#52: Handling Scope Creep like a Boss with Lizzie Davey

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In this episode of the Boss Responses podcast, host Treasa Edmond and guest co-host Lizzie Davey delve into effective strategies for managing scope creep and handling client feedback delays. They share their experiences and provide actionable advice such as setting strict project boundaries, clarifying feedback deadlines, and demonstrating expertise early on to establish respect and professional relationships. Tune in to learn how to protect your business while fostering better client interactions through honest conversations and robust contracts.

About Our Guest
Lizzie Davey is a Brighton-based copywriter and content strategist with a love for tea, gin, and a knack for taking brands to new heights. With 10 years of experience in marketing, SaaS, and ecommerce, she's helped some of the biggest names in the industry attract and convert their ideal audience. Known for her conversational tone and actionable advice, Lizzie’s content is anything but fluffy. Fun fact: she’s an identical twin, has done the world’s highest bungy jump, and even used to race donkeys!

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Episode Transcript

Treasa Edmond (00:00):
Welcome back to the Boss Responses podcast.
Have you ever had one of thoseclients who is constantly
changing project scope ordelaying feedback which disrupts
your schedule and theirs?
That's what today's question isall about.
My guest host, Lizzie Davey,and I will talk about how we
deal with that situation and howwe prevent it from ever

(00:21):
happening in the first place.
If you're a freelancer,business owner or anyone who
deals with clients, you're inthe right place.
I'm your host, teresa Edmond.
I've been dealing with clientsand running my business for
nearly two decades and in thattime I've dealt with my share of
doubt, imposter syndrome andnot knowing what to say when a

(00:43):
client asked a question I wasn'tready for.
I created this podcast toempower you with the boss
responses you need to grow yourbusiness.
Each week, my guest co-host andI will bring you five episodes
packed with practical insights.
Monday through Thursday, weanswer your questions, and
Fridays, we dive deep to explorehow our co-hosts embrace their

(01:05):
role as the boss of theirbusiness.
Welcome to Boss Responses.
We are back for day two withLizzie Davey.
Lizzie, I have a question foryou today.
It says I've been strugglingwith a client who frequently
changes the project scope anddelays feedback, which disrupts
my schedule and theirs.
It has gradually become aproblem as I've worked with them

(01:27):
and now it's delaying everyproject.
That's a nightmare.
How can I manage such clientseffectively without damaging the
relationship?
This?

Lizzie Davey (01:36):
is a really good question, and I used to really
struggle with this because I ama massive people pleaser, so I
would just be like, yeah, that'sfine, no worries, I'll do this.
Oh, you've been late with yourfeedback.
I'll work on a Friday night,it's fine.
But now that I'm working withso many clients, I find that I
have to put strict boundaries inplace because otherwise I'm

(01:58):
taking time away from my otherclients to focus on this client
that can't keep themselvestogether or has no
organizational skills.
The first stage for me is havinga contract like a really solid
contract that states exactlywhat the project includes.
I also have a section in mycontract that states like how
much extra things we charged atif there's any potential scope

(02:20):
creeps.
And I think as writers, we seea lot of companies changing
their mind after the first draft, like they want to change
direction or they want to add insome more subject matter, quote
, expert quotes.
So for me I'm really like Ihave bulleted lists of
everything that's included andI'm quite firm on that.
And then if a client says, oh,can we do this?

(02:40):
Can we change the angle, can wechange the direction, it's much
easier for me to say, oh well,as, per the contract, this will
cost you x amount extra if youwant to do this and we will have
to push it to the end of myschedule because I'm fully
booked now and I see scope creepand additional extras as a new
project and I treat them as that.
Yes, I think the second thing isto like with the feedback, with

(03:04):
late feedback.
I put a deadline in for clients, so I say I need feedback by X
date, otherwise you miss yourchance to get feedback.
So otherwise, that's it.
I'm submitting the draft as isand I'm invoicing you for that
and that's in the contract aswell.
So they have a deadline and Ihave a deadline, and if they
don't stick to that, not myproblem.

Treasa Edmond (03:25):
I don't know that I've ever met anyone who's more
hard-nosed on this topic than Iam, and that's just beautiful.
And when I say hard-nosedpeople, this is good for your
business.
What Lizzie and I do, this issomething you should be doing.
Your clients don't run yourbusiness.
You do, and you have the right,you have the responsibility to
protect your space, your mentalspace, for your next client

(03:49):
project.
You can't let one clientencroach on another, and this
isn't a power thing, and I get alot of pushback that boundaries
are a power play.
You're making it more difficultfor your clients to work with
you.
You are not.
Boundaries are for you.
It's a line that you draw thatif your client crosses it, then
you have a specific set ofactions that you take and that's

(04:12):
all it is.
So it's action, consequence,and I think that's really
important.
I agree with you, though I dothe same thing on project scopes
and delays.
Now, if someone says we'vechanged our mind, we want to go
in a different direction, I'mlike, ah, absolutely, we can do
that.
It's going to cost this amountand we'll have to move the date
to this date.
I do the exact same thing and Ido ghostwriting, so project

(04:35):
delays can delay an entireproject, and I'm really really
clear in my contract that ifclients do not meet their
deadlines, then it will move theproject date back by this much
every single time.
So if they miss severaldeadlines, they could be three
months behind on a projectreally quickly, and I go over

(04:55):
that with them.
I don't just put it in thecontract, I actually go over
that with them verbally to makesure that they understand it.
And I agree with you, though,if you put money or a delay in
their project on the table, itmakes them not do what they've
been doing.
But if you have a client who'sbeen doing this consistently and

(05:17):
you've not already called thebehavior, you might be in for a
bit of a problem.
You're going to have to set aboundary and you're going to
have to have an honestconversation, and it should be a
face-to-face conversation.
So Zoom, or at least a phonecall.
Do not do this in email and say, as we've worked on projects,
we've come up against a bit of awall here where I'm not getting

(05:38):
the feedback I need in time andit's delaying the projects.
I can't allow that to happenagain, because it's interfering
with my other clients and theirprojects.
This is what we need to domoving forward and be willing to
have that client go off thedeep end and say, well, fine,
we're just not working with youanymore.
Sometimes rough conversationsneed to happen and you need to

(06:02):
be prepared for the fact thatyour client's just going to
leave.
Have you ever had one?
But just left.

Lizzie Davey (06:07):
I was just trying to think about that.
Actually I don't think I have.
I found that most clients don'trealize they're doing I mean,
they do realize they're doing it, but they don't realize what
kind of impact it's having onthe freelancer.
I think a lot of companiestreat freelancers as disposable
and they're there at their beckand call whenever they need them

(06:28):
to do something.
And as soon as I've pulled outa client on that and been like
it's impacting my work for otherclients, basically saying
you're not my only client,they've always been like
absolutely, totally understand,let's work together so that we
can make this process smoother.
What would make your lifeeasier?
How can we do this so that it'sa better working relationship
for everyone?

(06:48):
So no, I don't think I've everlost a client from that.
It has actually made someclient relationships better,
because when you have thatdiscussion about how you can
make the process smoother forboth sides, often it leads to
something that's a bit more of acompromise that's easier on
both sides.
So, no lost clients, yes,better working relationships.

(07:09):
How?
about you have you ever lost aclient?

Treasa Edmond (07:12):
I have not.
I actually fired one because ofthis, because when I told them
about it, they were prettysnippy and just said well, we
pay you to do these projects forus.
They actually specifically saidwe pay for your time so that
you'll complete these projects,and then I had to educate them
that you don't actually pay formy time.

(07:32):
You're paying for me to finisha project and this was a client,
though that was incrediblytoxic, and we'd already had
multiple conversations about howthey couldn't manage the
process.
I didn't have to report my timeto them.
We did all of those things,which is a bit trickier here in
the US, and that was the onlyone.
I'm with you, though, that Iview these conversations as

(07:53):
opportunities, because I go intothem and I make it a we issue.
So it looks like we're havingan issue with project delays and
I'd like to talk to you abouthow we can resolve that issue.
So it looks like we're havingan issue with project delays and
I'd like to talk to you abouthow we can resolve that issue,
and I'm really careful to makesure they're a part of the
solution.
I don't mandate things to myclients unless it gets really

(08:13):
bad, and then I usually won'twork with them again, so it
doesn't matter, honestly,because they're not my ideal
client.
But that's something I do.
I kind of love conversationslike this, but I get them after
the very first time, but I dolove them because it is an
opportunity for us to form moreof a partnership.
And you mentioned mentioningyour other clients and I think

(08:34):
that's so important and I dothat.
From my discovery call, I amvery careful in the language I
use and I talk.
One of the things I like to dowith my clients is ask a lot of
questions at this phase so thatI can more fully understand your
project, and I just say myclients, I talk about my
business, I'm very open withthat language and it really

(08:55):
drives home for them, before weeven start working together,
that I am an expert, this is mybusiness, and it makes all the
difference in how they work forme.
When I started doing that, Isaw an immediate difference in
how my clients startedinteracting with me and the
amount of respect that theyshowed when it came to my time

(09:16):
and responses and stuff likethat.
I think it's great.
So this is an opportunity.
You can either fix thisrelationship, or you can be
ready to let it go, but you haveto do something.
This isn't a topic that you canjust let go, because it is
going to have a damaging effecton other clients' relationships

(09:36):
and it's going to drive youcrazy.
Yes, that's great, all right.
All right, come back fortomorrow, day three with Lizzie,
and we're going to talk aboutdry spells and how we deal with
those, and I think this is areally difficult topic and I'm
looking forward to seeing whatLizzie has to say about it.
See you tomorrow.