January 28, 2017

Success story from reader Michael Schofield

Reader Michael Schofield wrote in to share a couple of recent successes.

I asked if I could share his story with y’all and he graciously agreed.

Here’s what he had to say (edited very slightly for clarity, bold mine):

Hey Jonathan,

Just yesterday morning I submitted the second proposal I adapted from yours, and just now in my inbox there’s a note giving it the thumbs up. Batting 1000 with your template so far : ).

In both I have a short paragraph, that starts:

It is hard in a proposal to suss-out all the tangible deliverables, but our partnership results in: ...

In which I say nothing about the number of templates or whatever, but about better positioning the organization to adapt and move at the pace their users demand. I moonlight for non-profits and libraries, so in this latest proposal that paragraph concludes:

... an overall strategy that positions web services not on the side as a “virtual branch” but as core component to the success of the library in general.

At least in this space, my observation is that these organizations are interested in retaining their own agency -- not the “web agency” kind -- in that constantly being in a position relying on output from third parties is no longer time- or cost-efficient. They’re either building-out their own teams, or their pursuing solutions that make it so they can do the job they want and need to do on the modern web without constantly needing a consultant.

In the talks leading up to these last two proposals, they don’t really care about the tangible deliverables. They talk about them because they’re not used to shopping for web work. What they care about is that they’re better able to demonstrate their own value to their communities and users. That’s what I offered them.

That’s my two cents. Anyway! This little newsletter has been crazy rewarding.

Best,

Michael

Thanks so much to Michael for sharing his findings.

I hope it helps to educate and clarify :)

Yours,

—J