code and grow rich: 70+ ways to differentiate yourself as a programmer to land better clients
TRANSCRIPT
</ Code & Grow Rich >Your Parents’ Basement Is a Cold & Scary Place
brian ortiz | [email protected] |ortiz.io
To Land Your Ideal Clients, You Must Be Different
DEVELOPER’S VALUE DIFFERENTIATORS
Creating Your Own Unique & Distinctive Value
Proposition
Macro-Level Value Differentiators (best utilized in closing situations where overriding themes need to be
emphasized)
Micro-Level Value Differentiators(best utilized when emphasis on project specifics is needed or requested
by prospective client)
Better Solutions, Strategies, Thinking &
Accountability
Better & More Efficient Processes
Better Skills, Broader Experience, Industry Influencer
Track Record of Success / Better Fit / Relevancy
Scalability / Performance / Multi-Platform /
Interoperability / Complementary Technology
Integration
Unique or Exclusive Relationship / Unique
Resources / Better Access
How
What
Scale & Integrate
Exclusive Benefits
Categorizing
Your Value
• We have more organized, structured, and flexible strategies for our clients
• Our solutions are weighted more for longer-term benefits than for short-term gains
• Our solutions are directly aligned to client goals
• Our solutions are focused on the end-user experience and maximizing engagement from
potential and current customers
• The overall strategy and thinking behind our plan is both sound, grounded by facts/data/metrics
(quantitatively driven), and therefore less risky
• We are not married to a single technology or platform, our job is to achieve your goals, not
promote third party tools
• Seamless integration of project software with current web assets
• More business-centric; we take the time to understand both your business and your
goals/challenges
• Emphasis on security and accessibility
• Focus on user experience
• Consistent feel, consistent branding across all platforms (consistent messaging)
• Strategies are flexible, can evolve with business
• Decisions and iterations are based on data and global thinking, not hunches or unproven
hypotheses
• Deeper levels of testing and audience segmentation before going live
• Accountability doesn’t just focus on project delivery, but for the work ultimately creating value
for an organization and impacting the company’s bottom line
Better Solutions, Strategies, Thinking & Accountability“we’re smarter than the competition”
Use these differentiators when
you have less
experience than your competition)
Hack
• Better, more productive communication
• Complex ides are translated into easily understood concepts
• Likeable personality
• More transparent work-flow
• Ease in tracking project progress
• Better efficiency and execution• More specialized team members – greater depth of technology understanding
• Faster responsiveness to client concerns
• Milestone production process
• Integrates and evolves alongside internal team
• Self directed, limited handholding needed • Better, more thorough testing environment (higher chance of project success)
• Agile/Scrum project management philosophy/methodology
• Technology training, website management tutorials, ongoing education is offered to all relevant staff members
Better & More Efficient Processes “we’ll get this project done faster, with less headache”
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• Deeper level of expertise that is relevant to a client’s
specific project
• Wider, more integrated knowledge-base including
design, marketing, sales, and business development
• Generates unique content, tools, and software that is used
by other developers
• Developer insights are featured and shared on other
blogs, websites, and industry publications
• Wider breadth of applied development (not just beta
tests- actually utilized by past and current clients)
Better Skills / Broader Experience / Industry Influencer “I have more real-world experience and am more
capable than the competition”
Use these differentiators when you have more experience than your
competitionHack
• Relevant client case studies attesting to positive outcomes of past
work
• Multiple instances of working software that prospect can test and
use to acquaint them with your past work
• References – these clients have become referral hubs for my
development business
• Online reviews
• Testimonials
• A+ BBB rating
• Previous success in client’s B2B niche
• Previous success in similar project execution
Track Record of Success / Better Fit / Relevancy“I’m more credible and my solutions are more relevant”
• Applications can scale in tandem with user base, no degradation of
functionality as the number of users increase
• Software will present consistent functionality and user experience
across desktop, mobile, and tablet devices
• Our solutions do a better job of “talking” and interacting with each
other
• CMS, shopping cart, and analytics are seamlessly integrated
• Ability to integrate both marketing and sales application such as
salesforce.com and hubspot.com into the digital ecosystem
• Download speeds of web pages average 30% less than industry
standards due to specific methodology, reducing bounce rates and
increasing visitor engagement
Scalability / Performance / Multi-Platform / Interoperability /
Complementary Technology Integration“my solutions will grow with your business”
• Closer relationship with all team members, more established connections with members of the
team – less uncertainty in project outcomes (we’ve all been working together for “x” number
of years)
• Better integrated team (communicates through one platform and one point of contact)
• Utilization of more web development tools
• All team members have a minimum of 5+ years of development experience (no human-
capital cliff)
• Access to scarce resources (proprietary, expensive, or high value technology)
• Pre-existing relationships which enable us to run newer, more advanced versions of
technology (CMS, CRM, ERP)
• Larger library of scripts and pre-existing software which can be iterated more quickly for your
company
• Close relationship with industry leading CEOs – opportunities to create value added
partnerships in future
• After completion of project, I will be able to promote your product to my subscribers
• My co-developer helped write the original code which later became Shopify.com
• Ongoing relationships with media, industry journalists, and PR sources to enhance your brand
exposure and expedite virality
Unique or Exclusive Relationship / Unique Personnel / Unique Resources / Better Access “My relationships, resources and capabilities extend beyond this current project”
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Value in Macro – Language (Part 1)
Unique skill: “I am the only one (that I am aware of) that can do [x,y,z]”
Unique access: “I am the only one (that I am aware of) that will give you
access to this resource”
Unique working philosophy: “I am the only one that works with their clients along these specific lines”
Unique working philosophy: “I am the only one willing to train your staff to
replace me”
Uniquely broad thinking: “I am the only one that melds user experience, design and functionality”
Unique resource: “I have developed my own testing environment which
gives you a greater opportunity to iterate and evolve our software
efficiently”
Value in Macro – Language (Part 2)
Unique resource: “I have created a browser add-on tool that links your marketing and sales channel to our website software.”
Unique scarcity (time): “I only take on one new client per month, based on your team and project goals, I would like that client to be you.”
Unique affiliation “I helped Google solve a similar problem that you are looking to tackle”
Unique designation: “I was voted top web developer from link maven in 2014. This award was primarily based on my client satisfaction levels”
Unique accountability: “I am holding myself accountable for this software execution’s impact on your level of customer engagement”
Unique relationship: “We have an exclusive relationship with Shopify which gives us priority access and support for any new add on applications.”
Micro-Level Value Examples(best used within the pre-closing stages of
the sales cycle- always include simple
translations for those prospects that have
less understanding of technology)
brian ortiz | [email protected] |ortiz.io
My development process prioritizes the display of content within a critical rendering path. In other words, users will be able to both see and interact with web elements faster- it will make our pages more sticky.
All non-essential elements that are being downloaded on each page will be analyzed for user engagement. In other words, If a resource is not being used sufficiently or if it negatively impacts the rendering path, it will either be adjusted or scrapped depending on its impact on website performance.
I am using schema, open graph protocol, and twitter cards to better enable how our website looks when shared on these platforms. In other words, we’ll have more clicks, and more engagement when I add these code snippets to our pages.
I will be adding a webapp manifest by creating a JSON file. This simply means that we will be controlling how our website users will see our application.
I will be disabling user select for user interface elements which responds to touch. Simply put, some mobile browsers will select text if held down long enough, we don’t want that to happen in certain instances, so I will be selectively disabling that functionality.
Micro Value Examples
Value Differentiators In Action
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brian ortiz | [email protected] |ortiz.io
Sample Client E-Mail client is having trouble understanding technical language
Hi Paul,
I got the impression from the tone of our last conversation, that some of the technical
work we were doing in regards to the API work may be causing you a bit of anxiety. I’ll
do my best to break the subject matter into simple terms:
APIs can simply be seen as a set of requirements that manage the interactions between
two applications. I am using Google Maps’ API because it is enabling us to develop a
custom GPS system without having to create something similar from scratch. In general
terms, the API is saving us some money, and making it more efficient to build in added
functionality.
If you still need some clarification, here are three links that can help in your
understanding:
[link 1]
[link 2]
[link 3]
Best,
Carlos
Hi Amanda,
I am aware that our pricing may have been significantly higher than the other agencies you have engaged with thus far. Let me articulate why it still makes sense to consider us for this project:
1) Less risk- our past experiences prove that we can consistently execute similarly complex projects.2) More upside - we’re the best agency at blending our projects to function within your entire business ecosystem. Everything we do is considered within the framework of your overall business.3) Our relationships - we work directly with the highest rated application marketing agency in the U.S. This relationship enables us to format or work so it best impacts what happens after its deployment.
As a final thought, I want you to consider to true upside to choosing the best developer and the true downside to choosing the wrong one. We feel that our solution will give you the best long-term chance for success, and our combinations of attributes as a firm, simply cannot be matched.
If you have any additional questions that need clarification, don’t hesitate to ask.
Best,Steve
Sample Client E-Mail client is having trouble understanding why your pricing is so high
Hi Robert,
Thanks for going through this discovery and needs assessment process with me. I wanted to take a second to leave you with some final thoughts as to:
Why I feel our two companies are an ideal match for this project.
Why I feel you will get the most value from our solution.
Branding and Consistent User ExperienceYou expressed a clear commitment in having all dimensions of your application working fluidly together (desktop website, mobile website, tablet, mobile application) as well as having a unique and compelling user experience. My agency specializes in seamlessly melding all user environments together- illustrated in these past projects here:
[project A][project B][project C]
Future Growth: You also emphasized a deep commitment to our project’s future growth potential. All of our applications are designed to successfully scale efficiently as your number of visitors and clients grow.
Systems Integration: You also reiterated that you wanted “everything to work together without too much confusion.” Our Drupal CMS system as well as Drupal Commerce will be functioning alongside our marketing efforts through the Hubspot and Adwords platforms. All web pages and content that we develop will be optimized for Google Search. Non-closed leads generated by the website will be routed in real-time to your team, directly through the Sales Force module. All of our usability statistics and conversions will be tracked within Google Analytics with reports delivered to your team weekly.
Your Involvement: You spoke about your ideal project management environment being one of open communication and fluid channels of information through multiple departments and for multiple parties in your organization. As our project takes shape, all of our work is completed in a transparent, easy to understand format. All updates are delivered in non-technical speak so each member of your team can understand where we are and how we are progressing. Having you involved in each step of the process will ensure you are getting precisely what you envision.
Lastly, beyond the technicalities of this project, I wanted to express on a personal level, all of my team members felt at ease with both your style of direction and overall vision as to the direction of your business. I do feel, that the strategy we have put together, will reap long-term rewards for your organization. With that said, I am looking forward to our teams coming together to help you achieve your goals.
If you have any further questions, or just need some last “T”s crossed or “I”s dotted, drop me a line.
All The Best,Mark
Sample Client E-Mail closing e-mail sent to client with detailed unique value proposition
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Hi Brad,
I appreciate the wealth of information that you provided me in regards to your business objectives. I believe that your strategic vision is on pace to increase your marketing share significantly in the coming months and years.
With that said, I wanted to leave you with a few closing thoughts, before you make your final choice of web developer.
As a solo practitioner I have a few advantages over the larger outfits:
Responsiveness- you mentioned that waiting a week to have questions, answers, and issues addressed was simply not something you wanted to put yourself through during this process. As a one-man-operation I pride myself in getting back to my clients (in most situations) within 24-hours.
Level of Expertise- one of the reasons that my clients often opt to hire me over the larger agencies is because they feel that working with me directly, as opposed to a junior account manager is significantly more attractive. All of the work, from coding to testing, to execution, will be directly managed by me- there won’t be any green developers responsible for your success.
Social Media Integration - one of my deep areas of expertise as outlined in my portfolio is social media. My past clients have not only seen increases in social media visibility, but significant gains in prospect and customer engagement. I will be utilizing my entire arsenal of skills to assist you in maximizing our returns from all social media platforms.
Precision with Experience - As a developer with a design background, I am keenly aware of how users interact with websites, applications, forms, and other media. Having your target customer in mind while I build your applications will provide a solid foundation for long-term growth.
Work Load / Selectivity - As a solo-practitioner, I am careful as to what types of clients I take on, what promises I articulate, how many clients I work with at a single time, and what type of projects I engage in. Based on our continued discussions, I feel that your goals and my skills make a complementary match. Furthermore, your desired communication style (e-mail + phone) is exactly my definition of an ideal working relationship.
With all of those points aforementioned out of the way, I wanted to take the time to personally thank you for the continued dialogue. I look forward to beginning our formal working relationship, and believe that together, good things will happen.
All The Best,Roger
Sample Client E-Mail
closing e-mail sent to client with SOLOPRENEUR advantages
Hi Susan,
While you are in the final stages of your decision making process I wanted to leave you with a few thoughts that capture why I feel that my services represent a unique solution for your company.
We are experienced working in your [x] niche as supported by our case studies and portfolio.
We are technologically neutral -- this means that I am not beholden to one language, one platform, or one system- we implement solutions that we think will work best for our clients.
Our working style consists of milestone updates, which gives you a 360 degree view of our progress- this improves efficiency, gives us a productive framework to enlist feedback and input, and improves our speed to execution.
Once the CMS system is implemented we offer a full range of training for your internal team. All of your application functionality will include on-going support from us, your staff will have the ability to scale our initial build.
Best,Kenneth
Sample Client E-Mail closing e-mail sent to client with shorter unique value proposition
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