This is probably basic, but I’ve started saying yes to scope creep because I’m scared the client will walk. Fixed fee, and every 'small ask' is now a normal Tuesday. I already put assumptions and exclusions in the SOW, but when they email 'can you also…' I just do it and bill nothing. Keeps the relationship safe, keeps the margin gone. I can’t afford to lose this account yet, so what actually works when you’re not in a strong position to push back?
How do you stop fixed-fee extras from eating the month?
What a useful answer should help achieve
Walk away with a practical way to stop unpaid extra work without losing the account.
Already tried
Added assumptions and exclusions to the SOW, but still says yes to email asks.
Constraints and unknowns
Can't afford to lose the client yet, so scared to push back.
Cybersecurity Consultant · Independent Consultants · Growing Team · This snapshot stays with the question when the author updates their profile.1 reply
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0Adaeze IbrahimLanguage Tutor · paid newsletterNigeria·Scaling·22m ago
Are the extras inside the original risk area, or genuinely new work? I stopped negotiating each ask emotionally once I separated those two. The first is under-scoping. The second is change control, and it needs a same-day cost line, not a bigger SOW.
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