E-Ladies: Navigating the Wired World-Chapter 55 - Episode 55 Undemanding Client A vs. Newbie Party B
Chapter 55: Episode 55 “Undemanding” Client A vs. Newbie Party B Part 2
Chapter 55: Episode 55 “Undemanding” Client A vs. Newbie Party B Part 2
The design proposal couldn’t rely solely on Zhou Xueyin; over the week, she constantly harassed the other three people with the most frequently asked question: “Do you think this will work?”
At first, the others would offer their opinions and suggestions.
As the day to send the proposals to the client drew nearer, they began to give more perfunctory responses, feeling that the proposals Zhou Xueyin had created were already numerous and good enough, and there was no need to keep tormenting themselves.
However, Zhou Xueyin was anxious like someone with an anxiety disorder, always afraid that after all her hard work on the proposals, none would satisfy the client.
“Yinyin, you need to have confidence in your own proposals!” Seeing Zhou Xueyin so worn out, Li Jiniang couldn’t help but to turn off her computer screen and forced her to look at herself, “Just you watch, of all the ads on the entire internet, which one is more creative than what you’ve thought up? None! Just send these proposals to the client! You’ll definitely be fine!”
“Really? Are these proposals really okay?” It was rare to see Zhou Xueyin so lacking in confidence.
“Yinyin, I think they’re fine!” Yao Shanshan affirmed with certainty.
“No, it’s not about what you guys think, it has to be the client who thinks it’s okay…” Zhou Xueyin rubbed her messy hair, “Or… maybe I should send it to Sister Chunming first for a look?”
“Better not… It’s not quite appropriate.” Kang Siyin stopped her, “Although it’s a client introduced by Sister Chunming, she’s still a third party. If you show the proposal to a third party before the client, it involves a breach of the confidentiality agreement…”
“Right! Right! Right! You make sense! Ah… forget it, there are a total of 5 proposals, somehow the client should be able to pick one out!” Zhou Xueyin, mustering her resolve, packaged the proposals and sent them to the client’s email.
At the same time, she also contacted the client to let them know the proposals had been sent and to please check their inbox.
Expecting a long wait for a response, she was surprised when she received a call from the client the very next day after sending the emails. They sincerely invited them to their studio for a further discussion.
Wanting to ensure that the client’s feedback could be successfully implemented, Zhou Xueyin brought Kang Siyin and Yao Shanshan with her to a small shop located in Xisi Lamb Alley.
On the way there, Zhou Xueyin’s heart was uneasy, fearing that she would make a mistake when presenting the planning proposals.
Just as the three of them were about to push open the door and enter the shop, it suddenly opened from the inside, and out came three people in suits and leather shoes, wearing name tags from some advertising media company.
These three people had a fierce aura and glanced at Zhou Xueyin with contemptuous eyes, like they were above associating with her.
There were only three steps leading down, and as they were descending, they deliberately bumped into Kang Siyin and, without an apology, walked away without looking back.
“Really, acting all high and mighty just because they’re from an advertising company… What attitude is that?” Zhou Xueyin rolled her eyes in the direction they had left, “KK, are you okay?”
“I’m okay, I’m okay… Let’s hurry in, don’t let these people affect our mood!” Kang Siyin patted Zhou Xueyin.
Strangely enough, after being interrupted by these people from the advertising company, she didn’t seem as nervous as before.
Who was she, Zhou Xueyin? What big storms hadn’t she weathered? What weird investors hadn’t she met? It had been just a few months, so why was she so nervous about meeting a client? That wasn’t her style at all!
“Phew…” Zhou Xueyin took a deep breath to regain her usual confidence, “What’s there to be afraid of in presenting a planning proposal?”
Zhou Xueyin gently pushed open the door of the small shop and entered, “Excuse me, sorry for the interruption…”
The store really wasn’t big; one could see to the end at a glance. The front area was for sales, with a long counter on the left displaying various pieces of jewelry, and shelves filled with molds on the right.
In the very back were two small rooms side by side, the left one appeared spacious and bright, while the right one was dim and from time to time emitted the loud noise of a sanding wheel.
“Goodness, how many times have I said it…” Inside the counter, a woman speaking Shanghainese was talking to an employee of the store.
However, the woman with the Shanghai accent immediately welcomed Zhou Xueyin and her companions with a beaming smile upon seeing them enter: “Three young ladies? Are you here to order custom jewelry?”
“Ah… no, we are here for an appointment to discuss an advertising plan with Ms. Luo,” Zhou Xueyin was somewhat flustered.
“Oh my, you should have said so earlier, I am Ms. Luo! My name is Luo Jing, you must be Xiaozhou, right?” Luo Jing took out a business card from the holder on the counter and handed it to Zhou Xueyin.
Darn it! Am I an idiot? Our website has been established for so long, and we still haven’t designed business cards!
“Alright, alright… um, our business cards haven’t been printed yet… so…” Zhou Xueyin had no choice but to tell a white lie and respectfully received the business card Luo Jing handed over with both hands.
“No trouble at all, let’s go inside to talk, shall we?” Luo Jing greeted them with a gesture and lifted the partition between the counter and the browsing area, inviting the three guests into the small room on the left at the back.
“Please excuse us, our place is just a small workshop,” Luo Jing said with an apologetic smile, “Now, let’s take a quick look at the planning proposal, shall we?”
“Do you have a computer or a projector here?” Zhou Xueyin discovered yet another oversight, only bringing a USB drive and not printing out the proposal. What if they didn’t have a computer?
“We do! We do have a computer. But a projector… that’s too expensive, dear, I couldn’t bear to buy one,” Luo Jing said with a feigned smile.
“I’ll go next door and print it out…” Yao Shanshan took the USB drive from Zhou Xueyin as if snatching it away.
“Sorry… could you please wait a moment…” Zhou Xueyin’s face was full of apologetic smiles.
“No trouble at all, no trouble at all. As I said before, my place is simply a small workshop…” With time on her hands, Luo Jing guessed that Zhou Xueyin and her companions probably didn’t know much about her little store, so she began to introduce herself.
Luo Jing was from Shanghai, had studied abroad in her early years, specializing in jewelry design. After returning to China, she interned at several well-known companies. Loving freedom in design, she couldn’t stand the rigid structure of large companies and eventually resigned to start her own business.
She and her husband from the Northeast had built this small jewelry store from scratch, with her in charge of design and her husband turning her designs into reality.
Of course, customers could also have jewelry custom-made based on their preferences at her place.
Although it wasn’t as stable as working for a large company, she at least could freely express her creativity.
Not long ago, she and her husband discussed starting an online sales channel, and later met with some investors.
Although many were sceptical, they did meet Jiang Chunming, who suggested they find a website to help with promotion, which is how Zhou Xueyin and her team were recommended to them.
After hearing Luo Jing’s story, Zhou Xueyin felt that when she was making the plans, she only thought about her requirements, but didn’t learn much about their small store.
“Sister Luo, I actually brought 5 sets of proposals with me this time. But after hearing your story, I feel that none of these proposals really meet your needs…” Zhou Xueyin planned to go back, revise the proposals, and then return.
