Clients not Willing to Come to Office

[raveekumar]

I run a website designing and development company. Our complete work is online and I go to client’s place for the purpose of sales. We charge 50% advance to start the work and 50% on completion. Problem I m facing is clients don’t want to come to office to get the work get completed. They prefer me to come to their place and even want web designer to visit their location. It is very difficult to visit client’s place. If we ask them to mail the details they express their inability and project gets pending. This trend is seen in 50% of the clients.
Recently a customer called for 2nd project work. I said 1rst project is pending since 1 year, to which she said she is not getting time and if I can send a person to her office she will get completed the project.
Can there be alternative solution to this problem?

[Freelancier]

And that's how those of us who are local win projects from those who are remote, we can go visit with the clients as needed to move the project along. It's called a "niche".

So... your process isn't working for some of your clients. You're not properly vetting your clients for suitability for your process. You're also leaving too much money on the table for final completion. Your costs are also likely really low, because the client is fine writing off the first 50% without getting anything, so they aren't valuing your outcome enough. You need to re-think your business model and your client processes.

[huggytree]

go to their office then....but charge for it...have it as an option for busy customers....i dont see the big deal....add $250 for you and a designer to drive to them

if they want to pay it, then why not

[Harold Mansfield]

I don't understand why this is such a huge problem. 100% of my clients are in different states, even different countries. I've never had a project that required me or the client to physically be in the same room for anything.
In 2014 there isn't anything that I need from them that isn't already stored or created digitally. It's not like they are sitting at typewriter writing content, and taking pictures with a Polaroid and I need to go to their office to pick up the paper docs and photographs .

Actually, in 5 years I've only ever physically met one client and that's only because he was a friend beforehand.

I actually just turned down a job from a local because he was insistent that we be in the same room while I'm working on his website. It actually sounded pretty creepy to be honest.

I understand that some people still like the personal interaction of meeting people that they do business with and can't fathom anything that is done strictly online, but it sounds like you are the one that is requiring the physical meeting, and therefore setting your own projects back.

What exactly is so hard about sending documents and files via email, or file sharing? Why do you need to be in the same room with the client to get things done?
I'm not understanding the problem.

[Dimolimo]

Local business it's the best. You can get a sales agent to get new clients (with skills in design) to update clients and visit them, while you are doing inhouse work, promoting or actually clients work. Don't think that you can get easy projects by waiting clients to come at your place. Big companies with big offices have a big and strong asset and that's the logistic. It's important to be placed downtown and not home for example. Clients love that, especially when they get good services.

[Harold Mansfield]

Local business it's the best. You can get a sales agent to get new clients (with skills in design) to update clients and visit them, while you are doing inhouse work, promoting or actually clients work. Don't think that you can get easy projects by waiting clients to come at your place. Big companies with big offices have a big and strong asset and that's the logistic. It's important to be placed downtown and not home for example. Clients love that, especially when they get good services.

I agree with all of that if we are talking about McMann and Tate (where Darren Stevens was an account exec) in the 1960's or companies that do million dollar accounts. Big offices mean big overhead, of which the costs are passed on to the client. If you target the proper customer for the services that you offer, clients love whatever you have and don't care where you work from since they are 3k miles away and will never visit anyway.

There are a 1000 ways to be in business today. It's not all one thing, one way.

[Wozcreative]

I usually express that I don't visit my clients to collect information/data unless it's a larger project (like a website). With that I then first get them to approve the quote, give me a deposit and then I go visit them if they need me... usually by then they are so comfortable with me doing everything over email and phone that they forget about wanting to meet me.

Clients always want you to come to them, they rarely do want to come visit you. The reason is because they use their energy to meet their own clients. You should be collecting all files and assets through email or cloud anyway.

[Harold Mansfield]

Clients always want you to come to them, they rarely do want to come visit you. The reason is because they use their energy to meet their own clients. You should be collecting all files and assets through email or cloud anyway.
Exactly. Think of it from the clients point of view. "I have to pay you, AND take time out of my business day to go to YOUR office?"

You need to make it easy for people to do business with you. Period. There are no exceptions to that rule. If your process is outdated, cumbersome and inefficient and it wastes other peoples time, you will not get a lot of repeat business or referrals, and your projects will take far longer than they have to...which is going to create more unhappy people and complaints.

[Freelancier]

You need to make it easy for people to do business with you. Period. There are no exceptions to that rule. If your process is outdated, cumbersome and inefficient and it wastes other peoples time, you will not get a lot of repeat business or referrals, and your projects will take far longer than they have to...which is going to create more unhappy people and complaints.
Put it this way: the client is happy writing off their 50% deposit just to not deal with you and complete the project. What does that say about your business model?