You've Won a Bid!! Now what?
You've painstakingly searched through new bids like a miner digging for gold.
You've carefully crafted the perfect bid and now it looks like all your hard work paid off.
Your bid has been accepted. Congratulations! :)
Now what?
It goes without saying that now you have to do the work as promised,
within the timeframe specified by the buyer.
Remember, this is your chance to start building a credible track record and also your chance to get a great rating.
You definitely do not want to blow this chance!
But don't bury yourself in the project just yet.
If you want to get this working relationship off on the right track there is something you need to do first and that is,
communicate with the buyer.
In fact, as you start conducting business over the Internet communication is going to be one of your most important responsibilities.
If you've ever shopped online, you know it's easy to feel like you're all alone and wonder whether you're dealing with a "legitimate" web site.
Well, the person who accepted your bid has in essence agreed to "buy" your services and that's why,
throughout the project, you should never let that person feel alone.
Send a thank you
As soon as you get notice that your bid has been accepted,
send a message to the buyer thanking him or her for the opportunity.
It's the polite thing to do and it's a positive first step.
Along with thanking the buyer, it's a good opportunity to acknowledge the buyer's deadline
and then let the buyer know when you intend to start working on the project.
Although the buyer probably has not yet paid you,
he or she still needs to know that there is a real,
and more importantly, responsible person behind the words that were written in the bid.
This initial correspondence is also a great time to clarify any outstanding project issues.
That way, you'll do the work right the first time around.
Having to redo your work is tedious,
it eats into your profit margin and it won't make the buyer very happy!
Depending on the magnitude of the project and the timeframe within which you're given to complete it,
you may wish to contact the buyer while the work is in progress.
Of course if you finish the project in a few hours or a day that won't be necessary.
But if you're building a web site and you're given several weeks to work on it,
you'll make the buyer happy if you provide periodic status reports.
Depending on what was specified in the bid,
you might even have to deliver certain parts of the project while the work is in progress.
While doing so might seem inconvenient, some buyers want this level of control.
They want to see for themselves that progress is in fact being made.
So show them. If you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, this really shouldn't be a problem.
So keep in touch. Your parents appreciate it and buyers do too!
In next article, I'll talk about Escrow account and why we need it. |
