napkin, some form of
documentation
What are you and/or your team responsible for
@aaronware#wcbos
@aaronware#wcbos
BUDGET
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PITCHING +
NEGOTIATIONshould not be like this
BUT sometimes feels like it
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@aaronware#wcbos
MAYBE MORE LIKE THIS?
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�
LESS FIGHTING AND MORE DANCING
DOLLARS TO DONUTSA non scientific anecdote
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THERE IS A CORRELATION BETWEEN HOW CLOSE A CLIENT IS TO THE DOLLARS THEY SPEND WITH YOU
AND HOW MUCH THEY TRY TO SQUEEZE THE MOST OUT OF SAID DOLLARS*
* DISCLAIMER: I HAVE ZERO DATA TO BACK UP THIS HYPERBOLE
@aaronware#wcbos
Contract You have a contract right?
• Accountability • Protections • Proof of agreement on
deliverables and expectations
A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on. - Samuel Goldwyn
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@aaronware#wcbos
CLIENT REQUESTS
CAN ESCALATE OVER TIME
Without expectations*
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How easy is it to?…
Can we just?…
Just one quick thing…
@aaronware#wcbos
IF YOU KEEP SAYING YES
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@aaronware#wcbos
@aaronware#wcbos
IT’S GOLD PLATING
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@aaronware#wcbos
@aaronware#wcbos
KNOW WHO USED TO DO IT A TON?
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@aaronware#wcbos
@aaronware#wcbos
REMEMBER THIS GUY?
@aaronware#wcbos
I WOULD PLATINUM PLATE A TON
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AND I’M OK WITH THAT
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EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE
AND IT’S A RELATIONSHIP
Every relationship has give and take
concessions etc
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CHANGE REQUESTS ARE OK
AND IT’S OK TO SAY YES NOT NOW NOT IN SCOPE OR NO
@aaronware#wcbos
DO WHAT YOU THINK IS FAIR & REASONABLE
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@aaronware#wcbos
LET’S RECAPWe spent a bunch of time on just the pitch and if you have a contract
Post Live Relationship Supporting your client and/or
project as needed
Pitch +
Contract Establishing Expertise and
Setting Project Expectations
Kickoff
Putting the plan into action
Doing the
Work Following the plan and
getting all the things done
27@aaronware#wcbos
@aaronware#wcbos
RECONCILIATION AFTER BATTLE!
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@aaronware#wcbos
COLLABORATION OF ALL
STAKEHOLDERSEveryone one
is on the same side
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Marketers
Designers
IT / DevOps
Vendors Copywriters, SEO, Design/Dev
Support, Video Production
Your team
You The expert The Client
Company or Individual
ESTABLISH LINES OF COMMUNICATIONAs set expectations of response times.
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Phone / Text I try to not text too early into a project
unless the client establishes that communication
Slack / Hangouts Hipchat, Campfire, or any of the other
chat can help streamline
Email I’ve tried to cut down on emails with
clients but it’s not going a way
PROCESS LEADS TO CLARITYDon’t have process for the sake of process
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Tasks, Take Aways, Action Items + Check-Ins Everyone involved in the project should have tasks + due dates
goalget to the next
@aaronware#wcbos
EVERYONE AARON?I mean how do I keep track of all that?
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@aaronware#wcbosEVERYONE!
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@aaronware#wcbos
TIME LINE THE PROJECT
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@aaronware#wcbos
TONS OF TOOLS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE. YOU KNOW GOOGLE
USE ITUse what works for you. Our team uses
Atlasssian Jira sprinkled with google sheets
jira
trello
redboothwunderlist
sheets
asana
basecamp
LET’S RECAPWe’ve established everyone involved, scheduled check-ins. Refined our project plan.
Doing the work is the easy part
Post Live Relationship Supporting your client and/or
project as needed
Pitch +
Contract Establishing Expertise and
Setting Project Expectations
Kickoff
Putting the plan into action
Doing the
Work Following the plan and
getting all the things done
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Familiarity w/ the platform Installed WordPress Have we gotten the client in there?
Create Custom Things Have the client review when stable
Find Bugs Earlier Get some QA
INTRODUCE YOUR CLIENT TO FEATURES
AS YOU GO
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@aaronware#wcbos
There is no need to wait till delivery to do training
GET YOUR CLIENT INTO WORDPRESS
EARLYThis helps gain adoption and
fosters engagement.
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START GO LIVE
AVOIDING INFORMATION OVERLOAD
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“Learning from Aaron @ Linchpin is awesome but sometimes it’s like trying to get a drink from a fire hose. So much information to absorb in rapid fire
Through out the entire process
Mitchel Sliwaphoto by dallas adams
@aaronware#wcbos
REDUCING REPEATED POST
LIVE TRAINING
+ UNFORESEEN USABILITY ISSUES IN
CUSTOM DEV
• feedback earlier
• find bugs earlier
• less gotchas before golive
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0
35
70
105
140
timeline of the project post live
Highest
late arrivalearly adoption
@aaronware#wcbos
GET THE GOT YA BEFORE THEY HAPPEN
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• feedback earlier
• find bugs earlier
• less gotchas before golive
@aaronware#wcbos
EDUCATION DOESN’T HAPPEN OVER NIGHT
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NURTURE THAT SEEDWatch it grow.
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CLIENT SKILLS GROW OVER TIMEClient dependency lowers over time.
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Build Client Skills WordPress Admin (core)
Installed Plugins
Custom Built Plugins
Team work
Theme Adjustments
@aaronware#wcbos
YOU AND YOUR
CLIENT ARE READY!
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START GO LIVE
@aaronware#wcbos
GO LIVE WAS EASY
PROJECT WAS NEGOTIATED, PLANNED, EXECUTED AND LAUNCHED WITH OUT A HITCH
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LET’S RECAPWe’ve established everyone involved, scheduled check-ins. Refined our project plan.
Doing the work is the easy part
Post Live Relationship Supporting your client and/or
project as needed
Pitch +
Contract Establishing Expertise and
Setting Project Expectations
Kickoff
Putting the plan into action
Doing the
Work Following the plan and
getting all the things done
47
@aaronware#wcbos
THE POST LIVE RELATIONSHIP IS UP TO YOUIf you’ve established your expertise, trust and a good working relationship.
Keeping that ongoing is easy
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@aaronware#wcbos
QUESTIONS?
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@aaronware#wcbos
•PROCESS
•TOOLS / APPS / SERVICES
•RECONCILING PROBLEMS
•PROPOSALS AND PITCHING
•WHATEVER
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$
WORDCAMP RI
HOPE TO SEE YOU SEPTEMBER 30TH & OCTOBER 1ST
NEW ENGLAND TECHEAST GREENWICH CAMPUS
TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE! 2016.RHODEISLAND.WORDCAMP.ORG
THANK YOU!
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