This is a blog post for WordPress developers. If you aren't a WordPress developer, feel free to continue reading if you want to know some of what's possible these days. But otherwise, circle back tomorrow for a non-developer post.
For you WordPress developers, this isn't a post about pricing. I'm not going to tell you to raise your rates. I want to tell you something else.
You're sitting with a client…
You've talked about their project. It's not small and it won't be inexpensive. Maybe it's $5,000 or maybe it's $50,000. For you, it's a good sized project that interests you.
More importantly, as you spend time talking to them, you sense you're developing trust with them. You're excited to work with them.
But most developers don't really see themselves as anything more than developers. Trust is developed and then waste.
Your client wants to know your opinions:
- on hosting,
- on email delivery,
- on marketing automation.
- and much more.
But if you only see yourself as a “get in, code this up, and get out” kind of developer, there's a good chance you're leaving money on the table. Money they would happily give to you, if they knew the ways you could help them.
But they don't.
How you see yourself affects how others see you
How you act, and how you project yourself, suggests who you are to your clients. It gives them the clues of what is right and wrong to ask of you.
If you talk like a person who helps online businesses succeed, they'll likely ask you a million questions about getting their business online.
If you talk like a person who helps online businesses get their website hosted, they'll assume it's “just” copying files to a server. IT stuff.
Now, if all you really know how to do is code up a theme, then by all means, do it!
But if you know more, and still carry yourself as purely a developer, no one is going to ask for your opinion.
Learn more than just WordPress theming and plugin development
Let me share with you some numbers:
- 75% of companies that use marketing automation see an ROI within a year.
- When marketing automation software is used, sales folks increase their time selling by more than 20%
- Marketing automation means up to 300% more leads passed to sales
- And marketing automation reduces ignored leads by more than 50%
Why do I know these statistics? Because the businesses I coach want help with their systems. Because people getting their sites online want a return on that investment, and often a bit more spend gets them a massive return.
After all, a great site with people filling out contact forms that no one looks at isn't much of a return.
By knowing about marketing automation, I move from a person who just helps a company get their site online, to a person who helps their business succeed.
And when customers are aware of what I know, even our initial web project takes on a different shape – because we're already planning for integration downstream.
Here's a way to get started!
I know, you're going to tell me you're not a marketing person. You can't learn all that marketing automation stuff. I get it.
But there are other things you could learn that could help you – significantly. Let's talk mobile for a second.
- 9 out of 10 people on the globe have a mobile phone
- 1 of every 2 have a smart phone
- 80% of the time they spend on that phone is in apps
Here, fill in the blank. When I leave my home, I take my keys, my wallet and __________.
You already know WordPress. You may even know plugin development. You have a client who has paid you to build their site. You have trust.
Doesn't it make sense that you offer them a mobile app that could be powered by their site? As an add-on?
The benefits are simple to comprehend
Follow my logic here.
- You know how to build WordPress sites
- You know how to build WordPress plugins
- Your clients have clients that want/need their info
- Everyone has mobile phones and tons have smart phones
- You have a customer that is willing to pay you for development
- You have a customer that trusts you for advice
- Doesn't it make sense to offer them a mobile app?
They've heard it will cost $50,000 – $150,000 to build a mobile app.
But what if you could offer it to them for much less?
Oh, I know. Not everyone would bite. But how much would you earn if only 30% of your clients said yes, for an average of 30% of your original project cost.
Let's do some math
Let's say you do 20 projects a year at $5,000 (for a yearly revenue of $100,000). Suggesting a mobile app could net you an additional $9,000 – the equivalent of almost 2 more client projects!
If your project totals are smaller, like $2,000. And you do 3 a month (for a yearly revenue of $72,000). Suggesting a mobile app could net you an additional $6,500 – the equivalent of more than 3 more client projects!
What if I told you that you could earn that money with a lot less work than what it takes to learn objective-c?
What if I told you that you could earn that money simply because you already know WordPress?
What if I told you that you could earn that money by spending as little as $499?
Seriously, do yourself a favor and invest a weekend or two in learning how to leverage phonegap and apppresser – or you'll be leaving good money on the table.