Quote Expiration

On a recent quote that I prepared for a customer, I realized that I did not put an expiration date on the quote. A simple statement like "This special price is good for thirty days", may have been useful in getting the customer to take action. Without a discount expiration date, the customer has little incentive to take time out from their daily routine to get back to you. Getting work is difficult and starting quickly after the quote stage is important in keeping the momentum going on a project. Give a customer too much time and they will either forget about you or sign with someone who has more aggressive marketing skills. Having a contract to sign during the initial meeting is also a good idea. But in my case I was in the middle of updating my standard contract. I am learning a few lessons on how to deal with busy clients. This is good because things like this usually give me ideas for improving my business practices.