Intentional Insights

July 28th, 2025

Insight

You never want to finish a project and have your client disappointed with the results.

At best, you salvage the situation by making the necessary changes. At worst, you ruin the relationship and your reputation, rippling across your network and hurting future work prospects.

I'm not perfect and have had plenty of times where I had to scrap entire edits and start from scratch or reshoot an interview that didn't have audio recording (yikes). But as I've gotten further in my career, instances like this happen less and less.

The difference? Managing expectations from day one.

Most client disappointment is avoidable with good communication. This starts from the very first call.

You need to ask the right questions: "What's the goal of this project and how will you measure success?" "Do you have references for the style you're looking for?" "What's the budget range?" ...

But it's not just about understanding what they want. You also need to clearly communicate your process and what they can expect.

To help with this, I create client dashboards that have master timelines, showing exactly where we are in the process. I walk them through each step if they're unfamiliar with video production, and am very specific about things like rounds of editing, the revision process, and what is achievable within their budget.

The biggest mistake I made early on was being vague about the process.

From initial concept approvals, to having a client rep on set to give the "ok" on takes, and a clear post-production workflow; getting everyone on the same page from day one makes everything go smoother.

Avoid surprises later by setting the expectations early (what's the goal, what's achievable within the budget, who's responsible for what, etc.) and documenting it all.

Resource

Project Dashboards

A central place where clients can reference a master timeline, brief, and key information throughout the project.

I use Notion for this, but I've also used Milanote in the past. Asana is another great option designed specifically for project management.

The tool doesn't matter as much as having everything organized in one place that both you and your client can access.

Action Step

This week, audit your client communication process.

Look at your recent projects and ask:

• What client issues could have been prevented with better upfront communication?
• How could you front-load information to avoid confusion later?
• Is there anything that is ambiguous or unclear?

Identify one specific area where you can be clearer with future clients, whether that's your process, timeline, or deliverables.

Better communication upfront saves time and stress for everyone later on.

Until next week,
Cobi

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