Volunteerism: Again!!!! (Part Deux)
More frustrated pastors and staff members who have gone the volunteerism route.
In sales, it is common knowledge to argue value over price. I've been told that for years by sales people - good sales people - and just read it in Jeffrey Gittomer's book, The Little Red Book of Sales. As a consumer, I have to practice value over price for my family and as a sales person I have to preach it in order to gain business for my company. However, when I deal with churches, it always comes down to price.
Orange Jacket was set up to help small business owners and churches with their web design needs. Providing a quality product to meet a limited budget has been my mantra from day one. So far, my experience has been that business owners go with value, but churches go with price. If the price was within ten percent of my price - higher or lower - I could win the argument. But I don't compete against a ten percent difference; I compete against FREE.
In the average situation with a church, I know going in that they are also talking with another company whose price is somewhere above $3,000.00. (My starting price for custom work is $959.00) I can win that argument on both price and value. At some point, though, someone from that church walks in and says, "Ill do it for free." I can beat that argument on value, but churches, in an effort at good stewardship, look only at price.
In the past four days, I have had two more conversations with staff from two different churches about their frustrations with volunteers. Once again, I feel I need to address the problem of using a volunteer to do your website.
Let's talk about value.
One of these churches of whom I am speaking is the ultimate example of the problem I am addressing. Their website is AWESOME! I think it is really cool! It really is. If it were a website for the next Harry Potter movie or some new video game where you want people to come and hang out for a few hours, then it would be perfect. But, people don't visit the average church or business website to be entertained. They visit to get information quickly and go on with their busy lives. With that in mind. This site is dreadful. I say dreadful, because it is not easy to navigate and the information, when you finally find it and the page finally loads, is not up-to-date.I ask you: What is the value of a really cool website, where the information is not accurate, not up-to-date, and the calendar function - one of the most used functions of the website - hasn't worked in WEEKS if not MONTHS?
Answer: No value whatsoever.
I ask again: What is the value of having a website that, as the pastor in charge of the website, you can't get it updated and the Deacon board is asking you, "Why isn't the website updated?"
Answer: No value.
I know what volunteers do and how they think. They start off with good intentions, excited about the ministry. At the same time, the pastor has one more item checked off of his to-do list and he saved money at the same time. Wow! That's a full day right there! But, after a while, the volunteer secretly wishes he had never volunteered and resents being at the beck and call of the church. Because he is a volunteer, the Pastor feels he can't do anything because he doesn't want to offend the volunteer and also doesn't want to stir up trouble. In short, the pastor is stuck and the website is useless.
Why do churches pay for custodial help and not for web design?
As I have said before, the website is just too visible to leave in the hands of a volunteer. The pastor with the pretty website said that he has been trying for months to get stuff updated and can't. I told him that I would have the website updated within 24 hours of his request.
Dependability and prompt fulfillment of a client's request. Now that's value!!!!
Shannon Fields,Orange Jacket Web Design LLC
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