2 builders who never spoke to each other
Put the scope in writing before you start
Define what is included, what the client owes you and by when, and pad the estimate before it reaches them. Projects fail on communication rather than on technical grounds, which is why input dependencies belong in the contract instead of in a kickoff speech.
The method
- 01
Write an explicit scope of work before starting a client engagement, otherwise revision rounds become unbilled and unlimited.
- 02
Interrogate the requirement past the point of politeness before you quote: what exactly is needed, in what format, by when, and how success will be judged.
- 03
Stop giving away extra work; do exactly what you were engaged for at a high standard and propose the adjacent opportunities you spot as separate follow-on projects.
- 04
Spell out scope, timeline and limits at the start and teach the buyer the trade-offs, so you end up delivering what they need rather than what they asked for.
- 05
Pad every estimate by half before it reaches the client: quote 150 hours for the job you believe is 100.
What it returned
The breaking point came when a client requested a third free revision of a sales playbook, which Welsh traces to having never defined scope.
Welsh links the sharpness of the scope directly to his confidence in the price he then names.
His engagements typically start as two-month projects and average over a year as new problems appear, run remotely over email, Slack and Zoom with a quarterly in-person visit.
Presented alongside breaking the project into measurable milestones.
Sources
- Client work is a 2-way street - Double Your FreelancingBrennan Dunn · doubleyourfreelancing.com · Communication is everything · 2021-10-28
- Act like you've already won.Justin Welsh · justinwelsh.me · The cost of playing small · 2025-09-13
- Software Development Services: Attracting New Clients, AI Apps, No-Code Tools - Trends.vcDru Riley · trends.vc · 😠 Haters · 2023-09-27
- Bits of Consulting AdviceGreg Kogan · gkogan.co · 2020-05-06
the second source
Three plays a week, for the phase you are in
No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.
More in sales
- Charge for it before it exists6 unconnected
- Book the buyer calls before you write any code6 unconnected
- Package more of what you own into sellable slots6 unconnected
- Interview customers when sales stall, not buy traffic5 unconnected
- Borrow credibility from the customers you have5 unconnected
- Keep a named list of dream accounts and work it5 unconnected