Let’s start by providing a definition.
Going above and beyond is different from providing excessive service.
Setting unreasonable client expectations as well as working on tasks outside the parameters of a project: both pose risks to your profitability.
Any enterprise providing services must manage its resources effectively.
In fixed-price contracts, where project overruns can severely hurt your bottom line, this is even more important.
Why does this happen?
Over-servicing frequently happens when you are working with clients on tight budgets.
You flex your fee to fit their limited budget hoping you can short-cut some service parameters.
But what happens?
You – or more likely, your team –give exactly the same service as if the client werepaying full price – ie the correct fee. Unfortunately, for any service business, this is business as normal.
A good deal is one that benefits both parties – you get a new project and the income, and the client receivesthe service they hope for and expect. Everyone wins.
However, you (the boss)may wind up working on lesser tasks to finish the project, and the client either won’t pay for them or is unable to.
Businesses might also overserve customers by not charging for reworks. The client requests revisions once the project is complete even though the original deliverables were handed over accurately and on schedule.
At Concept, we prize helping you better understand, exactly how much time you spend on each of your clients.
Get a firm grip on how much time you’re spending on each client and, you will see who are the profitable ones you must look after carefully and who are the time-wasters you would be best to get rid of.
You’re most likely carrying clients who you are paying to service! Best to jettison them.
How can I avoid over-servicing?
Detailing the work that needs to be done should be in theoriginal statement of work – what’s included and what’s not. It can even boost your fee negotiation skills and help you build stronger relationships with clients when you are clear about what you expect as a service provider.
Clients better appreciate the time and effort you put intoa project when you tell them what each phase of your process involves. Detail a full list of ‘duties’ in your sales proposal and you’ll see your sales conversion rate rise.
Both the financial health of your company and the connection with your customers can be severely compromised by over-servicing and there are some unmistakable signs of this.
What can I do to prevent this?
- Track time. For us, this is crucial. You may estimate how long a project will take to complete by knowing how many hours one of your team members needs to complete a task. You may properly and appropriately schedule your work, better plan the scope of the project, and create a dependable working environment for your talent when you reach the stage of understanding the inner workings of your processes. It all starts with tracking time.
- Analyse data. It’s great to be aware of the cost of a particular job. But let’s consider the entire operation. For your business, financial reports and client analytics can be really crucial. You can make effective and efficient business judgments when you obtain knowledge about the ongoing processes.
At Concept, we believe technology – applied well – boosts productivity and makes workplaces more attractive for top talent.
Use the above steps (time tracking features, automated reporting capabilities, and profitability estimation technology) to get seriously proactive in stopping over-servicing clients and increasing your profitability – all by using past data.