Do you currently provide web design as a service?
If not, you probably like doing what you do best and like to keep it that way. We totally get it, and we want to keep it that way too. You might not need this self assessment, but you still might want to reach out to us, because we can help you add hundreds of thousands of dollars to your revenue with little to no extra work from you and your team.
And if you do currently provide web design services, then pay close attention to the fundamentals below, because in them lies the key to your profitability.
So, now that the scene is set, here’s how this works. There are four Peaks of effectiveness when it comes to offering a profitable creative service: Marketing, Sales, Process and Fulfillment. And each peak is elevated through 5 Fundamentals.
We will walk through each fundamental together. Give yourself a 1-5 score for each and at the end we will analyze your score and you will see exactly what you need to do to significantly increase your profitability.
Remember, whether everything is awesome or not, there is always room for improvement.
Let’s get started!
The 1st Peak is:
Marketing is all about how you prepare and package yourself to compete and stand out in a competitive and complicated market. It’s what makes your messaging compelling and what gets you in front of the right people. Let’s take a look under the hood.
1. Identity – Your company’s identity is what sets you immediately apart from your competition. Are people literally drawn to work with you, or does your identity leave too much to the imagination?
1 = I’m not even sure what our identity is.
5 = We actually have a hard time pushing people away!
2. Portfolio – Do people look at your body of work and say, “Damn, I need that!”? Is your portfolio well designed, compelling and easy to digest?
1 = Not at all.
5 = Absolutely!
3. Internet presence – Are you taking advantage of all the internet has to offer in a way that is both compelling and effective? Does your overall internet presence speak to your capabilities and the quality of your work?
1 = What’s the internet?
5 = We look amazing everywhere you look!
4. Branding – Is your branding professional, intentional, approachable, confident, and consistent across all platforms and media?
1 = We have never really paid attention to branding.
5 = We are absolutely in love with our brand and are practically everywhere.
5. Outreach – Are you fully in control of how many people see your message and consistently creating new connections?
1 = No idea if anyone is listening, and not saying much anyway
5 = We are in absolute control of our pipeline
Phew, ok that was great! Now that we got marketing out of the way let’s start climbing our way over to Sales.
The 2nd Peak is:
Now that you can predictably and effectively draw people towards you, it’s time to start converting those conversations into actual sales. Can’t help anyone who’s not willing to let you help them, right? How are your fundamentals?
1. Knowledge – Are you able to address sales questions quickly and intelligently?
1 = We rarely know what’s actually going on
5 = We practically invented what we do, and nobody knows it better!
2. Strategy – Do you have a defined plan for how you turn marketing into conversations and conversations into sales?
1 = That’s a thing?
5 = Yep, every last detail is accounted for.
3. Product – Do you know exactly what you are selling? Is it a defined offer or a confusing array of services? Do you know what makes it the best and why it’s an absolute no-brainer to the prospect?
1 = We never really thought of it that way
5 = We have absolute, 100% conviction and clarity.
4. Personnel – Do you have the right people representing you as the outward face of your company?
1 = It’s actually somewhat embarrassing and I don’t want to talk about it.
5 = We’ve got the sharpest of the sharp!
5. CRM – Do you have a system for managing your pipeline and current customers that ensures you capitalize on every opportunity?
1 = We really don’t communicate with anyone.
5 = We are constantly in touch with just about every level of our network.
Ok great, now that we’ve got the revenue flowing, let’s make sure we are executing on all cylinders.
The 3rd Peak is:
Even creatives are more effective with a process, and often even more creative. The 5 fundamentals of Process will ensure you are delivering quality work on time, every time, and at scale.
1. Blueprint – Have you intentionally designed a process that takes projects seamlessly and predictably from start to finish?
1 = Not possible, every project is completely different
5 = It’s like obsessive clockwork every single time.”
2. Tools – Are you using the right tools to create predictable workflow and seamless conversations and information sharing between team members and clients?
1 = Things are always getting lost or forgotten.
5 = We always have exactly what we need exactly when we need it.
3. Customer Service – Do your clients feel involved, heard, informed, and excited?
1 = I have no idea and don’t really care.
5 = I’m proud of the fact that working with us is a truly wonderful experience.
4. Timelines – Are deadlines set, predictable and adhered to?
1 = C’mon, nobody can promise that!
5 = Time is our most valuable asset. We guard it ruthlessly.
5. Budgets – Are budgets set, predictable and adhered to?
1 = Enough with the predictability already.
5 = We never, ever, run into budget problems
Smooooooth. That’s what I’m talking about. Things are cruising now! And we’re just about done.
Let’s wrap up with a quick run through of what you will actually be delivering to your clients.
The 4th Peak is:
The final product, ultimately, is what it’s all about. Being efficient is one thing, delivering a top-quality product that is both effective and stress free is another.
1. Quality – Is your final product truly top-rate? Have professional levels of attention been paid to detail, design and usability?
1 = No real difference between us and everyone else that I can see.
5 = I honestly don’t know anyone who does it better.
2. Maintenance – Is the finished product easy for the client to maintain with as little help from you as possible?
1 = We are constantly using time and resources to make all kinds of changes for clients.
5 = Our clients are as self-sufficient as humanly possible.
3. Training – Do you have a predetermined process to teach clients how to use their product that does not involve any of your time?
1 = No, we are constantly having to manually show people how to do things.
5 = Yep, we almost never have to manually show anyone anything.
4. Offboarding – How do you hand off project components and get valuable feedback and information to and from clients?
1 = I’ll figure it out when I get there.
5 = Exactly the same efficient way, every single time.
5. Support – Is ongoing support minimal and easy to provide when needed?
1 = No, and it’s honestly enough to drive me insane.
5 = Let’s just say it’s always a pleasure to hear from past clients.
Congratulations! You’ve finished the full 4 peak assessment. Please enter your name and email address to see your scores and suggestions for where you can improve.
Each of the 4 peaks consists of 25 total possible points. Tally up your scores for each peak, from 5-25.
Green - Scores of 20+ are excellent!
Yellow - Scores of 11-19 are not horrible, but not great.
Red - Scores of 4 to 10 are a very clear sign that you need to get to work.
If you got a green score in any of the peaks, here's what it probably means:
Marketing - Your high score in Marketing says you know exactly who you are, you are confidently putting yourself out to the market and you have a compelling and intriguing presence. This is an amazing foundation to start with.
Sales - Your high score in Sales means you are showing up and effectively showing people how you can help them. This is the #1 driver for your revenue, and has probably given you the ability to further improve every other area of your business. Keep up the great work!
Process - Your high score in Process shows that you have built a really solid system for making sure your clients are always happy, well cared for and successful. This is such an important factor for the health of your long term relationships and the energy levels of your team. Well done!
Fulfillment - You scored really high for Fulfillment, and this means that no matter how many clients you serve, you will always be able to scale, grow, and maintain your long term relationships. Nothing better than building a business and loving to hear from your past clients!
If you got a yellow or red score in any of the peaks, you might be experiencing the following:
Marketing - Looks like you have some work to do on your marketing. You might be experiencing confusion from your prospects, lack of response to your outreach, or difficulty demanding the prices you want to be charging. There are often some simple things you can do to fix this, and though simple they can have a huge impact on the rest of your business.
Sales - Sales is an art, but it’s not a mystery. If you are experiencing low sales numbers, take a look at each fundamental and figure out what you need to do to improve. Even a small shift in the right direction can easily mean thousands of dollars added to your revenue.
Process - If your process is not working then both you and your clients are probably getting frustrated on a regular basis. Process is all about consistency, predictability and efficiency. If this is not working for you then you will be very hesitant to work on any of the other areas of your business, and that is not a good place to be.
Fulfillment - Everything else might be going great, but if your Fulfillment peak is not functioning well then the more clients you get, the more frustrated you will get and this will impact your ability to sell, and how many referrals you are given. Figure out what you can do to ensure that even after the work is done, your client journey is a positive and uplifting one.
Congratulations on taking the 4 Peaks of Profitable Web Design self assessment. Did you learn anything new? Are you ready to go out and crush it??
If you found some room for improvement and would like to chat about ways to make things better, book a time with us, and I’ll personally make sure you get you some clarity on how you can start becoming more profitable with web design immediately.
Enterprise Partner
