Latest Internet Marketing Sport? Programmer Bashing!

Written on January 8, 2009 by Garland Coulson

A few months ago, I went to an Internet marketing conference. I got to listen to and network with some of the most successful Internet marketers in the world.

Halfway though the conference, I noticed an interesting theme appearing in the presentations and in the conversations in the hallway during the breaks. Programmer bashing.

Nearly every presentation and many conversations had comments like:

• Programmers don’t understand what we are trying to do…

• Our system keeps crashing and our programmer can’t fix it…

• I keep paying them more and more and the system still doesn’t work…

• They don’t get back to me for days or weeks…

• Simple problems take forever for our programmer to fix…

Wow! I had no idea the problem was so pervasive. And I felt bad for MY programmer as I had paid for his conference tuition to be there!

Like other successful Internet marketers, I have had my share of bad programmers until I found my current programmer. Here are my three steps to working successfully with a freelance (non-staff) programmer.

Step 1. Choose Better Programmers

• Take your time when choosing your programmer

• Review their portfolio carefully and fully check their references

• Monitor how quickly they reply to your emails and phone calls to give you an indication of their responsiveness

• Tie portions of the payment to successful completion

• Have a contract that outlines responsibilities, due dates, ownership and relationship termination

• If outsourcing to other countries, ask lots of questions to check to see how well you can communicate with each other (some programmers in other countries struggle with understanding instructions in English)

• Start by using different programmers for different projects – this helps you find the “gems” amongst the rough stones

Step 2. Work Better With Your Programmer

• Take your time to write clear instructions

• Catch problems immediately

• Don’t make your programmer wait for material from you

• Pick up the phone and chat regularly – a 5 minute phone conversation can replace 10 back and forth emails that happen over a week

• Fully test each component – use a team of people to test, not just yourself

Step 3. Fire Your Programmer Quickly

When it is obvious your relationship with your programmer is not going to work, fire them quickly. Drawing it out will just cost you more money and time. A few tips to make your exit strategy work.

• Make sure you control your own domain access and access to all hosting and software so you can change quickly access if you fire a programmer

• Make sure you have a contract in place (Step 1) that outlines how you can end the relationship

• Review progress every week so you find out where the problems are right away rather than waiting for months into the project

• Record how quickly they reply to your emails and phone calls so you have evidence of their non-responsiveness

So use these steps to take charge of your programmer relationships and you will find your project will work much smoother.

Garland Coulson, “The E-Business Tutor”

Garland Coulson. "The EBusiness Tutor" is an Internet Marketing Speaker, Internet Mentor and Entrepreneur who teaches beginners how to succeed online.

Posted in Articles, How-to's