nGen Works

Good stuff – we’re about to go through a process/documentation overhaul with Amber coming on board next week. Would love to take a look at it if you don’t mind sending to your physically closest competitor.

Carl,

I thought you would like to know that I am drinking a Miller Lite while I laugh with you.

Good stuff!

Again Carl, great job and well said. I love these recents posts as it just makes me feel that nGen and nclud have a lot in common with respect to how we go about the business of running the business — really just makes me feel good to know we’re on the right track.

You really nailed it with this video though; I love the idea of a ‘pause clause’, I might have to steal that one!

The biggest thing I’ve noticed with a proposal, especially when pitching larger organizations … is that sometimes the proposal you submit is the ONLY interaction or impression you get with senior executive management. As impressive as your website, portfolio or even your verbal pitch might be … a senior stake holder in the decision making process often times will only see the proposal — making a crucial document with respect to really expressing who you are and that process that makes you unique.

In your proposals, do you include a list of representative team members as well as a relevant portfolio pieces?

If you don’t mind sharing, how much time would you say you spend on average preparing a proposal for a new perspective. Do you have it fairly templatized at this point or is each one uniquely crafted?

Well said. As a project manager for a start-up web development company (with a PR background), I’ve taken a plunge into the deep end of the interactive world and have since been an avid reader of your blog and business practices. You’ve managed to articulate the frustrations and common pitfalls that can turn a seemingly straight-forward project into near disaster.
There was a lot of head-nodding and note taking as we all watched/listened to this morning’s post. We are in the process of establishing our own practices and policies that will help us and the client not only create the best web solution, but to have fun while doing it. Thanks again for the insight and honesty. Look forward to your next post!

Great video, Carl (and on nGen Friday no less!). And you’re right, it’s high time we start talking a little bit more openly about how to deal with client relationships and expectations. Looking forward to more videos soon, have a great weekend!

Good insight! Thanks for sharing.

Congrats on your video debut! It’s clear that your honing your speaking skills (I think I heard only one or two “ums” at most)and the fact that you did this in one take speaks volumes to how passionate you are about the entire process. You are truly an nGen superstar!

As for the content, we’ve been doing timestamps for about two plus years now and it’s worked out great for us too. Although, we adjust the length of ours depending on the size of the client. If you’re small and have less red tape, you should be able to get back to us faster than a larger corp client who has to swim upstream for approval.

I also love the idea of the pause clause, but I can’t recall one of our projects where that clause would’ve ever been enacted. But thanks to you, we may have to drop that little gem in just in case. I’ve got some more things to discuss, but I don’t want to turn this comment into a blog post itself, so I’ll be in touch soon. Happy Friday!

Great talk. I love the idea of having the “Do not backup” line. The latest project I was working on, which was well into the development stage, and all of a sudden the entire site map changed. The worst part is that the client didn’t realize why we went over budget – something that would have been more clear if we had that red line right on the proposal.

The Pause Clause is definitely intriguing too. I can’t think of a better way to encourage clients to stay on track. Well done.

Keep up the awesome stuff!

Excellent talk and advice Carl. You have a gift for being in front of the camera.

The “Pause Clause” is a great idea, something I never thought of but have always wondered how to deal with. I’ve struggled with that fine line of client interaction, typically being too lenient (especially with content) which has cost us time and money.

Very lucid, my friend. Your presentation skills are outstanding.

Now you just need to work on your running skills…. next week?

Kudos, Carl, for sharing! Great points and things we all struggle with from time to time. The “Do Not Back Up” and the “Pause Clause” are interesting ideas.

We found many of the same things to work for us. We tried a 2-phased approach (1 – design, 2 – build). We’d reserve the right to rebid the 2nd phase, but as you say prospects really want to see just one package. “Re-estimating” is a great way to position things.

Would love to get a copy of the proposal.

Enjoyed the video Carl! Very insightful.

We struggle with a lot of the same things and educating clients from the get go is so critical to the success of the project. Sounds like you guys have nailed this with your new proposal. Keep the videos coming.

Awesome Carl – I’d love to see it if you don’t mind sharing with your second closest competitor :)

Dude. Those hair flips are sexy. Meeeeow.

I knew when I bookmarked this video, the time spent watching it would be well worth it.

Thanks for putting all this out here—your ideas continue to impress and inspire me. This approach is much more warm, human, and creative than what many employ. The payoff is truly worth it!

Robert, thanks for the kind words. To hear that what we’re doing inspires you makes it all worth it.

Hi Carl, I was sent to have a look at your site and in particular this video post, and told I must download and read the ‘nGen Client Guide’ – very impressed, and thankful (I haven’t fully read it yet). We will be reworking our client proposals and like the lighter version that you have created. Having had a few projects recently put on hold, love the idea of not feeling like we have to ‘instantly’ start up again when the client is ready. That is a great clause. Typically if there is development downtime, we fall-back to own projects, but these too are hard to remember where you were at, and its not easy to pick up again.

Very valuable information, thank you for sharing it.