Smart Prep is Key!

Many of us manage projects, clients and connections on a daily basis. Whether you’re pitching proposals (Please send your project scope by Friday EOD), moving through deliverables (Can you explain Phase 2 to our team?) or making referrals (Hey, Eve! Do you know any great graphic designers?), you probably need to get organized to keep everything on track.

Taking stock of progress and capabilities helps you, your clients and your team(s) understand where you’re headed, why and how. You know this, of course. But even if your client doesn’t require such a document, have you ever considered writing an SOW (Scope / Statement of Work) for the projects you’re engaged with? It’s a terrific tool that helps keep you on track.

Embrace the SOW

A statement of work need not be a lengthy treatise of your project dreams and goals. It shouldn’t be a business plan. But it could very well be a brief (one page or less) statement encapsulating exactly what you hope to achieve working on the project at hand.

For example, one of my clients requested referrals for an SEO guru. When connecting them with recommended pros, I sent them a one-page document outlining exactly what my client needed, SEO and SEM-wise, for her web presence and business, how she defines conversions and her budget. As you might be aware, SEO and SEM can mean different things to different people; providing a brief outline of this particular project scope truly helped find the best fit for the work by clarifying objectives from the start.

TCoB (Taking Care of Biz) = #winning!

I’ve conducted this same descriptive exercise for all my work. After I meet with clients to begin a new project, I create a “What I Heard” document (similar to the SOW). I briefly note the project specs, goals, parameters, obstacles and opportunities. Sometimes it’s just a long list of information. Sometimes it’s a mini proposal. Even if I don’t send this doc to my clients, it remains top of mind while I work to deliverables. The small output of work at the onset – crafting the SOW – saves time and energy later on.

Set a Q2 goal of getting organized and staying on top of your game- maybe even use the SOW to make it happen.