slowed me out of it....

[vangogh]

I like being able to buy computers that way too. I won't knock a form. I remember I used to see them all the time on web designer's sites and I think I may have had one too way back when. They didn't seem all that useful to me, though that could simply have been my experience. The forms were usually a few pages long with questions and I think that kept them from being filled out.

Who knows. Maybe they can be useful.

I guess for the designer it depends on how they want to brand themselves. I'm not looking to brand myself as cheaper than the next guy. I wouldn't call myself expensive, but I'd rather build a brand based on good work. I'm more than happy to lose the people shopping only on price while picking up the clients who are more interested in having their site designed and developed right.

[Steve B]

I agree that a form quote wouldn't make sense for VG's business. It would allow the prospect to walk away without getting to know the intangibles that VG offers. I.e. - easy to work with, offers suggestions but remains customer focused, responds quickly to e-mails etc. It also just gives the prospect a number to go shopping with elsewhere.

The form works well for a piece of hardware that is a one-time transaction.

In my business I get e-mails that asks "how much per foot" for a Derby's Pet Fence. I always ask for more information etc. I don't think I've ever gotten a job when a request started like that.

[vangogh]

I would think the answer to "how much per foot" also depends on details. What's the landscape like? How hard is it to dig to set the fence? Certain questions in regards to services are easy to answer, but some require more details.

Thanks for the compliments too.

[Ad-Vice_Man]

VG,

you know, for a "quick quote" to the generic "how much does a website cost" you could always just give them a range of between your minimum and an outrageous number. For example " I charge between $4,000 and $232 Million... Depending on the details" This at least gives them an answer, and one that will eliminate those who don't meet your minimum.

Or if you think it's really just a lost cause you could just say. $232 Million. It will at least get the price shopper to call elsewhere, but it might be just a big enough/ludicrous enough figure that you'll get their attention.

[greenoak]

i think a great ad or way to show the customer what you are offering would be to show a picture of the fence on an average site and say this one runs about -----....or vangogh showing a certain website and a price....that would tell me a lot....and i could decide if i wanted a real quote....you gotta generalize a little..
and i sure wouldnt appreciate a web site designer saying between 50 and 5o,000....that would just sound very unhelpful.....
...but if his prices were from 5000 to 100,000....i would want to know right from the start....and not waste my time...
i want to know a general price before getting too involved.......isnt that normal? thats how my customers act...and especially my big ones....
back to my potential carpenter ...i finally said i dont know if you would charge me 50 or 200 and he acted like 200$ would be way more than he would want....well!!!! i would need to know...
ann

[vangogh]

I do give out a price range to those questions with a minimum and a high end maximum. The maximum is there to cover me and the minimum is there to weed out the people who were looking for free or close to free.

Ann that's an interesting idea to point to another site and mention it's price. There are two stumbling blocks I see to it. One is sharing how much one client paid for a site. I'm not sure if they'd all appreciate if those details were made public. They might not care, but it's possible they might. Also what one client paid for a site 3 years ago isn't necessarily what a client today would expect to pay for the same site.

I can see ways around that though, but simply pointing to the site and saying how much I would charge to deliver a similar site.

The other issue is that you can't always tell by looking at a site why it would cost a certain amount. One site could be very expensive, but the expense could all be on backend development that only the client can see since they're behind login pages.

Again I can think of ways around this by the choice of sites.

[Ad-Vice_Man]

VG,

AS for pointing to another site you've done... you don't have to quote the price your client paid... quote them the price you'll do it for them. IE... build in an escalation.

For instance lets say you built XYZ.com for $10,000 tell your prospect you can do it for $12,000 if it ever gets back to XYZ.com, A) it won't have been proprietary because it's not really their information and B) if they hear what you're charging now... they'll feel like they got a great deal.

[vangogh]

I never tell people how much another site cost to build. I tell them what their site will cost to build. I'm really not worried about different clients finding out how much another site did cost, though. My prices have gone up over the years as prices in general have gone up and as I've become better at what I do. I wouldn't build some of the sites in my portfolio for the price they originally cost.

[greenoak]

i love a situation where they can throw out a ballpark number...i know it isnt perfect....just kind of a hint .

back to slowing a customer out of it....i have been on several websites where i was slightly interested and had a question for them before proceeding....i try and contact them and they dont offer simple email...they want all my info first....name address phone email etc etc........ i dont usually do it..i dont actually care why they want all my info....ann

[vangogh]

Ann I've noticed that too. The general rule of thumb in form design is to only ask for the information that's absolutely necessary. The contact form on my site asks for your name, email, and your comment, which is pretty much the minimum so I can at least reply. And of course there's a contact page with an email address for anyone who prefers to email directly.

Some business want to collect every possible piece of info they can without understanding it just leads to less information since no one wants to fill out the form.

Anytime I'm filling out a form and I'm required to fill out some info that I know isn't necessary I either leave or give some phony information.