Calling all web designers...
Discussion
Sales chap from the states rang up, and convinced me that online bidding for web design business was a good idea. I would sign up, but dont see the point if 98% of his clients are in the states.
Ive seen a few IT bidding sites, years ago, where one puts in a bid for business, but I never liked the idea and didnt bother with it. Im a people person, and bidding online just didnt seem like my cup of tea. However, if you can set your own prices, and the bidding itself is free, its probably worth giving it a go.
Can anyone recommend a UK based bidding site, does anyone even have any experience of bidding sites, are they a waste of time, or not?
Im open to the idea, so long as one doesnt have to pay to bid, the question is whether the people visiting bidding sites are looking for the cheapest quote, or the best company for the job.
Over to you lot...
Ive seen a few IT bidding sites, years ago, where one puts in a bid for business, but I never liked the idea and didnt bother with it. Im a people person, and bidding online just didnt seem like my cup of tea. However, if you can set your own prices, and the bidding itself is free, its probably worth giving it a go.
Can anyone recommend a UK based bidding site, does anyone even have any experience of bidding sites, are they a waste of time, or not?
Im open to the idea, so long as one doesnt have to pay to bid, the question is whether the people visiting bidding sites are looking for the cheapest quote, or the best company for the job.
Over to you lot...
slapmatt said:
The problem I've found with sites like Freelancer and RentACoder is that with the weak dollar and cheap Indian developers it is almost impossible for someone in the UK to bid competitively and still earn over the minimum wage.
Sounds like its not even worth doing.There are plenty of people who prefer a service they feel will be a quality one, most people wouldnt want to have to deal directly with indians. Ive won quite a few tenders where we have been the most expensive company, sometimes out of a dozen or so other companies. Im not saying we are expensive, but put head to head against all the bedroom coders, its easy enough to be more expensive than the majority of the competition.
So you wouldnt recommend it at all, then?
Bob, I wouldn't bother. You'll be undercut on price by people working from their bedroom, some of whom are very skilled in a "geeky" way.
Saying that, I know a couple of firms who do jobs on Rentacoder for very low cost, just so that they can get the "thumbs up star rating" or "high scores", which they can then use as part of their overall sales spiel. I.E. they say to their prospects "look at Rentacoder to see how much people like us". But most big prospects will see straight through that bullsh1t anyway.
I agree that if the client wants a proper professional job done, they will expect you to understand their business, which involves meeting them and developing a relationship. We're lucky enough to have so much business at the moment that I wouldn't want to consider devaluing it with something like that, so it's not for us as a firm, but it might suit a small 2 or 3 man band.
Saying that, I know a couple of firms who do jobs on Rentacoder for very low cost, just so that they can get the "thumbs up star rating" or "high scores", which they can then use as part of their overall sales spiel. I.E. they say to their prospects "look at Rentacoder to see how much people like us". But most big prospects will see straight through that bullsh1t anyway.
I agree that if the client wants a proper professional job done, they will expect you to understand their business, which involves meeting them and developing a relationship. We're lucky enough to have so much business at the moment that I wouldn't want to consider devaluing it with something like that, so it's not for us as a firm, but it might suit a small 2 or 3 man band.
jacobyte said:
Bob, I wouldn't bother. You'll be undercut on price by people working from their bedroom, some of whom are very skilled in a "geeky" way.
Saying that, I know a couple of firms who do jobs on Rentacoder for very low cost, just so that they can get the "thumbs up star rating" or "high scores", which they can then use as part of their overall sales spiel. I.E. they say to their prospects "look at Rentacoder to see how much people like us". But most big prospects will see straight through that bullsh1t anyway.
I agree that if the client wants a proper professional job done, they will expect you to understand their business, which involves meeting them and developing a relationship. We're lucky enough to have so much business at the moment that I wouldn't want to consider devaluing it with something like that, so it's not for us as a firm, but it might suit a small 2 or 3 man band.
In the past, a quick look at these sites put me right off, my time is too valuable to be spent bidding online and I certainly wouldn't lower prices just to get the business. But this american sales chap seemed to have a good plan. Tenders are sent out to between 3 and 5 design comanies, never more than 5 companies (usually 3, he said) and only the winning bidder pays a fee.Saying that, I know a couple of firms who do jobs on Rentacoder for very low cost, just so that they can get the "thumbs up star rating" or "high scores", which they can then use as part of their overall sales spiel. I.E. they say to their prospects "look at Rentacoder to see how much people like us". But most big prospects will see straight through that bullsh1t anyway.
I agree that if the client wants a proper professional job done, they will expect you to understand their business, which involves meeting them and developing a relationship. We're lucky enough to have so much business at the moment that I wouldn't want to consider devaluing it with something like that, so it's not for us as a firm, but it might suit a small 2 or 3 man band.
Projects are broken down into the following categories:
$500 to $1000
$1K - $5K
$5K - $10K
$10K - $25K
$25K - $50K
$50K - $100K
$100K - $250K
Over $250K
You simply state which categories you are interested in receiving tenders for, and they send you loads of double qualified leads, and you know the leads are going to a maximum of 4 other companies. There is no selling, very little to do, seemed like a great service, except its based in the states. Ive got nothing against Americans, I just prefer not to work with them.
Here is the link, if anyone is interested:
http://rfp.org/sitemedia/content/leadservices.cfm
Im the same as you. Its all about understanding the client and building relationships. The site above seemed ok, from the point of view that you either get the work or not, and can start building a relationship as soon as youve won the bid, which isnt really a price war.
UKbob said:
Ive got nothing against Americans, I just prefer not to work with them.
:-)hence the UK? seems logical
I'd be tempted to give it a go, particularly for work that is 'mechanical', although I expect it's this kind of work that will go to the lowest bidder.
would be handy to find out who you'd be competing against.
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