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Generally, no one should hear these except the leaders who can take action and implement them. More specifically, don’t do their work by including people that they need to convince of certain things; that’s their job.
Explain to the client that it is their responsibility to capture the notes. Not only will they remember key parts of the discussion better if they capture them on their own, but it transfers the work to them
When the discussion gets off track, get everyone’s attention, smile, and walk over to that statement and ask if they can focus back on this main issue, in spite of how interesting the conversation is getting.
When someone makes a suggestion that will not move the group toward that north star, walk over to the statement on the wall and thoughtfully ask if that might not move us in the right direction after all.
I am an established thought leader in this field, and my energy is expended in ways that maintain that position. Stated otherwise, my main deliverable is insightful analysis and transformative advice.
Great statement
The focus is not on long reports or even reports at all, and in fact my recommendations are short, concise, and only in outline form (I provide handouts in order for you to take notes). I can then expand where that would be helpful.
The deliverable is a concise, specific set of suggestions about how to improve their situation. If someone wants more than that, they need to hire someone else besides an expert.
So true
I’ll suggest that clients who pay you a lot of money need/deserve some sort of tablet that summarizes the 10 Commandments for their situation.
You want them to love you, hate you, and then love you, in that order, over many years. They love you at the outset because you’ve captured their situation perfectly and helped them see some light at the end of the tunnel. They’ll then hate you because they feel abandoned and lost (since you are not a coach) as they scramble around wondering what to do next. You’ll help a little with this, but never as much as they want. During this time they’ll slowly adjust their expectations about how present you will not be. And finally, they’ll love you again as they find their own sea legs, see how you
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“If you could wave a magic wand and fix two or three things that would help you sleep better at night, what would that look like? I know that there are many little things, but what are the big things?” Then ignore most of the little things and focus on the big ones.
Key
And in your report, recite those big things and concentrate on solving them.
Everything you say needs to be true, but you don’t need to blurt out everything that happens to be true. You can save some of those nuggets for later. You have no obligation to tell them everything. Most clients aren’t ready for everything, so don’t overwhelm them. This
Don’t treat them like children, but understand that they want to be encouraged and acknowledged for the good decisions they have made.
Choose your words carefully when you address this. “Developing” is better than “below average.” “Typical” is better than “average.” “Advanced” is better than “way ahead.” Use encouraging words wherever you can. Save harsh judgments for those few places where they are warranted.
After the actual relationship begins, though, you’ll find that they love you, kind of hate you, and then love you again. The first immediate reaction is love. Your work has been insightful, courageous, and full of actual problem solving. But then they’ll remember that you are not going to actually do the work—that’s up to them.
Key
They know what to do and nothing stands between them and success except discipline.
So be careful about getting discouraged when all your clients don’t love you. Not only are you providing expertise, but you are also modeling how they should provide expertise.
Ask yourself this: If I worked with every client the way I’m thinking of working with this particular client, would that be scalable?
Clients can’t be fully invested in the process—and they’re definitely not going to learn what they should—if you step in and do everything for them.
Instructors (i.e., advisors) who aren’t all that confident will take over the controls too quickly when the student makes a mistake, because they aren’t sure they’ll be able to save the aircraft later if the situation deteriorates…or if they are laboring under some strange idea that the student is paying the instructor to fly, rather than to teach.
The instructor will say, “I have the controls,” and that’s a clear, efficient signal for the student to let go of everything.
Key
The most important strategy is to not define the scope so tightly that you have to follow it. You’d think that a tightly defined scope would protect you, but it actually obligates you to do a lot of specific things … plus all the other things that will crop up naturally as a relationship unfolds.
Key for contract
A better strategy is to be more general in scope, and then interpret it as you see fit. You are in charge and you’ll know how to adapt to specific client types.
Another good way to limit your work to only what’s necessary is to require that the primary decision maker be present on every call or in every meeting.
Eliminate regularly scheduled meetings of all kinds.
Meetings (in this context) should be issues-based. In other words, they are prompted by some specific thing, and you won’t typically know when that specific thing will surface.
Always move discussions away from the phone to email where possible. Email allows for shorter and more to-the-point answers.
You’re going to find that most clients will want you to adapt to their preferred method of internal communication. That might be Google Docs or Slack or whatever. You should set your own standard and be consistent with all clients.
The client should adapt to the consultant and not the other way around. You’re aiming for sustainability.
Finally, don’t get into small, private conversations with people where the “airing of the grievances” occurs. It’s not efficient, and you’ll get sucked into politics. You’ll need to allow a little griping when someone has an important observation to make, but otherwise it devolves into a game of personal agendas where you are the pawn.
So true
Informed assumptions can help you navigate disarray. Unexamined assumptions lead you down the wrong path.
Great quote
The second opportunity to upsell (or should I say, future sell) is near the close of the first engagement. Explain how else you can help them and when the timing might be right, if at all.
You can differentiate your practice by who you focus on, what you do for them, or how you do it. That last “how you do it” often shows up as process, but typical process is shallow and even hollow.
