How to go from freelancing to her agency

The first fear

This was almost no one speaks, but in business and self-employment of the most difficult - is to overcome their own fears. Breaking barriers within.

Firstly, it is very difficult to take everything and throw. It's hard to take a step into the void. Freelancer neither of whom is independent, as well as the director of any company. Get the money can only when you really earned it himself. It will not work to wipe his pants on a chair and wait, when you pay for prosizhennoe time in office. The thought "If there are no customers, then I will have nothing to eat?" Haunted every day.

I was afraid to leave the last place of work. Me and my future partner to work together in the Internet agency in Yekaterinburg. And at some point we realized that we have to go: from the fact that both of us are simply poorly rated as specialists. He cut wages in half, and after university I was too young and daring to work for 20 thousand.

He helped "lucky break." Director noticed that my future partner started a project (our) "on the side" and fired him. And I have shifted responsibility for his part of the job. Until then, I conducted 25 sites in the company, now there are 50, and the salary and has 20 thousand rubles, why I myself went through three days.

I do not know if I could overcome this fear in other words, without a strong external factor.

How it all began

First there was almost a joke: "Let's do our web studio?" - I said, the future partner once by phone. Even flew the thought, I blurted something stupid.

At the last place of work the past few months has been a large percentage of the leakage of the old customers. And all because of internal changes: the policy is changed to communicate with clients (now do managers) and the average check grew strongly. Unfortunately, the quality of services at the same time even fell - because of the fact that the projects began to lead the new guys that are little understood in its specificity and in general IT.

Blunder leadership at the agency was that before these events allow us to communicate with customers. It has developed the trust between us (professionals and clients), so we just offered to work with us privately, when they started to leave. And they liked it.

When my partner and that the agency did not, the company has lost more of the customers who went after us. These were mostly those who had heard vaguely that the leading specialists promotion department went about their business, and the company is now there is no such department.

Easy dumping and personal involvement played into the hands: the client was happy, now that his project fully monitored daily. More and price has become a little bit lower.

Partner took on the search and customer management, The setting for their advertising. I engaged in projects ranging from copywriting to programming and promotion.

Customer Search

Three months after the battle of enthusiasm about "We are tough guys freelance" occurred a thought, a little sad: "What if clients run out?" We did not want to take customers to freelance exchanges. Just because there is a lot of competition, fierce dumping (beginners only 'for food' work) and customers with the desire to save, and you circle around your finger, tossing the extra work.

All of our customers came exclusively through word of mouth. Since we are with a partner is not the first year working in the IT and had little experience in the business before, you understand that it will not give the company's growth, which he dreamed. We wanted to work with steep clients to conduct large-scale projects on an ongoing basis.

Bit pomonitoriv market and studying the different advertising channels on the web, we decided to drop the idea and do not use such tools. First, advertising is not guaranteed to be flagged for our target audience. We tried to work with large projects, and to do that effectively cool the sale when you're directly calling the person making the decision. Secondly, it is very expensive. In our productive niche contextual advertising costs from 20 thousand rubles a week. Young companies can not afford it, and the risk was unnecessary.

Creating a sales department

Therefore, we decided to organize the sales department. First thought about a remote format. Prodazhnika found a job at a stock exchange - to fail, he was not interested and "burned out" after the first project. Then there was the manager of the old agency, too, failed. He constantly tried to cheat us and demanded 70% of the profits. But I had to endure it for long, because he was at least a little bit makes a profit and new customers. Once was the best friend of my partner. It's all very sad: they had a falling out and it seems that will never communicate more.

During these two months, I have learned two lessons. First: friends in the business should never call a quarrel over money. Second, no experience anywhere. Remote sales team was not so and easy option: people are "burned" quickly, because we have in fact no one and nothing steep for motivation could not offer. Managers have little interest in the result, not willing to work for a percentage, and want to pay. Without them it is impossible to control the office, even his own CRM is not saved, and reporting turned into a farce. We do not have any experience in cold sales, creation of a department on its own seemed almost impossible.

Because of all this pain we went to drastic measures: offered an old friend (the head of the sales department of the company where we used to work) share of the business. The idea was that he sells, produces and sales department is engaged in the entire commercial component.

So we have a commercial director, who was motivated by a factor of 10 greater than any incoming manager. And later, he stimulated all of us to take a new height, "I have an office, or where the plant manager? Where should I give presentations to clients? "

The second fear

Fear number two in the lives of many people, which makes it difficult to develop: to receive less than they do now.

Within six months, we needed an office for five people with the prospect of replenishing the state of up to eight. Office - this is the face of the company, so it should, firstly, have a normal repair and located in the business center in the downtown area. Secondly, it must be spacious and with the possibility to equip the meeting room.

Still the office needed new furniture (tables, chairs, coat rack, wardrobe) and computers. The costs were high, and this despite the fact that we brought two personal computer. I am looking ahead and add that in two months we took the staff of the sixth employee (programmer), and it also cost money.

All these costs were covered from own funds, which we barely have time to make again to "lose". All this time, we were afraid to leave the comfort zone: stay with an income lower than it is now, to sleep less than six hours, work from 8 to 22, with no privacy. At that time, one businessman in social networks, I met a phrase that has helped me not to break down, "Sometimes you have to die to be reborn, like a phoenix, a new man without fear." Not literally, but I understood it so. Yes, sometimes you have to go hungry, so you normally earn and do not fall asleep with the fear that everything will fall apart tomorrow.

proper packaging

I put the concept of packaging everything from quotation to conferences, where you act as a speaker, and the relationship to work.

All of our customers came by word of mouth and via the sales department. This required us to perform at 110%, so that the flow of the recommendations did not stop.

Also needed a comfortable office and delicious coffee, to make customers feel at home. The room did repair, hung on the walls certificates and diplomas. Thought through different stuff: hangers, mugs, chocolates, music.

Offer, unfortunately, is still not ready and changed weekly. This is because the client should feel an individual approach. Let's be honest: to prepare a proposal for each client - it is unrealistic long time, so we made dozens of pieces. Although still in the collection offers more than a few hours away, it's worth it.

Increased income

Formed sales department facilitated the search for new customers and increase profitability of the company. We consistently appear two to five new customers a month. First, it is a very good effect on the growth of the company, as one big project (or three small) covers office expenses.

customer cycle in SEO-agency usually takes four to six months if the promotion does not bring results, then it goes away, leaving negative feedback. We had less than 5% of such "sinks", and that by reason of the fact that the customer pays a minimum (less than 10,000 for the project) and is awaiting the results of space. Although we were warned about everything and told how events will unfold and what the check is required.

To increase the client cycle, we have introduced in every project the development clock. This idea is very much customers. For example, a person pays 20 thousand rubles, receives 10 hours of web development (which are tracked in CRM) and may implement some of their "hotelok" online: change the design, make a personal account. Let's say, for SEO such project work is not needed, but the customer wants to spend them. If the implementation is simple, it can be asked to do this without paying extra. This approach has helped to increase customer cycle for another four months. Increase customer loyalty to the company, as a result of the increased profitability.

also changed in the sales department. There was a staff member who is looking through tenders or cold calling clients to develop the sites. Yes, the web development company brings new challenges: there are project managers should be introduced, and to increase the staff of programmers. But check in 3-5 times more, and the money can be spent on development of the company.

staff

Footage - it's your everything. Find customers fairly easy, but keep them far more complicated, and here to help qualified employees. Therefore, all the time we were in search new people.

The labor market in a few good IT professionals available. Many students and people aged who decide to engage in IT, hiking on courses and thinking that the big money here. And if students work for small amounts and learn quickly, then the second category of problems begin: they just want a high salary with minimal knowledge.

Excellent same experts are divided into two types: some are afraid to change jobs, even if they receive less than they deserve for their skills, and you have to offer a higher salary. Over a year of work, I realized that in this case you just have to instill in a person's confidence in the company. The second just asking for some space salaries, though they previously worked for 50 thousand rubles a month, doing the same thing.

So we went for the most difficult way: training and rigorous selection process. An appropriate we programmer at a pace we were looking for three months. But during that time we raised a good specialist.

In his of CRM-system I have created a section where all the information collected on the SEO and web development, which owned. I spent on filling out this section and a half months, but can always send employees to read the documentation, where everything is described in detail with examples. If something I do not know (and I have a lot of things I do not know), I suggest to pay for a course on the desired subject.

Increase the average ticket

After six months of work we had to unload the experts. We felt that a large number of projects is bad for performance.

We decided to raise the price. It's simple, the main thing - do not be afraid. Takes and promoting. If you provide the results to the client, and you have a normal service, simply tell that from next month, price increases by n percent.

About 15% of clients will fall off immediately. Another 20% will not immediately pay more - but then either go away, or will pay. The others survive this fact, and in an ideal situation, you will not lose in the general circulation. From the pros: unloaded specialists and service quality is growing. After this innovation from three months we have all of the projects have grown by leaps and bounds. I do not think that this is a seasonal coincidence.

We experienced one increase in check, and at the expense of those who had to pay more, we did not feel the loss of old customers. But the new customers have already come to a higher average check.

Ways of development

From the point of view of business services not earn much: people are earning millions and billions on the product. We went on a simple way and have done templates for popular CMS, which is to sell aggregators. This helps to cover some of the financial gaps and sudden expenses.

There is a desire to develop their CRM, making it completely open. But while this is only an idea, the market is already filled with cool products.

Also it is necessary to pack on business: to change the website, update the blog more often than it is now, to speak at conferences, modify CRM-system, making a personal account for customers, not just for employees. All this forms the image, provide quality service and helps to win customers not only through the advice and telephone conversations.