| Don't
you hate it when you order take-out and they tell you your
food will be delivered in ten minutes, only to have it arrive
cold thirty minutes later? How do you think your customers
feel when you promise to complete a project in 2 weeks and
it takes you 2 months? Sure, the late meal might aggravate
you for the rest of the day, but the late project will annoy
your customer for a month and a half! What do you think this
type of thing does to your reputation? Do you think you'll
get many referrals from this customer? I'd think not.
Now,
let's turn it around, how do you think your customer would
feel if you promised delivery in 2 months and completed
it on time or even early? If you've done a good job, this
customer will be more likely to send you a referral and
repeat business.
Why
do the majority of us estimate too optimistically? Are we
that bad at determining how many hours that a job will take?
Most likely we do know how many hours a job will take. Our
problem is that we don't build in any additional cushion
for ourselves for uncontrollable situations. These ''uncontrollables''
might be customer changes, employee sickness, downed computers,
etc. Also, no one is productive 100% of the time. Think
about it. Much of our time is spent answering telephone
calls, solving the unexpected crisis, performing administrative
tasks, taking breaks, etc.
Always
build in a cushion for yourself when giving an estimate.
A good rule of thumb is to double whatever time you think
it will take. A client will probably accept the doubled
estimate just as easily as they would have accepted your
optimistic one.
Then,
when you finish on time or possibly even early, you'll look
like a hero to your client. They'll see you as the miracle
worker of your industry. To paraphrase Engineer Scott to
Engineer LeForge in Star Trek the Next Generation, ''Never
tell them how long it will really take. You'll never be
known as a miracle worker if you tell them exactly how long
it will take.''
Marnie Pehrson may be contacted at http://www.pwgroup.com
marnie@pwgroup.com.
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Marnie L. Pehrson is a wife, mother of 6 and consultant
who has been helping talented professionals deliver their
message to the online world since 1995. She creates Web
sites such as LocateACoach.com,
IdeaMarketers.com,
and PowerOfLearning.com
to help talented professionals promote their work. If you'd
like Marnie to develop an online promotion plan for your
business, email her at marnie@pwgroup.com
or reach her various Web sites through http://www.pwgroup.com.Marnie
L. Pehrson is a wife, mother of 6, author of 10 Steps to
Fulfilling Your Divine Destiny and an Internet revenue consultant
and online promoter who has been helping talented professionals
package and deliver their message to the online world since
1995. Email her at marnie@pwgroup.com
or reach her various Web sites through http://www.pwgroup.com.
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