My boss said to never give a client a hard deadline unless you're 100% sure, and I learned the hard way.

I was so sure we could finish a website redesign in two weeks, so I promised it to a client in Denver. We hit a huge bug with the payment system and missed it by four days, which cost us the whole contract. Anyone else blown up a deal by being too confident on a timeline?

3 comments

3 Comments

evan_green527d ago

Ever think about adding a buffer to your estimate... like promising two weeks but planning for three internally? That extra time could have saved your contract when the bug popped up.

piper7797d ago

Used to hate buffers but you're right.

luna_wright7d ago

Yeah, a buffer is the only way I sleep at night now.