If you are not prepared, you will be forced to prepare.

That's something that I have learned from my time:

1) Running my own firm

2) Helping people with their business

You don't know what challenging situations you will face when running your business.

But if you allow the bad situations to repeat, you are doing yourself a disservice.

A similar issue was faced by our client recently, who ran a web development agency.

Despite their expertise, they were getting blamed by clients for Project delays.

This was due to 3 reasons we could see:

1) The agency's existing contracts lacked clarity regarding project timelines, milestones, and responsibilities.

Without clear expectations, clients often had unrealistic demands, leading to delays and ultimately frustration.

2) Poor communication channels between the agency and clients resulted in misunderstandings about project requirements and scope.

Clients frequently changed their minds or requested additional features mid-project, causing delays and scope creep.

3) Blame for project delays tarnished the agency's reputation as a reliable partner in web development.

They risked losing repeat business and referrals due to client dissatisfaction and negative word-of-mouth.

This is something that we discovered through a discovery call.

And also by taking a brief look at their existing contract, which was a template.

But now it was time to upgrade.

1) Clear Project Timelines and Milestones

Our first step was to revise his contract, and clearly define the project timelines, milestones, and deliverables.

We also included provisions for their client approvals at key stages to ensure the project was properly aligned with their expectations.

And that there was a sense of accountability and reassurance on their client's side.

2) Scope Management and Change Control

We also added a change control process to manage their client requests for additional features or changes in project scope.

We had to clarify in the contract how such changes would impact timelines and costs.

This helped the agency to negotiate effectively with clients if there was a need for it.

3) Proactive Client Communication

The communication was all over the place during the project.

So we emphasized the importance of regular communication and status updates with clients throughout the project lifecycle.

For this, we did a call with the agency to understand what they are comfortable with.

This allowed the agency to set realistic expectations and manage client perceptions by proactively addressing any potential delays or challenges.

With the help of these 3 steps, here's what happened:

1) The project scope was made to fit the agency's business, which eliminated a lot of guesswork.

2) Any changes required in the project had to go through the proper process, giving our client room to negotiate the price.

3) Our client had clear communication channels and proactively communicated any issues.

Quite frankly, only all this was required.

Took us 5 days to sort everything and now they had a better contract.

If you have similar headaches during your projects, then these solutions would work very well for you.

But at the end of the day, everything should be customized to fit the situation.

You might not even have these issues.

You could be having something completely different that's haunting you.

But, the only way to get to a solution is through discussion.

So here's my Calendly link if you want to discuss potential solutions to your problems:

https://calendly.com/mtlegalteam/discovery-call-with-mtlegal-team

I will talk to you soon.

-- Akhil Mishra