I’m wrapping up a Salesforce discovery project with a multinational client. The engagement went really well, so they’ve asked for a proposal to do the implementation.
The client was also transparent from the start of the engagement. They said they would submit a Request for Proposal (RFP) so other Salesforce partners could bid on the project. That’s totally fair.
However, the discovery phase only covered some of the high-level design choices, and there are still many low-level designs to be made.
So when attempting to estimate how long the implementation will take and how much to charge, and knowing there will be competition, what’s the best way to proceed?
If you’re charging by the hour, then your estimate doesn’t really matter. Many partners lowball the projects just to win them, and then submit multiple change orders when the initial estimate is over. But that approach doesn’t feel right, and it’s certainly a recipe for customer dissatisfaction.
If you’re charging a fixed price that’s based on an hourly calculation, even after you’ve added some contingency, you’re still in a really bad spot if your estimates are wrong.
Attempting to come up with any reasonable estimates at the start of the project is really tough. It’s the time in the project in which you know the least. And that’s true even after completing the discovery phase!
The takeaway
How would you proceed in this scenario? Can you guess what mine would be?
Hint: I’ll tell you my approach in the following article.