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The last set of questions we want to ask our client consist of administrative tasks that will help us finish the project smoothly.
Click here to download a list of possible questions for your questionnaire. These are a sampling of the possible questions you could ask your client, and they have been compiled from many sources around the web. There are by no means a comprehensive list and you should always include questions that are specific to the project if possible.
[Pasan Premaratne] We're almost done with asking questions.
0:00
We just have one area left to cover, and that's the administrative stuff.
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Let's take a look at some sample questions.
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What is your budget for this project? First and foremost, you want to know if the project is worth doing.
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Are you compensated enough for the effort you're going to put in?
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Now the budget doesn't always mean that's the maximum you can charge.
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You can always convince the client that the features they want cost more.
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But knowing the budget gives you an estimate to start off with.
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For the first project you undertake, you can't be as flexible as you'd like to be with pricing.
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But as you grow as a freelancer and get better, you can always charge what you think you deserve.
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Next ask the client who the decision makers are on this project and what the turnaround time is.
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It's always important to know who the decision makers are and to work with them directly.
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If you have to go through a few layers to arrive at a decision, then there will be significant delays when getting feedback.
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This applies to your turnaround time as well.
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If you know there's going to be a day or 2 when hearing back, you need to build that into your timeline.
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The worst thing is to deliver the project late because you were waiting on assets or approval.
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Ask the client for all the people involved in the project and what they will be contributing to the project.
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But make sure that there's 1 point person for the project—
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1 stake holder who has a decision-making ability that you can coordinate the project with.
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And ask them what their timelines are like. Of course you want to ask them if they have any specific deadlines.
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Certain websites could be for specific marketing events that need to be launched by a certain date.
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You always want to make sure you deliver a project before a client's deadline date.
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But equally as important, you don't want to accept a project with an insanely tight deadline.
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Now these questions are just the tip of the iceberg.
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They might seem like a lot, but they serve a very useful purpose. So try and the get the client to answer as many as possible.
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Depending on the project you could ask different questions in addition to the set we've already covered.
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E-commerce sites have their own special set of functionality and goals, for example.
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In any case the purpose of this questionnaire is to get as much information as possible on the potential project
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to understand what you will be working on and to avoid conflict down the road.
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At minimum you should be able to walk away knowing at least the following bits of information.
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First, what are you doing? What is the project about? And what features has the client requested?
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Second, who are you doing it for? Who is the target audience? How do they feel when they use a client's product?
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And what do you want them to do when they end up on the website?
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Next, who are you working with? Are there any decision makers or other people involved in the project?
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And do you have the means to get in touch with them?
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Finally, when do you need to do it by? Do you have a deadline that you are working with or a rough time estimate?
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And have you taken into account turnaround times into this deadline?
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Once you have your questionnaire filled out, you have sufficient information to make all the relevant decisions for this project.
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That is, you can decide if you want to do it, how complex it is, how long it's going to take, and how much you're going to charge.
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