Scope creep, the phrase that strikes fear in the heart of every consultant…
We have all had that experience, where we carefully plan out every aspect of a project, estimating the necessary time and resources and even adding in a safety margin, only to have our client ask for “just a little more” work or “just this little addition” to our deliverable halfway through the project. All of a sudden the expected work load has doubled, for no additional income.
It’s easy to react defensively when this happens — to feel that your client doesn’t respect your time or that he’s trying to get you to work at a significantly reduced fee. And it’s tempting to react angrily, to resent that the client is trying to change the agreement. (I am reminded of the immortal line in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in which Darth Vader snarls, “I am altering the deal; pray I don’t alter it any further.”)
Instead, reiterate your commitment to supporting your client, find something you can say yes to and then explain where you have to say no. If your client asks for analysis or conclusions you are not comfortable making, offer to highlight the perspectives of established experts your client can rely on instead. If your client’s new request means you will spend far more hours than you had anticipated, briefly explain that this would exceed the scope of the project and offer either to do just a portion of the extra work or to write up a supplemental agreement to cover the project expansion.
While these conversations often feel stressful to solopreneurs, we are actually providing a service to our clients—helping them understand how much time, judgment and expertise is involved in what we do. A friend and colleague recently told me about the response she got from a client whose request would have required far more work than she had negotiated. After she explained the situation and offered some alternatives, her client responded with a gratifying email:
I fully understood and that is fair. You have been very generous and we can see that you have already put more time into the work than we had agreed. Anything that you may be able to get back to us that can address any of the issues we discussed would be great. Whatever you can or can’t find will be fine.
Because of my friend’s ability to calmly and politely respond to the possibility of scope creep, she continues to have a client who values her work, her time and her commitment to his concerns. He knows that her budget is honest and realistic, and that additional work involves additional commitment. She turned what could have been an unpleasant discussion into an opportunity to strengthen her relationship with her client.