Startin' up your project, ready for what’s in store
People under tension, clients are touch and go
Highway to the danger zone, ride into the danger zone!
Headin' for the deadline, spreadin' out the team so thin
Clients got you jumpin' off deck, and shovin' into overdrive.
Highway to the danger zone!
Today, we’re talking about client danger zones – what they are, how to spot them and what to do about them. Flying into a client danger zone can happen to the best of us. Sometimes there are red flags, other times the client operates in stealth mode, only revealing themselves at the last minute.
To help you navigate your way through turbulent air space and safely land your project, we’ve outlined 5 common client danger zones and what you to do about them. Don’t worry, you’ll be a Maverick in no time!
Scope creep
Scope creep is the gradual addition or expansion of project tasks and activities, often without expanding the budget or pushing out the deadline. It undermines your team’s productivity and your project’s success, while adding a whole lotta undue stress. While minor scope creep may seem harmless, if you add cost-free deliverables early on in the project, you’re setting up a framework which allows the client to push for more later down the line (and for free).
Sure you don’t want to be want to seem stingy, but giving away ground early is a no-no, because you won’t ever get it back. Any extra work taken on needs to be compensated and officially added to the scope. Remember, time spent on scope creep is time not spent on your project’s main objectives!
Sick of scope creep?
Before you start a project, clearly define your scope. Make a contract outlining the project’s goals, objectives and budget, something you can point to of the client starts creeping. Because let’s face it, changes happen and that’s okay! Just be ready with the magic line: ‘sure, that’s no problem let me get an estimate for you. If you’re happy with that, you can sign off and we’ll add it to the scope’. This creates a win-win scenario. Either the client realises that you’re gonna pull them up on scoring freebies and they change their mind OR they say they’re happy to pay for the additions and you pull in more revenue for your agency!
The biggest contributor to scope creep is your rounds of revisions, so make sure you clearly define how many are allowable in your contract. It’s your job as PM to make the number of revisions clear to the client during kickoff and then document them as you go. Instead of referencing your number of revisions in a separate doc (e.g. Brand concepts V1 , Brand concepts V2), you need to build revisions into your agency’s workflow. Project management tools like Outlign can help you with this!
This way there can be no disagreements about what’s in, or out of scope because it’s right there on the page. Your rounds of revision are baked right into your process!
Shifting goal posts
Ever been within arm’s reach of approval, just to have a client change the time frame or target last-minute? That’s called shifting the goal posts. Basically, it’s where a client changes the rules or goal of a project, while it’s still in progress. Not only is it infuriating, but it’s often unrealistic and sometimes downright impossible!
Ever changing deadlines or goals mean you and your team are aiming at a moving target. You lose control and accuracy and you’re certainly not going to hit your target. Deadlines and targets are set for a reason and while some leeway is acceptable, if you start to feel like you’re chasing rainbows, but never reaching the gold, something’s gotta give!
Tether that target!
Clients may shift goal posts for many reasons. Perhaps they miscalculated how soon they needed a product? Maybe they want to impress their boss? Whatever the reason, at the end of the day, it’s a ‘them’ problem and not a ‘you’ problem. You shouldn’t have to scramble because of your client’s miscalculation or change of mind.
If your client keeps moving the target, it’s time to lock it down! Explain to your client that the deadline and goals were set at the beginning of the target and that your resourcing, budgeting, and planning all revolve around those predetermined certainties. Feel free to negotiate new deadlines or targets, but make sure they fit your schedule and to charge them additional hours or rush fees. Don’t start any additional work until you get scope sign-off, in writing!
Third hand
If you’re not hearing things directly from the decision maker, things can get messy! Most of the real decision makers see themselves as ‘too busy’ to be involved in the early stages of a project and send someone else in their stead. The important decisions get made without the real deciders in the room, but (of course) these guys always want a BIG say later down the track. This results in last minute direction changes and a lot of wasted time.
Communication gets murky and the approval process becomes a nightmare. You get info third hand from a marketing director or 2IC, rather than straight from the horse’s mouth and vice versa. Worse still, if these last minute decisions contradict what was originally agreed upon, you can be suck in a holding pattern until you work out what the real decider wants.
Give third hand the backhand!
Get all the deciders involved from the start! Ask the client “who are the decision makers for this project?” and then make sure they’re a part of the process from day dot. Don’t schedule your kickoff meeting until you’re 100% sure that all the deciders will be the room!
Once you’ve got all your deciders together, encourage them to work together to reconcile any differences of opinion and don’t leave the meeting until you have a clear direction and offical sign off. Remember to include all of the deciders throughout the project and encourage them to provide you with clear, consolidated feedback and a consensus for each stage of approval.
Client tantrums
Client tantrums look a lot like toddler tantrums. When a dominant client doesn’t get their way they might raise their voice, become aggressive or simply run away. Whatever the case, seeing this kind of juvenile behaviour in an adult ain’t pretty!
If a client throws a wobbly, it usually means one of three things.
They are used to getting their way and wish to keep doing so
They are unequipped with the skills to work in a team
Or, they simply don’t understand the process
Taming tantrums!
Whether they’re being hostile, dominate with their opinions or throwing a full scale tantrum, it’s time for you to step in. As PM you are the sworn sword and shield of your team and you need to contain the negative energy at the frontline so your team can keep working (ideally on project’s involving other, more mature clients).
Then you need to diffuse the situation ASAP! Explain to the client that you understand their frustrations and then demonstrate how you have, or plan to, address their concerns. If they keep questioning your process, direct them to past client testimonials and example of successful past projects. Of course, if their behaviour ever crosses a line or makes you feel unsafe, leave the situation immediately and blacklist them as a client.
Ghosting
This is where the client goes MIA or stops responding. In some cases, they will ignore you for long periods of time, then just as you think they’re lost to the abyss, they return with feedback, a portion of payment and a promise to pay in full ‘later’. In some cases, they disappear completely. They stop responding to your messages, emails, and calls and seem to vanish from the face of the planet.
Not only is ghosting incredibly frustrating, it’s bad for your bottom line. It forces you to put down the project when the client goes MIA and then pick it up again whenever they resurface. Every time you’re ghosted, you have to spend time reengaging with the project, going back through project pipelines, reminding yourself of project goals and progress, and picking up the thread.
Some ghosters may even attempt a haunt and dash. This is where they arrange a meeting to pick your brains about a bunch of project related details, celebrate your expertise, look extremely pleased and promise to hire you soon. An exciting prospect, until you realise you’ve been used for free consultation, and they’re a fart in the wind.
Got a ghost on your hands?
If a client’s giving you the ghost, it’s time to bust out the proton packs and reel them back in. In other words, it’s time to reengage the client. Ask your client why they commenced the project in the first place. Ask them to clarify their goals and get them to commit to a solid time frame. This can help refocus the client if they’ve become lost in the process and help you (and them) reestablish a clear direction.
Next, deal with any unresolved financials. Resend any unpaid invoices with a polite reminder. Sometimes this is enough to wake them up and perhaps even guilty. Who knows, they may have simply forgotten to pay or become distracted. Follow up via email or social media messages so they can’t blame their ghosting on the fact they don’t always check their emails. When messages and emails fail, then it’s time for a direct call. Continue calling every week and then each day until you get through!