Awareness, organization and communication are key. Ultimately, a contract that isn't managed properly hurts both agency and client.
It's the agency's job to scope out and project hours and costs accurately for a proposal or Statement of Work (SOW) by getting the information or historical data required as well as asking for input.
When interacting with clients, always make sure you’re in line with the scope and expectations of the program. Prioritize activities that bring the most value and tackle other things that come up by a change order, project proposal, replacement or moving deliverables to the next month.
This is important for building mutual respect with client relationships and to account for the agency's financial health with resources, staff, amenities and activities. It also offers the opportunity for revenue growth — turning added work into projects and supplemental income.
Appeal to your client’s own business experience and work together on an approach that delivers what’s most important to the client in a way that is still profitable for Idea Grove. Spell out boundaries, expectations and activities that will generate a change order in all contracts and proposals.
If we're consistently exceeding the budget despite these conversations, it's probably a good idea to share this information with the client using the below email template:
Hi [CLIENT],
I hope things are going well with [INSERT RELEVANT CLIENT DETAILS].
Over the past several months, the resources our team has put into the program have resulted in consistently exceeding the budget by XX-XX%. While we were happy to do so initially because [INSERT REASON], it’s not a level of service we can continue long-term at the current budget level.
We enjoy working with you and hope the feeling is mutual. If that's the case and you want us to keep supporting you and your team, our agency needs to be profitable.
Let me know if you want to hop on the phone to chat.
Best,