Known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns

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Written By Brian Krogsgard

14 thoughts on “Known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns”

  1. I’ve been thinking about this lately. I always try to give as much info as I possibly can but sometimes the results are not what the client wanted to here and the project does not happen. Still, I would rather move on with a solid project with a happy client and miss out of a few than have a client feel that I shafted him by not education him on a “gotcha” moment.

  2. Indeed, it *is* tough, but I’m consistently impressed by how happy people are to be told. They’re not idiots (most), simply unaware, and they can understand if you explain it properly. I get the sense that most people get treated like idiots by web developers. “You could never understand, so just trust me”.

    Having someone take the time to really explain and help them understand can make you lots of friends, if not clients.

  3. Totally agree that developers and any other industry people can lose clients as a result of being clear and educational of potential costs down the road. However, it is probably still best to let them know ahead of time instead of having an angry customer down the road that can talk negatively about your company. If they think future costs (similar to maintenance costs on a car) are the deal breaker, then they probably aren’t ideal customers to begin with.

    Customers that appreciate upfront honesty are likely to conduct good business on their end and will recommend you and your business for years to come.

  4. Conversely, there is a point where too much education turns the customer off. It may come across that you need them involved in every-last-little decision and they just want to specialize in their auto repair shop. Like all things this requires balance so I present the yang to your yin.

    • I agree. I often wonder if I talk clients out of certain things by throwing them “in the deep end” by discussion that makes them second guess themselves. I also feel that it has to do with how you present the information. But this is just something that I am learning how to balance as a business owner.

      • I made my fair share of mistakes in this area when I freelanced and decided that part of the client interview process should include a question about how I should communicate with them. Did I need to contact them:

        1. With all the details
        2. The 10,000ft view
        3. Only stuff that will cost them money

        Frequency:

        1. Weekly
        2. Monthly
        3. With problems or successes

  5. Nice article. You are right on, and I’ve found that people appreciate honesty when telling them the truth about how much something might cost up front. I try to educate my clients as much as I can without overwhelming them with details or fall into the pitfall that Ansel points out above.

    From the client’s perspective, I’ve seen people pay thousands of dollars for websites built from scratch that they later find out they can’t even update themselves or add in extra functionality without paying up the yazoo. That’s why I’m a fan of WordPress 🙂

  6. Great post, Brian!

    Imagine this car shop actually built your car originally. When they did, they knew they could build the car in such a way that the $550 extra issue wouldn’t happen at all unless they took a shortcut in the manufacture process. However, they decided they didn’t care about that, and took the shortcut.

    Now how do you react even if they warn you when you take it in to fix the $250 issue?

  7. Of course one of the biggest problems is that you don’t always know what people know, so explaining too much up front can actually have the opposite effect of overwhelming the client and forcing them to delay their decision making.

    This is why learning how to close a deal with the least amount of fluff is essential in building your business profitably. Attempting to anticipate what the client may want in the future may delay your own efforts to start the job and get paid.

    That said, If I’m going to develop a shopping cart for a client and forget to mention an SSL is necessary (and that an SSL requires a dedicated IP), well, that’s a fail on my part, and I agree should have been mentioned from the start. Not sure what has to do with educating clients.

    Not criticizing the author. Just saying that if you are going to bid a job and you don’t tell client what’s required to go live up front well there’s another name for that and it doesn’t rhyme with education.

  8. Taking your first point: the quotation. Rumsfield made, naturally, a complete hash of it but the original comes from Socrates: All I know is that I know nothing (although there are also other versions according to translator) – and it refers to justice which, as we know with hindsight, seems more than appropriate.

    Anyone who offers a full service – whether for a car or for other products – should be capable of explaining the entire product from its good side and its bad side. If there is a risk it should be mentioned; if additional work is needed, it should be mentioned; if the ideas of the person placing an order won’t work exactly as they envisage it, it should be discussed. This is all part of the service which should be offered and should also be a matter of pride – in their knowledge and capabilities – for anyone offering this service.

    Sadly too many people have played around with software – and cars – and believe they know all there is to know because they’ve never encountered a specific problem and do not bother to check up on what other people have learned. It is something we find across all industries and shows a lack of education in that, once they have their certificate or whatever, many people simply stop learning.

  9. Ok so I’m using this in all of my upcoming project discovery sessions.

    It’s going to be called the Rumsgard Methodology of Scoping.

    Thank you!

  10. Exactly right; setting expectations cannot be overstated. Just as if the mechanic knew there was the possibility of a different outcome other than fully repaired, it’s always best for everyone to alert the client when the known unknowns are available to us. No one likes finding out uncertainty existed and the expert didn’t mention anything about it, but knew all along. That’s a great way to ruin your business through negative word of mouth. Becoming a beacon on behalf of the customer is where experience shows and is what justifies higher rates.

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