Dear Crucial Skills,
I am a consultant and I frequently have clients who try to get more from me than originally agreed upon in a statement of work. This is always difficult to navigate, and I’m not sure how to do so without having problems so I usually just step up and do the work—but at a cost to me. How can I resolve these situations?
Signed,
Scope Creep
Dear Scope Creep,
There are two simple fixes to what you’re experiencing. They are simple, but not easy.
First, create a poignant “expectations” event at the beginning of every project. It’s easier to say no before they ask for extras than after. That “before” time is when you start a new project. I’m guessing you already do some version of this. At the beginning of a new project, you should explain to the client that “I promise not to ask you for extra money beyond what we’ve agreed. I also expect you not to ask for me for extra work that isn’t paid.” If you’re already doing this, I suggest you take extra steps to ensure it is a punctuated moment, not just a ceremonial mumble.
For example, create a disclosure document that summarizes this policy and ask them to sign it. Tell a couple of horror stories about past clients. Don’t just explain the boundary, create a moment where they explicitly commit to it and feel your firmness around it. This will solve 99% of your problems. When doing this with a client who has pressed for freebies in the past, acknowledge that and emphasize how important this is to you.
As I said, this is a simple step, but not an easy one. If you have a high need to be liked, you might feel squeamish about it. Sharing your boundaries is easy. Candidly sharing examples of past violations with a client is harder. Doing so requires you to surrenderer responsibility for their emotions. If you have a tendency toward emotional rescue when others are disappointed, you’ll need to surrender that weakness. You are responsible to be honest and fair, not to make everyone like you. Explain the policy politely. Take responsibility for having sent mixed signals in the past: “I know I’ve said this before, and then haven’t followed through on it. My bad. This is the way I will be working in the future so we can both feel good about our projects.”
Second, hold the boundary. Create a “New Requirements” form. The instant someone mentions something out of scope, say, “I’d be happy to do that. Here is the New Requirements form. Shall I put that into writing and get back to you with the cost and timing?”
One more time—simple but not easy. If you have a hard time advocating for yourself, you’ll be tempted to cave in at this moment. Don’t. Remind yourself that you have needs and have a responsibility to secure them. Treat yourself like you are your own client—and the project is called “Fair pay for fair work.” Then rescue yourself from the self-abandonment of the past by speaking up for your own interests.
Fixing this will be a combination of interpersonal and intrapersonal work. This is a chance not just to change your income but to change your life. I wish you the best as you move to the next level in your personal growth.
Warmly,
Joseph
“First, create a poignant “expectations” event at the beginning of every project.”
I don’t think you meant “poignant” here. Maybe “pointed?”
Good point. (No pun intended.) 🙂
I think the intended meaning for poignant is the one listed as “1b” in Merriam-Webster: “designed to make an impression”; Example: “poignant satire”.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poignant
Great advice. Thanks!
Thank you for the content of this question and answer! It now looks so easy to handle… following these suggestions.
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” — George Bernard Shaw
I think this is all good advice.
In my experience, it is impossible to predict everything needed for any non-trivial project a priori — you learn things as you develop. Which makes solution #1 difficult. In such a case, maybe all you can say is “I agree not to take advantage of you. Do you agree to not take advantage of me?”
In such a situation, all can I suggest is to be open and honest: I did not think that was included when we priced out the work. Then go to the “new requirements” form.
I’m sure that someone more familiar with Agile would have deeper insights.
I’m also sure that JG would agree that it all comes down to building a trusted relationship.
On behalf of the clients asking for more, sometimes the reason they are asking for more is because there was work that needs to be done in order to complete the project that should have been included in the assessment of work and the consultant’s company who are supposed to be experts may have or should have known that those elements were necessary to complete the work, and when they gave their price based on being able to complete the job as a whole, they failed to define everything that should have been included because the client has no way of knowing everything that needs to be done and in that way, the consulting firm is able to add dollars to their contract because they say to the client that they didn’t ask for that work to be done. However, sometimes the consultant knows very well it will need to be done in order to complete the job, therefore, in particular, if they are competing for the work, they are able to lower their cost up front, but they end up charging more on the back end to complete the additional tasks, which they can honestly say were NOT on the original statement of work and yet need to be done. So, very often organizations capitulate because it must be done.
The old adage, sometimes you have to know the answers in order to know what questions to ask, is appropriate here. So, I would say conversely, the clients need to protect themselves in the contract that if there is additional work needed that they should have been made aware of before signing the contract, they have the right to ask the consultant to make good. I’m not sure what it would be called in all aspects of the business world, but in the insurance business, if an agent leaves out a coverage recommendation for which you suffer loss, they are responsible for “errors and omissions”.
Just wanted to point out the client’s side of the story, and mention that there is a difference between scope creep and leaving out required work. We can put all the blame on the client and say it is entirely their job to identify all the requirements, but if you struggle with recurring situations like this, maybe you are not trying to deceive your clients but it can appear that way if you do not do a good job of identifying the entire scope of the project, and if you do so, then you can justify asking for more, because the other competitor consultants did not help the clients to understand everything involved. Of course, then the client can turn around and ask the other consultants if they will do the additional for the same price and you are the one who identified it, so maybe you ask if the other competitors for the work mentioned anything additional outside of the scope and then you use it to close the deal.
Just pointing out that oftentimes there are other elements at play and we have to think of how we can deal with those extra intangibles in order to preserve our integrity and honesty. It is easy to say, well if you have clients who don’t have integrity and try to use you, get different clients. Easy to say. Just adding a few thoughts about the complexity of these situations, things maybe we are not saying out loud to ourselves as part of the whole equation and pushing it to the back of our minds, and not really addressing it up front. It is good to have people you can trust and have wisdom to discuss these matters with in order to help you navigate these waters. If you don’t, why not? It may take some time, but start today to find your cabinet of counselors.