The Easiest Way to Answer: “How Long Does It Take to Make an App?”
Today’s Tip: Give clarity, sell speed.
There’s a foolproof way to build trust with prospective app clients or collaborators.
Surprisingly, most agencies, freelancers, and consultants miss it completely.
Let’s break it down…
Here’s what most people do when asked:
“How long does it take to make an app?”
Step 1: Give vague answers like “it depends” or “3–6 months, maybe more”
Step 2: Hold back the real roadmap until someone pays for a discovery call or proposal
It seems like this would create demand…keep your process behind a curtain and charge to reveal it.
But that strategy is a massive mistake.
Let me explain…
The best way to get someone to trust you with their app idea (and their money) is when they are 100% confident you understand the journey ahead.
Trust is built when clarity is delivered.
By hiding the actual timeline or process, you’re putting a fog between your prospect and their goal…you’re making them commit before they believe.
That causes friction, hesitation, and ghosting.
Instead, give away the full breakdown — for free.
Show people exactly what goes into building an app:
Time estimates by phase (design, dev, QA, launch)
Variables that affect speed (team size, tech stack, scope)
Real-world project timelines you’ve seen or led
This gives your audience total clarity about what “it takes” — and builds trust that you’ve done it before.
Now, the DIY crowd will take that clarity and go figure it out on their own.
They’ll piece it together with Upwork devs, YouTube tutorials, and trial and error.
This is expansion.
You gave them knowledge to move forward. (And yes, they’ll probably recommend you to someone else later.)
But that’s only about 5% of people.
The other 95%?
They’ll want to skip the mistakes.
This is where you sell compression.
Compression means decreasing the time (and pain) it takes to go from idea → live app.
You’re not selling code. You’re selling time savings, clarity, and confidence.
Once someone knows you understand the process — and they know how long it should take — they’ll gladly pay you to get them there faster and cleaner.
But if you dodge the question (“how long does it take to make an app?”), you never earn that trust — and you stall the sale.
Give the roadmap, earn the trust, offer the shortcut.
This is why I give away my entire app planning frameworks, dev timelines, and scope templates for free in workshops.
I’ve built dozens of apps, across every kind of team and timeline. I know the real answer. And I’m not afraid to give it away.
For founders who want to figure it out themselves — awesome. I’m rooting for them.
But for the ones who want to go faster, smarter, and with way less stress — I’m here to help.
Give clarity, sell compression.
PS – Speaking of compression… I help founders go from messy app ideas to production-ready builds, fast. If you’re wondering “how long does it take to make an app?” and want the real answer — plus a smarter way to do it book a FREE Zoom call with me.
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