
Ask HN: How to respond to client's request for additional integration work? - jimmy1
Hello HN, I have a tricky situation and unfortunately realizing I am very &quot;engineer&quot; minded when it comes to these situations and I need to put my &quot;business&quot; hat on.<p>We have an API that provides valuable leads to our partners. Currently we have over 50 partners that utilize this API. For all intents and purposes, the API is the product and we sell access to it.<p>We have one particular client that essentially is a low-tech client (meaning one without many tech resources at their disposal, and anything tech-work related will most likely go through a consultant or contractor for them) making a request that we basically integrate with <i>their</i> API. Although this isn&#x27;t an unreasonable request (especially at the right price) it is not a service we have the bandwidth to provide (we are a two person team and cannot feasibly provide custom integration for all of our clients) and it isn&#x27;t in our scope, contract, etc. We are not a software consultancy -- we run an API. (We also provide hosted leads on our SFTP server if clients prefer that method of delivery, but there advantages to using the API in that you can receive leads in real time)<p>We have tried to explain to this client that if they need our leads sent to their system (I believe they want us to integrate with their CRM solution), they could utilize something like a Zapier, but we do not provide integrations.<p>We have a phone call coming up with them shortly, and I want to make sure I navigate this situation gingerly. Thank you for all advice, truly.
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CodingAdam
It seems that you have two options, First option, can you provide what the
client is asking without risking the product? If so go in the meeting prepared
with a project proposial and negotiate your price.

But if this is something too much to do and will eventually harm the product
since you said it its a two person team, then its probably best to let them
know that you cannot offer that service but be ready to offer them some
advice/recommendation, for example if you have a company in mind that could do
the job.

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thinkingemote
Seems they might need you assistance in finding out what they actually need.
Just because they say we want X deosnt mean that's what they actually need.

So, requirements specification, user stories etc.

The next thing is to tell them you will sort it, charge them lots and just
subcontract to some freelancers or another company if your own cannot handle
the extra work load.

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gus_massa
Are they using some popular framework? Do other clients (or potential clients)
use it?

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chrisbennet
Be nice, but lose the client in some fashion.

Concentrate your limited resources on your core business.

