Common Mistakes to Avoid in Client Meetings

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.

Over the past 20 years in market research, many project issues I've seen stem from mismanaging client expectations. Whether you work for a research firm, an agency, a consultancy, or any other business that involves regular client discussions, here are 4 pointers. 1️⃣ Communication—Regularly communicate, candidly ask the client how often they want updates, and never let a week go by without touching base, regardless of the project stage. Anticipate questions and answer them before they ask. A client sending an email asking, "What's the status of...?" is a failure on your end - within reason. Lack of responsiveness leads to mistrust, even more micromanagement, skepticism, and other issues that can be snuffed out by communicating openly. 2️⃣ Be Realistic—We all want to say "yes" to clients, but there are often ways to showcase your experience and expertise by being honest about what can be achieved with a given timeline and budget. The expectation could be a lack of understanding about the process or industry norms. Underpromise and overdeliver versus overpromise and underdeliver. Those honest conversations may appear inflexible, but they're often more about setting expectations and setting up both parties for long-term sustainable success. Saying "no" to this project could be a better long-term decision for the account than saying "yes" and failing with no second chance. 3️⃣ Understand Perspective—Take the time to actively listen to your client's needs, goals, and priorities. It goes beyond listening and includes asking smart (and sometimes bolder) questions to get a complete understanding. What drove the need for research? Why is receiving results within 2 weeks crucial? What happens if you don't receive results in 2 weeks? Understanding what's pushing the decisions behind the scenes can be a game changer. 4️⃣ Solutions Over Problems—Never present a problem or an issue to a client without a path forward. "This happened, but here are 3 things we can do to fix it." You need to be more than someone who relays information, you need to be a true consultant. Be able to justify each recommendation and explain the pros and cons of each path. -------------------------------------- Need MR advice? Message me. 📩 Visit @Drive Research 💻  1400+ articles to help you. ✏️ --------------------------------------

It takes 7 seconds to lose a client's trust. (Sometimes with words that seemed perfectly reasonable.) I've watched smart professionals lose deals they deserved to win. Strong relationships. Perfect fit solutions. Gone in seconds. Because here's what nobody tells you about client conversations: Your words can either open doors or close them. After training 50,000+ client-facing professionals… I've heard every phrase that makes clients pull back. The pushy questions. The tone-deaf assumptions. The pressure that breaks trust instantly. 10 phrases that push clients away: ❌ "Do you have a price range in mind?" ❌ "When can we close this deal?" ❌ "Let me tell you why we're the best." ❌ "Are you ready to buy today?" ❌ "Who else are you talking to?" ❌ "I just wanted to check in.” ❌ "You really need what we offer." ❌ "Let me know if you have any questions." ❌ "This is a limited-time offer." ❌ "Can you introduce me to your boss?" Each one risks sounding like: "I care more about my quota than your success." Now 10 that build partnerships instead: ✅ "What outcomes are most important to you?" ✅ "What would success look like for you?" ✅ "Would it help if I shared how we've helped others?" ✅ "What's your timeline for making progress?" ✅ "What's most important when choosing a partner?" ✅ "I had an idea about your goals. Want to hear it?" ✅ "What challenges are you facing that we might help with?" ✅ "Would it help if we scheduled time to dive deeper?" ✅ "What priorities are driving your timeline?" ✅ "Who else should be part of this conversation?" Notice the pattern? Every better phrase puts the client's agenda first. Not yours. Because when you stop selling and start solving, everything shifts. Clients lean in instead of pulling back. Conversations flow instead of stalling. Trust builds instead of breaking. You don't need a personality transplant. You don't need to become "salesy." You just need to change your questions. Because the truth is: Your next client conversation is either strengthening a partnership or weakening one. Your words decide which. ♻️ Valuable? Repost to help someone in your network. 📌 Follow Mo Bunnell for client-growth strategies that don’t feel like selling. Want the full cheat sheet? Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/e3qRVJRf