Jason: I’m against using emotional appeals. It doesn’t seem professional to me. If a client can’t understand my problem through simple logic – I’m going to deliver the work and probably think 10 times before accepting more work from them.

But that is my personal opinion. I haven’t yet faced a situation where I’d feel the need to appeal to a client’s emotions so there’s no telling what I’d do in a given situation.

Glad you liked the post!

For me personally the idea of spelling out the original SOW could be most effective. That way when there’s deviations (which is inevitable and acceptable!) it’s clear what’s going on.

Another consideration is the attitude and background of the customer. For example, technical people often respond to logical arguments whereas others might be more swayed by emotional appeals.

There is no room to argue when the client has signed a contract for the job stated. A new contract then can be designed adding the extra work and cost – and again getting the client to sign the new contract for agreement.

This way both the client and the designer are covered – and have an understanding.