Repel Remorse: Seal Contracts With Statements Of Work
A stitch in time saves client as well as contractor grief and reputation
You were so happy when you got that piece of business that you thought was like capturing the golden ring.
Then the calls started with requests for little changes, where you had to make revision after revision, without extra compensation.
Approvals took forever.
The client got unhappy because the job wouldn’t be delivered by the original deadline.
🔥It was the client from hell.
Both parties were discontent with each other. The reviews wouldn’t be good.
How did this all go sideways so fast?
Define the rules of engagement
Freelancers can manage their clients’ expectations by creating a really good Statement of Work (SOW) agreement when they get hired. A good SOW lays down the client problems to be solved, how that job will be tackled over what timeline, plus the price to be paid for the project. Everybody knows what is expected of them.
SOWs detail how changes will be agreed to which tackle, up front, one of major, ongoing headaches for coaches, writers, artists, web development teams and other content creators.
Who hasn’t had a client ask for one more little change? And then another, and another. These things add up in time and money for contractors.
🥀Nip that before it becomes a bud when you define what you’ll do, by such-and-such a date, for x amount of money. You’ll also want to agree as to how changes to the job and agreement amendments will be handled.
Take a look at nine elements to include in your Statements of Work.
1️⃣ Introduction — Start with a summary of the SOW elements included, such as those below
2️⃣ Background — Describe client company, needs, and detail requirements to solve the problem(s)
3️⃣ Scope — Detail requirements and resources to accomplish the project
4️⃣ Objectives — Walk through the process and tasks to get to the end result(s)
5️⃣ Delivery — Provide the milestones over a set timeline for performance
6️⃣ Price — Itemize a fee schedule with deadlines and terms for expense reimbursement
7️⃣ Agreement — List responsibilities of each the contractor and the client, assumptions (such as access to client assets), completion criteria, such as the approval process with terms for project change procedure (assessment, additions, agreement) cancellation, limitation of liability (read: things you can’t control, such as outside costs), copyright, governing law and transfer to another party
8️⃣ Next steps — Spell out what it takes to get started, such as execution of the agreement and perhaps a deposit amount
9️⃣ Appendices — Here’s the place for team bios, support documents, diagrams, etc.
As with all legal documents, be sure to consult your counselor for the best advice.
Getting this SOW agreement signed means the client has ample time to modify it and can review in writing what they are responsible for.
Project change procedures and approval procedures could be key to a happy experience for both parties. A client that takes weeks to give approval on any stage of the project jeopardizes the final delivery date agreed upon. You might try to get approvals in 72 hours, for instance, and that way you can forecast a project delivery date. That stipulation might go into Limitation of Liabilities.
You might also consider a non-exclusivity clause, meaning that you are agreeing that this client will not be the only one that you take in the category, precluding you from other business.
Outline how you will each protect the trade secrets of the other.
It’s easy to find free templates and sample SOWs. Do a search on “
I’ve written about managing client expectations before. It’s critical to a happy, healthy relationship that continues to yield more business from each client and those they refer.
So much cheaper than continually depending on that next new piece of business.
Read more in “Managing Direct Response Marketer Expectations.”