Why some businesses and freelancers FAIL

I got a call yesterday. The fellow had a great product that wasn't selling. He wanted to know how much it would cost for 3 banner ads and to redo his home page on the web. Since 2 of the banner sizes were similar and because I felt sorry for him I quoted a very low ball price.. $250 per animated banner.

"That's $750 for 3... I can get it done for $125 bucks!" he tells me.

Now, while he's telling me that he can buy it cheaper, I'm looking at his web site and I'm not surprised he can buy the services he wants for $125. His web site is not SELLING. It's not professional looking... I guess he paid $125 for his web site too.

I explained to him that he will be spending a lot of money in the future on his advertising... and if he's running the same banner ads over and over again, then he should be getting more bang for his buck with banner advertising that WORKS... that drives clicks to his site.

"But I can spend $125 on it" I keep hearing him say...

BUT what HE wasn't hearing was that he wasn't giving his business a chance to succeed.

He wasn't spending his money where it really counts... in smart design combined with PROVEN marketing strategies designed to SELL at the very beginning.

I didn't get the assignment.

There will always be someone willing to do the project for less. If you are competing on price and not on quality, service and results, then you will be working 24/7 and will be out of business in one year.

My market, as well as yours, should be geared to people who are SERIOUS about their business succeeding and who know that quality and experience will cost a little more BUT WILL BE CHEAPER in the end because they will SELL MORE.

Bottom line: To be a successful freelancer, you have to convince your prospective clients that if they are SERIOUS about wanting their company to succeed, they have to take a swing at it with their best shot... and that's YOU not the inexperienced person who can do it for pennies.... because CHEAP is EXPENSIVE in the long run.