Let’s see if the process of buying a website is like buying a car.

Time to buy a car

So one Saturday you set off around town to buy yourself a car. New or used, it’s the same process.

You’ve done a bit of research beforehand – read the newspaper ads, maybe read a few magazine reviews on a few different makes/models. You’ve probably done a bit of Googling too, to see what other people are saying about their experience of buying the cars you’re thinking about buying. You might even have done a bit of research on who you’re planning on visiting to buy the car from – the internet is great for reviews of both products and the businesses that sell them.

You rock up to a car dealer, and mosey about a bit. You find the make & model that you are particularly interested in, and show some serious interest. A salesperson approaches you and starts the conversation – “If you’re looking for something reliable, with a bit of power, and some of the luxury add-ons, that’s a great example.”

“I’m just looking for something cheap. I don’t want to spend much, but I need it quickly”.

“Ah. So what’s your budget?”

“I’m not telling you that, just tell me what’s cheap and available right now”.

Your Budget Sets What You Gets

Well, of course, it’s a bit of a ‘how long is a piece of string’ conversation from there. The salesperson cannot match you up to what you are seeking unless there’s a clear idea of what you are willing to spend. Your dilemma is that if you say how much you have, the salesperson could simply oversell you on a car you would otherwise have been able to do a deal on. This is based on the assumption that the salesperson is out to give you as little as possible in return for as much as possible. Classic “you vs me” deal-making with a loser and a winner.

That’s an old-fashioned approach though, that may work short-term but fails in the modern world of easy communication and online reviews. When you find out you’ve been ripped off a thousand dollars, you won’t be happy and you’ll be looking for ways to tell not only friends & family, but the whole world.

Besides, odds are you’ll be average at picking out a ‘shark’ or a hard-sell – because most people (especially in Australia) have a good nose for it.

So long as you can find someone that you are willing to trust to a reasonable degree, and you judge to be “of good character” as they say in legal circles, then you will likely find that by establishing how much you have to spend, you enable the salesperson to make the best possible match for you. The conversation heads off along the direction of; “Well, for $x,000, we have these four cars around that price – this one I think you should consider, because it’s pretty close to what you need”

Buying A Website?

When you’re looking into getting a website, you’re making a very similar investment. That last word is key, though – because you are putting money into something that you should be expecting a return from. You buy a car, you get personal transport (generally you get lots more bills too, mind you, and the car loses value constantly!). You buy a website, you get more leads, or you make more sales, or you generate more awareness and support.

Your relationship with your website designer or agency is absolutely critical. You have to be able to trust that when you say you have $4,000 to spend, that you’ll get maximum value for that expenditure. Be ready to negotiate, of course. That’s not the same as deal-making, where 2 parties are looking for the win-lose. When you negotiate, you’re looking for the win-win – “I give you this and you give me that and we’re both satisfied”.

So be prepared to be open and honest about what your website budget is. Expect a reasonably detailed description of what you are getting. You definitely want enough specifics (and in writing, too) to be able to compare against other website designers if appropriate. Alternatively, draw up a list of what you must have in your website, with some optional ‘nice to have’ extras, and ask for a quote to build that (this may limit what you ask for to what you know about though… and you don’t know what you don’t know!)

Winch Websites aims to establish long-term ongoing relationships with clients, with a view to building and continuing an essential element for their businesses. Please get in touch for a chat about your project, whatever stage you’re at.