Tips for project managers on courting clients

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Friday, August 24th, 2007

Because Rain handles a number of large projects each year, we benefit from a wide range of project management experiences. Here are some recent lessons I wanted to formulate into a post.  This content is intended for other Project Managers at interactive agencies.

Courting defined:

The courting stage is when you are going back and forth with the client talking about price/scope/timeline before you have any contract signed.  At this point you and they are figuring out if it is going to be a mutually beneficial endeavor.

Ownership/Revenue Sharing with Clients:

Being a service company means that we make our money mostly on services we provide for our clients.  There are a few products that we have and can sell, but it isn’t our core business.  What that translates to is that it does not make a lot of sense for us to enter into ownership/revenue sharing agreements as a payment model.  Stay away from these types of deals.  If they don’t have money to pay, it’s just going to hurt you in the end.

Setting Precedence:

Show clients up front how you like to work.  Set the rules for communication in the first few meetings. Make sure the client knows how to use the channels of communication in your organization appropriately, as late-night calls and direct developer contact can cause problems.

Warning signs:

Look out for clients who are overly nervous, micromanagers, prone to overreaction, or who seem overbearingly aggressive.  If they display these attributes add additional time into the bid to deal with wrestling over price/scope/timeline.  Better yet, go hourly if possible.  These clients can be great for your business, just keep in mind they may have a tendency to change direction during development.

WBS:

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is essential in estimating large projects.  It is a great way to visually represent to the client how the application is balanced and where the costs come from.  Make sure and create one of these in the courting phase to give an initial cost estimate, then again after the prototype phase.

There are a few different software options available for creating the WBS. If you are on a mac, I recommend Omniplan; PC, then MS Project.

Here is an example image of a WBS.

 Responsibility for Services:

As a Flex shop, we’re often asked to do only the front end work, leaving the server-side services up to the client. When you’re not in full control of this critical part of the project, plan ahead by charging hourly or padding the estimates for the project generously. Moving targets and late deliveries by the client can cause problems.

In conclusion, courting clients is one of the most important phases of a project, and hopefully following these suggestions will help you and the client get the project started off on the right foot.