Found a way to stop client scope creep by using a 3-line email summary after every chat

After 6 months of losing money on a retainer for a Denver brewery, I started sending a quick recap with their own words about what they agreed to and it cut revision requests by half, has anyone else tried a simple paper trail trick that actually stuck?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryan_hart3822h ago

Ive been doing something similar with my web dev clients but I take it a step further. I send the recap as a bullet point list in the same thread and then ask them to reply with "confirmed" before I move on to the next task. It saved me from a situation where a client tried to claim I agreed to redesign their entire homepage when we only talked about changing the header color. The paper trail is your best friend in this game.

kimdixon20h ago

Wait, isn't asking them to reply "confirmed" basically asking them to sign a contract every time? I feel like that could get messy real fast if a client starts feeling like you're micromanaging them or not trusting them. I get the paper trail part, but I think a simpler approach is just to send a friendly email recap like "Hey, just to make sure we're on the same page, I'm going to do X and Y next" and let it sit. Most clients won't push back if they see it in writing and they don't respond to correct it. The thing about asking for a "confirmed" reply is it puts them on the spot and might make them feel like you don't trust their word. I'd rather just document it and move on, because if they try to claim something later, the recap is still there as proof without the weird vibe.

miaprice2h ago

Oh yeah the "confirmed" thing is a lifesaver, I do it with my branding clients and it's actually made them trust me more since they know exactly where we stand. Definitely worth pushing past that awkward first week or two.