The Jason and Bart Show Misaligned project budgets: Why clients don't understand the cost, and how to educate them
Misaligned project budgets: Why clients don't understand the cost, and how to educate them
SUMMARY
The client may not understand how much a project may cost, and this is because the decision-makers are not the ones interfacing with the agencies. Oftentimes, the client goes off of price without realizing the total cost of ownership.
Jason and Bart discuss the importance of experience when estimating the cost of a project. They say that clients often go for the lowest estimate without considering all the work that needs to be done. This can lead to problems down the road. The speakers also mentioned that clients who are not technologists or developers often have no idea what it takes to deliver a digital solution.
The importance of delivering value to clients, rather than focusing on the initial project budget. They argue that the initial budget is not as crucial as the lifetime value of the project and that agencies should not put too much weight on it. They advise agencies to put together the most value-intensive program they can and not to worry about the price.
They discuss the importance of price when choosing a vendor partner for a project. They mention that while the price is essential, it should not be the only deciding factor. Otherwise, the project may not be successful.
TIMESTAMPS
0:00:01 Budgeting for a Project: Clients Not Understanding How Much Stuff Costs
0:02:13 The Arbitrary Nature of Project Budgets
0:04:17 The Importance of Project Budgeting
0:05:47 The Cost of Working with an Agency
0:07:09 Budgeting for Web Development Projects
0:08:46 The Impact of Misaligned Budgets in the Sales Process
0:12:31 The Impact of a Client's Budget on a Freelancer's Decision
0:14:00 The Benefits of Breaking Down a Project's Cost
0:16:11 The Importance of Realistic Expectations in Agency-Client Relationships
0:18:28 The Importance of Comfort in the Sales Process
0:19:48 Kaleidoscope: A New Show on Netflix
0:21:26 Episode #1: What We're Reading and Watching
HIGHLIGHTS
I'm on a plane for the next couple of days. So I'll knock most of that out, I hope, on the plane. And I'm looking forward to that. That was given to me by one of our developers for Secret Santa.
But at the end of the show, we're going to do, like, what we're watching, what we're reading, what we're binging, what we're into, like, what's going on, like kind of pop culture kind of stuff.
And again, to reiterate, sorry, but get away from the coldness of the numbers and get into the warmth of the human beings and building the relationship, because that's the best way to sort of thaw that out and get and get to the numbers you want and the numbers you need.
That's a defense mechanism for them. It's a way they can maintain control because they've had a bad experience in the past. This all goes into the human experience of this thing, where you get away from numbers and requirements and scope and get into who the client is and who you are and do you align as people, right?
If you think it's a million-dollar project and you wind up accepting to do it for a lot less than that, I guarantee your expectations between your team and the client are not going to be aligned the entire way through the actual production process.