Do you set clear expectations with clients from day one?

Projects often fail because clients think suppliers under-deliver and over-charge. The client and the supplier can walk out of the same meeting, and have different expectations about the goals of the project. This difference often sets up a project to fail, before work has even started.

Figure: Mismatched expectations lead to failure

Custom software development remains a challenging industry. While the tools have evolved, the historical bottlenecks persist.

According to a longitudinal update published by the PM World Library, analyzing the Standish Group's 2020–2024 CHAOS data:

• Roughly** 70% of all software development projects experience severe budget/schedule overruns**, or fail to ship entirely (19% outright failures, 50% challenged).
• Remarkably, the root causes remain unchanged from classic project management studies: the vast majority of project failures stem from pre-code issues like poor requirements gathering, a lack of business acumen, and unclear strategic objectives before development begins.

These days, code is cheap. Your greatest skill as a consultant is communication. While you may be a wizard at translating business requirements into prompts, the real skill is keeping humans happy, and first impressions last.

Here are some tips to make sure everybody gets off on the right foot, and you set yourself up for a successful engagement.

Tip 1: Show, don't sell

Clients are coming to you with a problem they need solved. Don't waste their time by talking about how good you are. Use this opportunity to learn as much as you can. Ask about their business, their pain, and the solutions they've already explored. It will keep the conversation flowing naturally, and your expertise will shine through just by “talking shop”.

Keep buzzwords and catchphrases out of the conversation. Most people will either have no idea what you're talking about, or have heard them so many times their eyes will roll out of their head.

Tip 2: Talk budget ASAP

Talking dollars with the client is often something consultants don't like doing during an initial meeting. This is crucial. While you may have several ideas on how to solve a client's problem, those ideas must fit within the client's budget. You don't need exact figures, but having a ballpark is essential. A $1M budget offers many more possibilities than a $10K budget, and you'll need to guide people's expectations accordingly.

If you're uncomfortable bringing this up unsolicited, asking for budget ideas when discussing your engagement model may be more natural segue into talking money.

✅ Figure: Good example - A simple segue into discussing ballpark budgets

Tip 3: Be transparent

Nobody likes surprises. The more transparent you are with your processes, pricing, and resources, the more trust you will gain.

Walk clients through your engagement model, next steps, and pricing. If they ask about something you can't or don't offer, respond honestly.

Sometimes that might mean you simply aren't the right fit for their current project, but even if the client goes elsewhere, you'll be the first person they call next time they need something.

Defining the hourly rates and resources that will be available to clients ensures they are not surprised later. Additionally, explaining the difference between resources and seniority makes it clear why specific people or teams may be recommended together, and what kind of services they provide.

A great example would be 2 developers. While a client may want to go the “cheaper” route and engage with 2 junior developers, that may not be the best fit for their project. It's almost always worth having at least 1 senior developer or Solution Architect involved in the beginning, and the end, to help set the team up for success and guide them home.

Tip 4: Don't freak out

A client may ask a really tricky question that puts you on the spot. Maybe it's technical, or something about your processes or pricing.

You don't have to have all the answers. If it's a technical question that you can't answer, treat it with excitement. For example, you can respond with something like “That's a great question, and I actually don't know the answer to that one! Let me find out and I'll get back to you”.

If the question is about something a little more nuanced, such as pricing, you can use this to your advantage by speaking to the qualities you bring that competitors do not.

Practice makes perfect

Once you get all these steps right, your phone call will be a success and you'll be ready for the next stage - a successful Specification Review!