Asking clients for their project budgets is a topic that I often
see on design & developer forums. The consultants post that
they would like a project budget when working on an estimate but
are frustrated when clients are reluctant to provide it. The
consultants usually post that they do not understand why this is.
Before I became a consultant I was the IT Manager for several years
at a non-profit organization. From that experience I can definitely
understand a client's reluctance. In fact, I didn't understand why
I should disclose my budget with a contractor until I became one
myself.
From the client's perspective, there are usually two reasons
that they may not want to divulge their budget. The most common
reason is the desire to get the best price that they can. They fear
that if they lay out how much they are willing to spend, then that
is what the project will cost, and often they are right. Instead
they are hoping that the contractor will just provide an estimate
that is ideally less then what they were willing to spend. This is
a basic concept and from the client's perspective it makes perfect
sense.
The other reason a client may not want to discuss their budget
is because they may not know what a suitable budget for their
project really is. The fear is if they show what might be perceived
as ignorance on the topic, then the contractor will take advantage
of that, again resulting in them being overcharged. So far I
haven't made much of a case for discussing a budget! However,
that's because I think it is just as important for contractors to
understand their clients' concerns as it is for the client to
understand ours.
From the contractor's perspective, my goal is to provide a
service or product to my client that both meets their needs and is
priced at a point that is within their budget. The fact is that
some projects can be performed at different levels of budget.
However, this does not mean that the final result is the same. The
difference is how much time and effort can be invested in producing
and polishing that result. The budget is a key component in
determining this. Another element that is often overlooked is that
this is negotiable. I am more than happy to discuss options that
may increase or decrease the cost. The budget just helps me to
establish the initial project and what I can include at that cost
point. My aim is then to produce the nicest product that I can
within that budget. Without a budget I can only guess where to
start, and that often results in an estimate that does not meet the
needs of the client.
The budget always seems the most difficult to discuss when there
is a new client / contractor relationship. Trust has not been
established yet for the client, so this is only natural. Once trust
has been established it is usually smooth sailing. The vast
majority of my work is repeat customers or new clients that have
been referred to me by my existing clients. If I were to take
advantage of clients budgets, and provide results that were not a
value to the client I could hardly expect them to hire me for more
projects in the future, let alone expect referrals from that
client. A smart contractor realizes that trust and integrity are
key to future work and ultimately a successful firm.
Don't be afraid to provide your budget requirements to a firm
when asking for an estimate. But at the same time, don't be afraid
to ask for options that could reduce the cost. Make sure that you
understand what those options are and whether they provide the
value you expect at that price point. Then you can decide for
yourself that the project features and polish are at a price that
is a value to you and your organization.