How to convince clients to pay for the TOR (or project evaluation) and should it be done?

Question

Project management

Very often I encounter the fact that I start to delve into the problems of clients a lot and for free, but no one pays for it. I do this because everyone wants the timing and cost from the very first hours of getting to know their project, but in fact it’s not realistic to voice them without full immersion in the problem and you still have to voice the numbers from the ceiling. It turns out a vicious circle of some kind: in order to get a project and start working, you need to voice an estimate of the cost / terms, to delve into the problem. But in order to implement all this, you need to do some work, and often very important and lengthy work (the so-called research).

And it’s not a fact that some nonsense will not come up during the study of the project. For example, a client wants a feature_name that is tied to a vendor, but to which, as it turns out later, either there is no API at all or there is an API, but it does not allow doing exactly what the client wants. And the client is like: “Oh, well, then we changed our minds about launching the product, because without the feature_name it doesn’t make sense,” and the time for research has already been wasted and has not been paid by anyone. There have already been too many cases when, in order to honestly get a project, I researched a client’s question for free and found out that his Wishlist could not be realized, i.e. I didn’t get the project either, and I was wasting my time, but yes, my conscience was clear, and the client, too, with a clear conscience, went on inventing new projects for himself.

If you call numbers from the ceiling and stupidly do a project without its full analysis at the beginning, then feature_name can generally emerge at the most inopportune moment, when everything is almost done, a lot of things have been paid, but it turns out that feature_name was critical for the product, but there is no way to make it it is forbidden.

I saw a way out in the fact that you need to convince the client, they say, any consultations are an examination and should be paid. But when I voice something like that even to very rich clients, they merge. And if I call the terms and cost from the ceiling, naturally without any expertise and immersion in the problems / product of the client - the conversation continues in most cases, after such ridiculous conversations and promises from scratch in the spirit: "I have already done this, it will be ready by date_x with cost_y", the project is assigned to me. Absurd, a lie, but it works - you can further increase the time and cost at times along the way, provided that the work goes the way the customer likes and he has the money. And there is a feeling that the clients themselves initially understand that they will be divorced in any case, they will wind up 2-3 costs, they will tighten deadlines, etc. and choose among the performers corny those who lay beautifully or have similar completed projects. But initially to pay for the expertise in order to do everything in a zen way: to evaluate the real cost and timing, as well as the risks associated with a sudden feature_name - no one really wants to.

So far I have found a temporary way out for myself - to name the maximum possible time / price in order to simply take the project and at the start of work it is already normal to sit on the project and delve into everything, knowing that everything will be paid in full (if feature_name does not pop up). The downside of this method is that when I really delve into the project, naturally a lot of questions arise for clients and they are surprised, they say, how did you call the estimate for us without these details, i.e. I look stupid, I lose confidence in me. In addition, if in the course of such an analysis of the product a feature_name that is fatal for the project is found, I will fail the project, waste my and other people's time, because they will count on me, think that the work is in full swing, but I initially named all the terms and cost as if everything already tested and calculated with a 100% guarantee of results.

In the question, he actually put an equal sign between the TK and the project assessment, although these are of course different things, but the essence of the issue, I think, is clear.

Answer 1

Do the research for free, but before you say the estimate and cost, add the cost of the research, spread over future tasks, to the estimate. + multiply by the coefficient, because You don't get every project. Then you don’t need to convince and you don’t work for free.

Answer 2

It hurts a lot of text, but you just need to:
Do ​​not work with assholes, multiply the term by 3, money by 2.
Sometimes put yourself in the client's shoes.

Answer 3

well, you painted all the pros and cons, in fact, you just need to convey them beautifully to the customer

Answer 4

You can try from a slightly different angle:
examination-> TK
examination - for a fee, but its cost is returned upon implementation
(classic in various repairs - "diagnostics 500r, when repairing with us - free of charge")
at the same time it will excite the sensors in customers "oh, discount" )

Answer 5

I, as a client, would be happy to pay a contractor who would also draw up a TOR for me)

Answer 6

Speak in such a way that the client agrees to pay the amount in which the item you are interested in is already included.

Answer 7

I saw a way out in the fact that you need to convince the client, they say, any consultations are an examination and should be paid. But when I voice something like that even to very rich clients, they merge.

- one of two things: either you don’t get enough leads, or customers don’t see the value of your expertise from your blogs, websites and social accounts. networks.
Work in both directions and they will stop merging. Or rather, those who have not merged will be more than enough. Paid first consultation, then work on an hourly basis.

Answer 8

Report a rough estimate, I think a rough estimate can be made without a detailed dive, if the client agrees to work further, create a detailed TOR.

Answer 9

Mistakes made at the Design stage are the MOST EXPENSIVE.
Development WITHOUT TK is acceptable for a limited range of tasks.
Development of a project in any form is an integral part of the solution of any problem and therefore should ALWAYS be included in the price list.