I’ve recently published posts about how you can identify expectations through guesswork or analysis. Those are good options and should not be neglected, but there is another way of learning about your client’s expectations. Ask them.
Asking them sounds simple enough but there are things to be aware of when choosing that approach.
Don’t introduce new expectations unless you want to
If you’ve already analyzed the client’s expectations you might think you know what they expect. However, make sure you let them do the talking. The first rule in talking to your client is to listen. That way you will get thoughts from them that are not contaminated by your assumptions.
However, there might be areas where you want to ‘plant’ an expectation. A common scenario would be in terms of delivery date. The client may expect delivery in 6 months. Once they verbalize that, the expectation becomes stronger. However, if you beat them to it and tell them to expect 10 months, they will be more likely to adapt their expectation to the expectation you gave them.
How to ask
It depends on the situation, but I would generally suggest a personal meeting or a phone call, rather than email. You need to be able to discuss back and forth before formalizing it too much with an email.
That way, after your meeting or phone call, you can take your time to prepare and send a summary by email which is phrased just the way you want it phrased. It will be your interpretation of the client’s expectations. You need to make sure the client recognizes the expectations as theirs and, at the same time, make sure you are not describing difficult expectations in a way where you are setting the client up for a disappointment later on.
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