Sorry this is going to be kind of long, but I'm writing a paper on this, so
it's something I've thought about and dealt with.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Connie Maria Plieger" <cplieger(at)direct.ca>
To: <hwg-business(at)mail.hwg.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 01, 2002 10:39 AM
Subject: How to schedule clients/jobs?


> I'm also still hearing from the other people who expressed interest, who
> may be wanting me to get started on THEIR sites any day now, and I'm

First of all, don't start to sweat until the heat actually comes on.  In
other words, you will find that for every ten people that 'want a web site'
and 'want it right away', only two may be sincere and one will actually get
started in earnest.  That's not to say they don't really want a site or
don't want you to work with them, but as anyone here will probably tell you,
prospective clients often lack or lose motivation.  Many also lack an
understanding of what is really involved -- what you need from them, which
is often much more than a check.  Sometimes getting those deliverables is
like pulling teeth.  Which brings us to the next point...

> concerned about how to handle this.  I don't know how many sites I can
> handle at once--maybe two at a time, I figure.  But I absolutely can't

I've personally handled up to seven at a time and at least two of them among
those seven were quite extensive sites.  The majority of them weren't
geographically local, which probably helped more than hurt.  The trick is
documentation and queuing of deliverables.  And dropping lots of one-line
progress reports to your clients ;)

> afford to lose any business either; I'm not greedy, but I'm not in the
> least exaggerating when I say that my husband and I are in an absolutely
> terrifying financial situation right now.  So all this potential
> business, if handled right, could be truly a godsend.
>
> Can someone advise me?  How DO you schedule/space out/juggle jobs?
> Do/can you ask people to wait a reasonable time before you begin work on
> their projects--place them in a queue, ie.?  Do you risk losing
> customers this way?  How many jobs can you reasonably handle at once,
> and still keep the customers happy?  Do you ever turn clients away
> because you're just too busy?

Have an in-depth consultation with each prospect, regardless of whether or
not you think you'll have the time for them.  This will go a long way in
helping you.

First of all determine if you want them as a client.  I understand the need
for positive cash flow, but believe me, some prospective clients are better
left for the next person.  You should get a feel very quickly for both the
project and the working relationship.  If you've got several accounts
waiting for your attention and one just doesn't feel right (i.e. no client
focus, delusions of 'build me a site and i will become rich', over-emphasis
on 'make me a special pricing deal', questionable product or service, etc)
put it on the back burner.

Follow-up with a proposal.  Outline what you'll do and how long it'll take.
If you're already working on projects at the time, be sure to let them know
this and factor in additional time.  I find that multiplying by three
usually works.  Example, I think this phase will take one week, I quote it
at three weeks, etc.  If the proposal doesn't scare them off <g>, then you
start juggling....

Put your clients to work.  Give them questionnaires, lists of things to
deliver or produce, literature to read, etc.  This helps both you and your
client.  Not only does it buy time for you, but it helps you do a better job
once you actually get to the keyboard.  It also pacifies them.  They will
know that you want to get it right and do the best job for them that you
can.

When scheduling actual keyboard time, work on one project for as long as
possible before switching to another.  With computers it's called 'context
switching'.  That's the tiny hesitation a system goes through between
unloading data from one process, reloading for a new process and returning a
result.  It's almost imperceptible in a computer but in a human, it can be
catastrophic!  In application development we call it 'ramp up'.  In plain
English, it's 'now where the heck was I and what was I doing?!?!'.
Depending on the complexity of your project, you could lose an entire day or
days switching between.

Be honest with your clients, always.  If you've got three projects ahead of
them and think they could or should be wrapped up between taking a new
project, tell them.  They will appreciate it.  They might even think that
you're really something special to have them lined up at your door!
Impatient clients without justification (no time sensitive data, event, or
product, for example) always scare me.  The Internet isn't going anywhere in
the month that it might take me to clear my slate, and if their product or
service is killer now, it will be killer next month, too.

Schedule client deliverables to not all come at the same time.  Client A's
questionnaire shouldn't be due when Client B's entire 'About Us' section
hits your mailbox.  Acknowledge the deliverable and tell your client you'll
look at it right away.  Then put them to work on their next assignment.

As for the last question, yes, I have turned down jobs, for a number of
reasons.  Sometimes it's the client, sometimes it's the product or service
(i.e. *what* product or service? just build me a website), and sometimes
it's a lack of time and/or resources.  Sometimes we're not the shop that
they need <gasp>.  If their vision is pink text on an orange background with
dancing gifs in all four corners, I'll give them the 'that's not our design
philosophy, perhaps someone else could better handle that to your
requirements" speech.

But if you want to give every project the benefit of the doubt, just be
honest with your potential clients and show them a quality portfolio of
attentive, professional work product.

"I'd love to produce this project, but I owe it to the clients I'm actively
working on to deliver their project on time and with quality.  That's the
same attention I'll give to your project if you'd care to wait until I can
give it the attention it deserves...... meanwhile, fill out this
questionnaire" :-D

-------------
Karin Ransdell  kransdell(at)squishedmosquito.com
Escapade Development Team - Squished Mosquito, Inc.
http://www.squishedmosquito.com  or  http://www.escapade.org
Gulf Coast Technology Summit & Expo Planning Committee
http://www.itgulfcoast.com
-------------

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