The complimentary consultation is an important part of any graphic or web design project. Obviously we can’t speak for all graphic and web design companies, or guarantee that they all offer this service, so we will be speaking largely about our own consultation.
There’s truth to the saying “knowledge is power,” and we believe in open communication with our clients. Because of this, we thought we’d let you know what to expect when you have an appointment for a complimentary consultation.
A Complimentary Consultation Is Just That
When we say complimentary, we mean it. There will be no fee added to your bill for this meeting. And when we say consultation, we mean that as well. This where we discuss your project, services that may benefit you, and put together a quote for pricing. There is no pressure at this point to sign a contract, give us money, or even choose us as your design agency.
The complimentary consultation is simply to give and get information – for both parties.
Project Discussion
The project discussion is the most important part of the consultation, because it will dictate the remainder of the meeting. This is where we discuss your project (is a logo? A website?) and future goals as a company (or freelancer, or, whatever it is you need).
Colors, fonts, style, inspiration, etc. are included in this portion. We’ll go over what to expect for your money (is there a cost for revisions? Not when you work with us!). We’ll discuss your turnaround goal and what we’ll realistically be able to pull off for you. Hint: If you need a 6 page website by tomorrow, we probably won’t be able to accommodate that.
Pricing
We pride ourselves on fair and upfront pricing. We also pride ourselves in never pressuring you into packages or products that you don’t need. We’ll take the project and your goals we just discussed and recommend which package we think you’re going to be happiest with. This applies to both graphic and web design projects.
Nuances of Website Consultations
All of the above applies to web projects. However, in a complimentary website consultation, we’ll also discuss hosting and maintenance. We’ll offer the pros and cons of using us for your hosting and maintenance vs. bringing your own and the various packages we offer.
Since very few of our clients come in actually knowing what they want from their website, there’s a lot of talk about what you want your site to accomplish. That’s what we’re here for! Whether you’re a blog, information providing site, or sales producing site will determine what you need. We’ll go over how many pages you need (if we had a penny for every time someone thought they needed a 10 page site and realistically only needed 3).
And because websites are naturally a larger-ticket item than, say, a T-shirt design, the pricing talk will also include payment plan options.
What We Expect From You
We provide a partnership when we’re working with our clients. This means there is a fair amount of give and take. There are things we’ll need from you before we can get started, too.
Mostly what we need from you is content. This is especially the case for websites. We can’t make up your products, services, About Us section, or testimonials. That’s all content we need from you so we can drop it into what we build. We have an excellent post about what kind of content we need from you for various projects here.
We’ll also discuss payment. Most projects require a deposit (that goes toward your total invoice). This is simply to protect us for hours worked should a client suddenly stop responding or try a different company after we’ve already put 10 hours of work into the project.
Other Beneficial Services
As stated above, we don’t believe in hard sales tactics. However, we like to think that we’re pretty good at building trust with our clients and we are a one-stop shop for everyone’s marketing needs. We’ll wrap up by suggesting, say, business cards with your logos to get you started. Or if we think you’ll benefit from brochures alongside your business cards, we’ll talk about what that looks like cost-wise and why we think you need them.
If you’re not interested? Don’t sweat it. You know where to find us if you change your mind.
Complimentary Consultation Bottom Line
The complimentary consultation is a vital part of even the smallest of projects, and can be as in-depth or minimal as needed for you to feel comfortable with next steps. Whether you know exactly what you need and just want pricing, or if you’re not sure where to begin and need guidance, the consultation would be where to start. Feel free to reach out if you’re ready to discuss your project!
