Who Really Needs Support?
For the past several weeks we’ve been discussing support contracts.
First we talked about how revenue vanishes and how you could combat this with recurring revenue. Next we looked at how support contracts are one of the easiest paths towards recurring revenue.
Then in closing I asked you “can you think of one client who came back to you for more work?”
Today we’re going to look at that client and why they were looking for more work.
But first let’s talk about my lawn and why you’ll never see me mowing.
A Quick Story
In high school I lived in a house on a five acre plot. Mowing that by itself it wasn’t so bad. The problem was my aunt also had a five acre plot just a couple miles from our house.
I’m not sure if it was a scheme but I could never hang out with my cousins until both lawns were cut.
- Can we get a ride to the mall? Cut the lawn and I’ll drive you.
- The lawn mower broke… That’s too bad. Finish it up with the Push Reel Mower.
- I need to pick up my date for Homecoming. Can I get keys? Cut the lawn and you’ll get the keys.
- Can you take me to the hospital? The mower gashed my leg. Sure. First, finish cutting the lawn.
By the end of high school I’d had enough. No more cutting grass!
Nowadays I just pay a lawn maintenance company to cut my grass for me.
The Ideal Support Client Doesn’t Want to Touch Your Project
I love my lawn. I like the way it looks. I just don’t want to maintain it – in any capacity.
The same can be said for the ideal client for a support contract. They love your work and all the benefits it brings their business. They’d just rather not touch it.
- Delivering a Rails app deployed on AWS? Will your client really want to deal with the AWS console to backup the database? I mean look at this documentation
- Sending over a Photoshop mockup of their new site design? Do they have Photoshop on their machine? How will they make small tweaks to your design?
You’ve got to remember that the main reason clients hire you is because:
- They don’t have anyone on staff to do the work you do. Or
- They don’t have enough hands-on staff to do the work you do.
So the next time you’re about to deliver a project ask yourself: who is going to be responsible for this? Do they want to be responsible? How much would they be willing to pay to just let you maintain it?
Looking at your current client load, does anyone fit this description?