Ecommerce agencies: scope negotiation
Use this scope negotiation exercise to make changes to deliverables and responsibilities visible before agreeing a revised price or deadline. You are discussing a store conversion and merchandising review with the owner of an online store. The point of the practice is to make a useful decision together, including recognising when the offer is not a fit.
Produce a written scope decision with inclusions, exclusions, assumptions and approval.
The situation
In this fictional brief, customers hesitate at product selection or checkout. The buyer wants a prioritised set of customer-journey improvements. Your offer is a store conversion and merchandising review, but you must first establish whether its scope addresses the actual need.
A relevant delivery constraint is that changes must preserve payment, inventory and fulfilment integrations. Treat that as a fact in the exercise; do not remove it to make the sale easier.
| Your counterpart | the owner of an online store |
|---|---|
| Offer under discussion | a store conversion and merchandising review |
| Evidence available | a recorded walkthrough with observed friction and a testable hypothesis |
| Terms to clarify | Define platform access, implementation, measurement and rollback responsibility. |
How to approach scope negotiation
A useful question for this stage: “If we keep the current budget, which existing item should this replace?” Ask it when the conversation creates a reason for it, rather than reciting every question in order.
- List the requested change. Explain its effect on work, dependencies and timing. Offer a clear trade-off that the buyer can evaluate.
- Ground the discussion in the buyer’s work. Ask: “Where does a customer need information that the store does not provide?” Listen for a concrete example before making a claim.
- Use evidence relevant to the decision: a recorded walkthrough with observed friction and a testable hypothesis. Explain what it demonstrates and what remains unverified.
- Produce a written scope decision with inclusions, exclusions, assumptions and approval.
An industry-specific concern
Buyer: “We only want more traffic.”
Possible response: “More traffic may help, but let us first check whether visitors can choose the product and complete checkout without avoidable friction.”
Why this response helps: it acknowledges the concern, brings the discussion back to a verifiable requirement and leaves room for a different decision. Adapt the wording to what the buyer actually said.
Run the practice
- Prepare for two minutes. One person takes the seller role and one plays the owner of an online store. Read the offer and constraint separately from your preferred answer.
- Have a five-minute conversation focused on make changes to deliverables and responsibilities visible before agreeing a revised price or deadline. The buyer should answer consistently with the brief and ask for evidence when a claim is vague.
- Add this challenge: The buyer describes a substantial change as a small tweak. Ask for the actual requirement and assess it without arguing about the label.
- Pause for feedback. Quote one useful question and one missed opportunity. Repeat the difficult exchange using a different response.
- Finish by writing the actual agreement. A sensible option, when it fits, is to review one product category and one checkout journey. A clear decision to pause is also a useful outcome.
What to avoid
| Common mistake | Accepting extra work verbally and hoping the team can absorb it. |
|---|---|
| A stronger direction | We can include that change once we agree what it replaces or how it changes the estimate. |
| Scope and claim boundary | A heuristic review does not prove a conversion uplift. |
| What to measure in real work | checkout completion for a defined audience and period. Establish a baseline and definition before interpreting a change. |
An example conversation
Which part of the outcome is essential, and which part could wait?
Our concern is that customers hesitate at product selection or checkout. Also, changes must preserve payment, inventory and fulfilment integrations.
Where does a customer need information that the store does not provide?
We only want more traffic.
More traffic may help, but let us first check whether visitors can choose the product and complete checkout without avoidable friction.
If we keep the current budget, which existing item should this replace?
Your working sheet.
Make the exercise your own. Notes are saved in this browser when storage is available. Download a copy to keep; avoid confidential information on a shared device.
Example: customers hesitate at product selection or checkout; changes must preserve payment, inventory and fulfilment integrations.
Example: If we keep the current budget, which existing item should this replace? Industry question: Where does a customer need information that the store does not provide?
Example: a recorded walkthrough with observed friction and a testable hypothesis. A heuristic review does not prove a conversion uplift.
Example: Propose a clear next step, such as: review one product category and one checkout journey. Confirm the owner and date.
Review your work
This is a reflection checklist, not an automated assessment.
Questions
Who is this ecommerce agencies exercise for?+
Can I use the example as a script?+
How should I assess the result?+
Fictional training scenario. The dialogue illustrates response choices; it is not a customer testimonial or a record of a real sale.
Explore more sales resourcesTake the conversation further.
Read a practical guide to structuring your sales practice, or explore the current London sales masterclass.
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