5.
Re: I've Started... now what?! May 27, 2009 6:10 PM
Obviously, I don't know what your "in person" pitch is like when you approach prospective clients -- but your opening sentence here was ". . . a full service design firm that handles all kinds of creative needs." Unfortunately, that may not mean anything to a decision-maker who wants/needs the kind of work you do.
A full-service design firm may do everything from e-commerce website creation to a multimedia advertising campaign. If you're a small firm, my guess is that you're not really experienced and exceptional at
everything, but you're hopefully experienced and exceptional at a
few things -- and my suggestion would be to focus on those intitally and emphasize your competitive position in the marketplace that exists for those things.
For example if your greatest marketable strengths was website design or banner advertising or business identity or whatever, you'd decide how you wanted to present yourself in that market -- best, fastest, least expensive, most creative, most adaptable, etc. -- and then use the portfolio of related projects you have to prove it. As you approach prospects, telling someone who needs a website designed that you are "a full services design firm that handles all kinds of creative needs" won't be nearly as effective as saying, "We design websites that just amazing, and we can do them faster and for less than anyone else in town." Basically, people are more willing to listen when you're talking in terms of
their needs and what it takes to satisfy them.
Hope that helps. Welcome to the community and best wishes with your new enterprise.
