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Scope Creep

Guest post by: Linda Richardson

Article Overview: As you and your team get into development and implementation, you find additional needs - small and not so small add-ons that you are asked to provide or are needed to complete the project. When this happens, you, as well as everyone on your team, must be alert to \"scope creep,\" in which the project gets bigger based on new components or needs - but the committed budget stays the same!

Scope Creep

You've sold the project! You've priced it. You've begun the work. As you and your team get into development and implementation, you find additional needs - small and not so small add-ons that you are asked to provide or are needed to complete the project.

When this happens, you, as well as everyone on your team, must be alert to \"scope creep,\" in which the project gets bigger based on new components or needs - but the committed budget stays the same!

Unless you catch this early, you will risk eroding your profit margin and even losing money. Certainly, you don\'t want to be a taxi meter that \"nickels and dimes\" your client at every turn, but you must keep track of anything more than a \"nickel or dime\" - or too many \"nickels and dimes\" and develop a \"change order\" mindset among your team.

The cost to you of the add-on(s) and the relationship are the factors that go into assessing how to handle \"scope creep.\" A conscious, judicious decision must be made early and when this means increasing the fee, this must be positioned to the client early - before you start the add-on work. But too often work begins, no price discussion occurs, and because no one was apprised early on, the client is upset with the additional costs and/or you don\'t get paid.

Be ready to:

1. Make sure everyone on your team, implementers as well as you, recognizes \"scope creep\" as soon as a new client requirement or request occurs.

2. Be prepared to address it immediately and make sure all of your team members are comfortable saying: \"I don\'t believe you have talked with anyone at (your firm) about the fee implications for this. To provide (benefit), I\'m estimating that being as effective with my (our) time as possible because I know cost savings are important to you, that it will be (x days, or fees, etc.).\" If other team members should not deal with pricing, as often is the case, they can simply and enthusiastically plant the seed, \"I appreciate your...I will ask X (salesperson) to speak with you to discuss any pricing implications.\" - and get to the salesperson ASAP.

If you catch \"scope creep\" early and you position your value, you can get paid for what you do. If you cannot estimate the fee on the spot, say that you will work up the fee and get back to the client at a specific time - before you start the work. Follow up the discussion with a letter or e-mail outlining the agreement.

Approach the discussion with confidence and without making a big deal out of it - seek clarity for the client\'s benefit as well as yours. When you decide to \"give away\" the extra work, at least get credit by discussing the fees associated with it and state your reason for not charging. Also, to help reinforce the consideration, list the work on your invoice indicating courtesy/no fee. A bad situation is doing extra work, not getting paid, and not even getting client appreciation. The worse situation is doing the extra work, creating bad client feeling by \"surprising\" the client with the extra charge, and not getting paid.

Clients expect to be charged for extra work, and we all know we value what we pay for. So be prepared to recognize and curb \"scope creep.\"

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Article Tags: Linda Richardson, Sales Tips, Sales Training



Related Forum Posts
Why A Project Fails? - Hello Everyone As the size and complexity of ones business grows, so does their need to effectively manage projects. I have been thinking about the major reasons why a project can go wrong and my limited experience comes up with the following. 1 Leadership: A project manager with leadership skills and not just management skills. 2 Failure to (Foresee and) Plan 3 Failure to Manage: Ineffective change management control methods. Unclear decision making guidelines. 4 Talent: Finding, allocating and developing people 5 Scope: Setting an overly ambitious or amibigious project scope 6 Alignment: When projects are not prioritized in alignment with the business strategy, or project members personal objectives are not in tandem with that of the project / company 7 Lack of Candor: Communication Breakdowns I would be interested in knowing everyone's thoughts on this, especially on ways to overcome the above mentioned obstacles. Cheers!


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