TECH Trade: Website for _______ ...any luck with this type of transaction? EDU me...

[YourMomOnRyeBun]

Basically what the title says...any advice/experience trading a website for a service or goods?

I do business with a few local "mom and pop" type shops and their website are absolutely awful.

I'd like to approach them and say "I'll redesign your website for (insert product that you sell)"

Obviously I'd be a little more professional about it.

Have you guys done anything like this? Money is tight for a lot of businesses and I know that in other industries and trading for services is becoming more and more common.

The problem I have is that I don't want to offend them by suggestiing that their website sucks. Perhaps they think it is great. And by bad...I don't mean needs a little improvement. I mean it looks like it was designed in 2002 with a Front Page template.

My trade proposal seems more than reasonable if they are even remotely interested in a new website. I would provide a website that is probably worth $1,500-$2,000. Nothing too fancy - but they don't need fancy. I am looking for some equipment that has a sticker price in their store for $900. Their cost is obviously a bit less.

Any advice on how to present a proposal like this? ...

 

[Major Tom]

They don't care about their website.

 

[Murq]

They don't care about their website.

They care about their business.. and their website is the first image a person gets on a company.. it's a direct representation. Of course they care..

 

[Murq]

And yes, I do this very thing.

What I've notice works better...

Instead of trying to sell my service and convince them to 'contract me' for the website... I just started MAKING THEM.. hosting them on my site with a suburl.. then I approach the company and basically say, hey, your business looks successful. I looked at your website and it's a little out-dated and might be turning away business without you even knowing it. I'm a web designer by trade and I went ahead and re-designed a website using the content I found. If you'd like to take a look, go here: writes domain on back of business card.

FLAT FEE. People love FLAT FEES.

If they tell me they can't afford the flat fee, I tell them "okay, well I do accept service swaps. If you'd like to discuss a trade of services just give me a call"

Obviously, the website can be modified to fit your specific needs/wants.. yadda yadda.

I've done about 30 of these this year alone and only two places refused to deal with me at all. My flat fee is really low and I'm mostly using templates.

edit: most common 'services' I've received in exchange for making a website have been, time-shares, in-store credit, and free labor.

 

[acmatt92]

If you play it right and get some "mom and pop" restaurants then you will not have to pay for many meals!

Good luck!

 

[Pepsi1975]

Have done it for websites in the past, but not so much anymore, I also do printing and graphic design and recently traded a business card design with 1000 cards for some landscaping, it cost me $18 to order his cards and have them shipped and I got $100 worth of mowing lol

 

[White Stormy]

They don't care about their website.

.

 

[YourMomOnRyeBun]

My problem is that I'm not the face to face sales guy type. I'd rather just send an email and keep my fingers crossed. Which I know isn't effective because it will probably get deleted and never read.

I'm more of the behind the scenes guy...biggest hurdle I've face in all my business ventures. Fortunately I am usually able to surround myself with the right people to go out and pitch the deal for me. Oh well...

Thanks for the advice. I'll see how this plays out. My biggest concern about the mom&pop biz is that many times they may have done the website themselves, or their kid made it, etc. They may have just poured hours and hours of their time into the site and think it looks great. Hmmm... It's the generation gap. You show a website to someone that is 60 and they love it, but you show the same site to someone 20 or 30 and they will pick it apart and explain exactly why it looks dated and basically sucks balls.

 

[Mikey]

I've done this as well. I designed a simple wordpress website for a guitar effects company and in return he built me two custom specd guitar effects.

 

[YourMomOnRyeBun]

How did you approach the guitar company? Were you already a customer? Did they have a storefront so that you could go in and talk face to face?

How awful was their website? How did they take it when you essentially told them their site sucked?

 

[Mikey]

How did you approach the guitar company? Were you already a customer? Did they have a storefront so that you could go in and talk face to face?

How awful was their website? How did they take it when you essentially told them their site sucked?

It was on another guitar related forum. the guy posted that he didn't have any cash to pay for webdesign/development, so he was offering a trade of his goods for it.

 

[YourMomOnRyeBun]

Ahh...nice. Almost spoon fed to you! Cool. Maybe I will get lucky!

 

[Mikey]

i wish this would happen more often actually.