Selling WordPress

Notes from WordCamp Netherlands on selling WordPress work to people who do not know or care what WordPress is.

The positioning problem

Clients do not buy WordPress. They buy a website that produces enquiries, an editor their team can use, or a store that does not lose orders. Selling the software is selling an implementation detail, and it invites comparison on price with everyone else who installs the same software.

What to sell instead

Framings that work

• The commercial outcome, with a number attached
• The cost of the problem you are removing
• What the client will be able to do without you afterwards
• The risk profile: who maintains it, who owns it, what happens on exit

Translating technical advantage

Most of what makes a WordPress build good is invisible: content modelling, query performance, deployment process. None of it sells. What sells is the consequence, stated plainly: the site does not fall over on your busiest day, your editor can publish without calling us, and you are not locked in.

The uncomfortable part

Selling on outcome means committing to a measurable result, which is harder than selling hours. See writing a brief for how to structure that commitment on the client's side.