Turn scope creep into a change order.

Subject: Website redesign: proposed change order for new requests

Hi Acme Corp team,

Thanks for the new ideas over the last few weeks. We love the momentum, and we want to make sure each one gets the time it deserves.

A few of the recent requests sit outside the scope we agreed at the start:
  • Add a blog section with 3 templates
  • Third revision round on homepage
  • Integrate booking widget

To deliver these properly, we estimate 36 additional hours across the team. That comes to £3,370 as a change order, and would move the delivery date by about 6 working days.

You have three options, and any of them is fine with us:
  1. Approve the change order and we add these to the current plan.
  2. Swap them for items in the original scope of similar size.
  3. Park them for a phase 2 after launch.

I've attached a one-page summary. Happy to walk through it on a quick call this week.

Best,
[Your name]

NEGOTIATION SCRIPT

Open: "Before we dig in, I want to flag something so there are no surprises later."
Frame: "These requests are great additions. They weren't in the original brief, so I want to scope them properly rather than rush them."
Number: "It's 36 hours of work, £3,370, and roughly 6 extra working days."
Options: "We can add it, swap it for something already planned, or park it for phase 2."
If they push back on price: "I can drop the lowest-priority item to bring it down. Which one matters least to you?"
If they ask to absorb it: "We've already absorbed a few small things. For this size, absorbing it would mean cutting corners on what you've paid for."
Close: "Which option works best? I'll send the updated plan today."