Developer’s job is not writing code
Internet is full of offers related to programming — clients need to create websites, applications, install or configure plugins. So your goal as a developer is writing code for them, right? Well, yes and no.
In reality, clients come to developers in order to achieve their business goals. To make their ideas come true, to launch a new project, to start an online shop. And as a coder, you need to help them — but not only in terms of code. Your ultimate goal is to help clients achieve theirs. Code is just means to do it.
This mindset will not only help your client, but will make you more valuable expert. Look at this from client’s perspective — if you want to get something done, would you hire a coder who just code and disappear, or business consultant who would care about your business and “accidentally” also writes code?
Another benefit of such thinking is winning jobs and projects. If your offer sounds like “I can deliver X for Y money, please hire me”, you’re a commodity, you’re one of thousands coders. You should say something like “Great project idea, I would also add X, and would you consider Y? I have experience — look at my project/blog Z”.
Digging deeper into getting more work, you should show the examples of your work which are as close as possible to real client’s idea. Don’t show any projects or the biggest ones or the ones you are proud of technically. Show the ones which are exactly what client is interested in. If they want a blog — show a blog example, if it’s a CRM system — give a link to something related to data management. Prove that you’re an expert in their business field.
And don’t be afraid to ask questions. A lot. Clients are happy that you’re interested in what they want to achieve. There is a theory that you have to ask a lot of “WHY” questions, to understand the deepest meaning of what the client needs. If they want a website, you ask “Why?” To write a blog. Then second “Why?” gives you an answer “To promote my services”. The third one would show that client wants to find more customers via blog — therefore you will be able to recommend blog’s platform, design, plugins etc. But only after you know the final real-life goal.
Even when writing code, always think from the business point of view: can you offer something additional that would help client’s business? Some technical examples — you can advice on more secure servers, backup strategy, recommend some tools or frameworks to achieve faster result.
Ultimately, if a client ends up happy with the result — and if the project is successful — then two things will likely happen: they will extend the contract and offer you to create second version of the project, and also they will likely recommend you to their friends or business partners. People do feel grateful, true story.
In conclusion, always think from client’s point of view — what if you were the client of this project? What would make you satisfied?
