How not to get taken advantage of...

Tutoring a customer on SEO

[Terabytes]

Hi!

I recently gained a new customer, who needs some serious SEO. I quoted them a price to basicly tutor them per page (I don't have the time to re-do their site for them at this point...this is probably my first mistake...I'm pretty busy with other web site customers), they agreed to the SEO for 25 pages of their website. Since they don't want to fork out the total cost until they see that I can indeed do the job, we agreed on a starting cost to cover a couple pages.

My concern is that they will "catch on" and decide that they don't need me for the remaining pages. I lose out in more ways than one....

basiclly I'm asking for suggestions on how to handle this before it bites me in the ***...

1) do I ask for 50% of the total cost and hope for the best?

2) do I ask for the entire cost up front?

3) do I discuss with them my issue? and see if "we" can work it out?

Any ideas you guys can give will be warmly received...

Thanks! You guys Rock!
Tera

[Edouard_H]

You might approach it by addressing one aspect at a time of all 25 pages; In other words don't complete the work on two pages only to be cut loose. This isn't completely mercenary - it's a good organized method and the client may well learn something useful and see the "whole picture" by project's end. Also, I'd ask for 50% up front.

[webtress]

Tera, since you "agreed on a starting cost to cover a couple pages" If you go back on that agreement you may lose their trust and any future work from them or referrals. If this agreement was in writing you should consult an attorney about adding an addendum to the agreement stating that $xx is due prior to work on for pages x-25. (the ex-realtor in me rears it's head again)

[rocknbil]

Since they don't want to fork out the total cost until they see that I can indeed do the job .... My concern is that they will "catch on" and decide that they don't need me for the remaining pages....

This is so common it kills me, I get it all the time. People want to suck your brain, see what you are doing, then say "see ya." Sometimes they even begin selling services based on what they learn from you.

How bad do you need this particular job? Are you confident in your own abilities, to the point that you don't need to prove anything to this client? Then you should be paid. Period. If you can afford it, pull the pay up or pass on the project card.

The bottom line is if someone's going to hack your brain, then make them pay for it. If you're sensing they want to get all they can for the least amount of money and like you say "catch on" to what you're doing and take over from there, that should be part of your cost. They are not just paying for the material service of the pages you rework, they are also paying for the knowledge you impart with your source code.

[akmac]

" I quoted them a price to basicly tutor them per page"

Is this a service you're offering to all your customers? If so, it looks as though you'll be working yourself out of a job.

I do sympathize though-people need to be told that you're NOT a teacher/tutor/etc.

[Terabytes]

thanks so much for the input...

I'm going to deal with the customer in the morning.

rocknbil:

your post is exactly right-on as far as I'm concerned...at this point

as always...you guys ROCK!
Tera

[rocknbil]

Is this a service you're offering to all your customers? If so, it looks as though you'll be working yourself out of a job.

This is probably one of the biggest problems with a web developer's working attitude, this right here. It's the same thing that motivates the less ethical ones to refuse to give up domain names they've purchased for a customer, to munge up the page when another developer takes over, to make excuses and lie to customers - it's something that will color your working environment for years to come.

What you need to remember is that ANYONE with sufficient motivation and moderate intelligence can learn this stuff. It's all out there. There are very few true "secrets" in the world of web development. So the knowledge you have is not a unique commodity, one you have to protect.

Who did YOU learn your stuff from? Where would you be if the knowledge you now have was never imparted, if it was only made available if your surname was Kennedy or Gates? :-)

Step one is to let this go.

Secondly, people seem to be intimidated by the misconception that there's only a limited amount of work and get frustrated when someone else gets a project that they think they could have done better. They probably could, but that's not the point. The point is that there is ALWAYS more work in this field. There's always more room. One person or firm cannot possibly do it all; I don't forsee a situation anytime soon that would parallel the IT industry with it's glut of talent and shortage of jobs.

Lastly, and this one comes with experience - the truth is you DON'T work yourself out of a job. What happens is you've created a more aware customer that spreads GOOD news about you. I've had customers that nearly had a cow over what things would cost. Then during development they've incurred changes that cost them even more. But in the end, all they can do is rave about how much money you've saved them and how it turned out to be the best money they've ever spent.