Originally posted at http://www.chrisconrey.com/the-anti-pitch-a-response/

This blog post by Big Bang Technology was pointed out to me by Josh Knowles and it resonated with me. Please read it first then come back. I’ll wait.

Ok now that you’re back: This is a problem that we run into at Integrum on a regular basis. There are plenty of software companies who are willing to use unrealistically low prices and shiny portfolios to wow clients into using them. They then bail on the client midstream after not being able to meet promises, or they turn in ugly code that doesn’t do all they promised. These clients then come looking for help from a professional development shop but blew their budget on the scuzzy developer(s).

Max Cameron at Big Bang came up with a great response in his post there – so good in fact that I’m going to steal some of the ideas there and make my own version. He admits that it may lose him some clients – but I’m willing to guess that some of those “lost” clients would not have been ideal for him anyway. These clients often are so burnt by the previous development staff that they are overly cautious or controlling through the process. Additionally I think his honesty and expectations setting are going to earn him more clients than he loses – and more loyal ones. His focus on value over price is the real key.

Kudos to Max for coming up with a great response to a difficult and growing problem.