title: Explaining why "Just add another column to the DB" is a bad idea, to non programmers
body: <p>I have sales people and bean counters who are trying to sell customizations to clients, which is fine.  But when a complex change request comes in that I send back a large estimate for, they get confused.  Often they come back at me with "Why can't you just add another column?" which by another, they mean a dozen or so custom columns PER client.</p>
  
  <p>So far all I can come back with is "We are trying to keep the database well normalized" which means nothing to them.  I tell them I can create a system of tables that allows each client to define their own set of custom fields, but of course that takes more time and money than "just adding a few columns".  And of course they want to have their cake and eat it too.</p>
  
  <p>So how can I make them understand?</p>