Handling Client Pushback On Recommendations

Be comfortable pushing back on the client/prospective client. An engagement has to set you up for success, too. Examples: 1. The client wants a proposal but won't tell you the budget or where the money will come from. Potential solution: Suggest a range and get verbal approval that the range makes sense and that the client can find the money or knows how to influence the people who can. Spend time understanding the process for moving forward to a decision, including all people involved; if the client won't tell you or doesn't know, wait until he does. Why send a proposal that the client can't/won't approve? (Often potential clients ask for a proposal because it is easier than saying no, and often potential clients either have no decision-making authority or just need to collect a bunch of proposals before hiring the vendor they already want to hire). 2. The client says they need your help creating a full-blown strategic plan, but the team will only allocate a half day for a retreat to get it done. You know from experience that a lot more time is needed. Potential solution: Don't overpromise. Either get the client to agree to the time you need or suggest that you do a part of the strategy in the time available, like a SWOT analysis. 3. The client wants you to facilitate a meeting about a sensitive topic but won't let you interview any participants ahead of time. Potential solution: I would avoid this engagement unless I can interview participants ahead of time. Otherwise, there are too many risks/unknowns and it could be that the client wants to shift the burden of leadership to me. I never want to be the lightning rod. 4. The client wants you to coach all of his direct reports to work better together. However, you have already done an assessment and learned that the client is likely the real obstacle. Potential solution: Present this data and suggest that you coach the client first about how he can better engage the team and set the tone. If the client balks, happily move on. 5. HR wants you to coach a manager that they most likely want to fire anyway. They want you to document the coaching. Potential solution: Tell HR that you don't do "coaching as a last resort" coaching. You would prefer to coach managers that the company wants to keep and develop. 6. HR calls you to facilitate a retreat of senior leaders to determine the culture of the company. The CEO/founder isn't going to be there, even though he controls the company and is the primary shaper of the culture. Potential solution: This was a real case for me, and I refused to do the engagement unless the CEO was there or at least would work with me throughout to be sure this wasn't a "check the box" exercise. HR wouldn't let me do that and so I passed. Other colleagues of mine said they would have done this work anyway, because it could have led to more work to implement and involve the CEO. Thoughts? Let me know any other cases where it makes sense to push back.

PR professionals who always say 'yes' to clients, even under pressure, might be fundamentally failing them. Clients regularly face the kind of pressure that leads to unrealistic deadlines. Recently, we had a client who wanted to launch their campaign even though their app was still pending App Store approval. They'd already told their investors the launch was happening and had even planned a big launch party, with key stakeholders flying in from all over. We explained that launching without a clear conversion pathway would frustrate early adopters, not capitalize on the PR investment, and could actually harm investor perception rather than help it. As an aside, when challenging client decisions, we always focus on concrete results. After exploring potential workarounds, we emphasized how waiting for full app availability would not only protect the campaign's potential, but deliver actual downloads and measurable ROI, rather than just hitting the date. This framing transformed the conversation from "maintaining a timeline" to "maximizing user acquisition and campaign effectiveness." The client decided to trust our recommendation and postponed the launch. The very next day, they received App Store approval. “So happy we trusted you there,” the client said. It ended up being a nice, successful campaign that both made investors happy and drove downloads and adoption. PR pros: It’s OK to say ‘no’ sometimes, as long as you ground your rationale in outcomes and results. PR clients: If your expert PR counsel pushes back with a clear 'why,' please listen. Because the difference between normal and high-level PR isn't just execution—it's the strategic foresight and courage to guide clients toward success, even when the initial plan needs to change. P.S. Massive shoutout to the client (you know who you are) for being cooperative, trusting, and understanding.

Saying "yes" feels right, but "no" can save your project. And also save your client’s trust. Last week I had a tough time with one of my clients. Firefighting with a last-minute high-priority request. → The request was outside the scope. → No one is trained to do it. → And, I need to deliver it next week. These unrealistic expectations are nothing new in project management. I had two choices to respond to this conversation: 1/ Say yes and rush to finish. 2/ Have a tough conversation and protect the project. I chose the second. It would have been easier to say: ↳ "I’ll move things around and figure it out." ↳ "It’s tight, but I’ll make it happen somehow." The first option feels easier. You want to be helpful. You want to be seen as a problem solver. But what happens when you agree to unrealistic expectations. Particularly the one that is unclear. → They lead to mistakes. → Mistakes lead to rework. → Rework leads to missed deadlines and broken trust. Here’s a better way to handle such situations: → Listen and acknowledge the urgency. → Explain the impact of rushing. → Offer a structured way to address the request. For example: "Let’s do this right, not just fast. If we rush, we’ll need to redo work later. Instead of squeezing it in, let’s reprioritize, consult the team and review the impact. Please submit a change request so we can assess it properly." Will it be uncomfortable? Yes, it will be. Will there be push back? Yes, there will be. But in the end, your client will respect the process. You’ll save your project from scope creep. The team will trust you. Difficult conversations aren’t about saying NO. They’re about setting clear expectations, so projects actually succeed.