Sometimes, You Don’t Get the Client… Then What?

It happens to everybody at some point or another. You spent days preparing the presentation, you did your research on the prospective client. After all, THEY asked you to come in and you felt confident that it all went off without a hitch.

They loved you! They smiled, asked great questions, (which you had no trouble answering) even complimented you on your thoroughness of your presentation, and you left the meeting confident…thinking, “Wow! This is great because working with this group will be fantastic.”

Then, you get the phone message. “We decided to go with the other vendor because….” and you don’t hear a word after “other vendor.” You mind starts racing with all kinds of thoughts and it’s like a Charlie Brown episode where all you hear is “wah wah wah.”

You actually have to go back and listen to the message again to hear why they went with the other company…. and you’re thinking to yourself, “What are they thinking? They went with THEM because of THAT?”

What Went Wrong?

As difficult as it is, most likely you did absolutely nothing wrong. You presented your company and your proposal based on what you felt is best for the client needs. They asked for “A”, you presented the solution to “A.” They asked for “B.” You presented the solution to “B.”

So, why did they choose them and not you?

Here’s What Happened to Us:

In early March, we were approached by a local, private school to prepare a proposal for a complete web makeover. They felt their existing web presence did not represent the school in the way they wanted to portray themselves in order to attract more families.

Their request for proposal was extremely detailed and it was obvious they spent quite a bit of time in determining what they wanted. In many ways, it made our job easier to present our recommended solutions. Proposals were due by early April and the two finalists were called in to meet with the selection committee.

I was very excited about the possibility of working with this particular school. The meeting went great, was fairly relaxed and more of a “let’s get to know each other” meeting.

They loved our presentation, said it was very thorough and they really didn’t have many questions for me. I thought, “Great! This is good news as they certainly wouldn’t have called me in if they didn’t like what I presented.”

Their biggest concern was simplicity and ease of use as they want to be able to manage their own content.

All in all, the meeting was 1/2 hour and I left feeling very confident that I presented the right solutions for their needs.

Too Confident?

Maybe I was too confident after leaving the meeting. Their selection committee, made up of the school’s director, their IT guy and two parents made their decision quickly… that day.

Yesterday, I got the phone message that started out, “We loved your presentation and were very impressed with you and your company, but we decided to go with the other vendor only because of….”

I didn’t hear a word after ‘decided to go with other vendor.’

We’ve lost a few proposals over the years based on price, however that was not the case here. If price was an issue, they wouldn’t have asked me to come in. They wanted simplicity and ease of use and we presented WordPress as the platform because it is, by far, the simplest for our clients to learn how to use.

Joomla? Really?

They told me the only reason they chose the other vendor is because of the platform, which the other company presented as Joomla. I have to admit, this reasoning totally baffles me.

Joomla is a great CMS, no doubt. However, for simplicity and ease of use by clients who manage their own content, WordPress wins hands down. I’m sure those of you reading this who have experienced both Joomla and WordPress will agree.

So, Now What?

I will send them a thank you card for considering my company. They’ve made their choice and already notified the other company. Could I go back and say, “Well, we can create a Joomla site, too?”

I could, but I won’t because in my 10 years of experience, I don’t think Joomla is the best solution for their needs and I will never present a solution to a prospective client that doesn’t fit.

However, it did make me thing about future presentations that ask for the preferred platform. I will include a comparison of both and why I feel one fits best over the other.

In cases like this, you just have to dust yourself off and move on.