Using Feedback to Improve Consulting Services

Getting the right feedback will transform your job as a PM. More scalability, better user engagement, and growth. But most PMs don’t know how to do it right. Here’s the Feedback Engine I’ve used to ship highly engaging products at unicorns & large organizations: — Right feedback can literally transform your product and company. At Apollo, we launched a contact enrichment feature. Feedback showed users loved its accuracy, but... They needed bulk processing. We shipped it and had a 40% increase in user engagement. Here’s how to get it right: — 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟭: 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 Most PMs get this wrong. They collect feedback randomly with no system or strategy. But remember: your output is only as good as your input. And if your input is messy, it will only lead you astray. Here’s how to collect feedback strategically: → Diversify your sources: customer interviews, support tickets, sales calls, social media & community forums, etc. → Be systematic: track feedback across channels consistently. → Close the loop: confirm your understanding with users to avoid misinterpretation. — 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟮: 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘇𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 Analyzing feedback is like building the foundation of a skyscraper. If it’s shaky, your decisions will crumble. So don’t rush through it. Dive deep to identify patterns that will guide your actions in the right direction. Here’s how: Aggregate feedback → pull data from all sources into one place. Spot themes → look for recurring pain points, feature requests, or frustrations. Quantify impact → how often does an issue occur? Map risks → classify issues by severity and potential business impact. — 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟯: 𝗔𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 Now comes the exciting part: turning insights into action. Execution here can make or break everything. Do it right, and you’ll ship features users love. Mess it up, and you’ll waste time, effort, and resources. Here’s how to execute effectively: Prioritize ruthlessly → focus on high-impact, low-effort changes first. Assign ownership → make sure every action has a responsible owner. Set validation loops → build mechanisms to test and validate changes. Stay agile → be ready to pivot if feedback reveals new priorities. — 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟰: 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 What can’t be measured, can’t be improved. If your metrics don’t move, something went wrong. Either the feedback was flawed, or your solution didn’t land. Here’s how to measure: → Set KPIs for success, like user engagement, adoption rates, or risk reduction. → Track metrics post-launch to catch issues early. → Iterate quickly and keep on improving on feedback. — In a nutshell... It creates a cycle that drives growth and reduces risk: → Collect feedback strategically. → Analyze it deeply for actionable insights. → Act on it with precision. → Measure its impact and iterate. — P.S. How do you collect and implement feedback?

In a healthy agency culture, feedback is always flowing and driving continuous improvement. It's vital to build a system that drives new feedback... Rather than one-off attempts to gather feedback, set up recurring and repeatable processes. Here are some feedback collection mechanisms that we've used across our Barrel Holdings agencies: 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆: after a project or periodically (e.g. monthly, quarterly), send a short survey asking for scores on communication, work quality, project management, value they feel they're getting, and whatever else. Leave an open-ended space for any additional comments. 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆: each quarter, send around a short questionnaire (Gallup's Q12 has some good questions) to get a sense of how the team is feeling about the work, their colleagues, the culture, and whether they are being supported 𝗪𝗶𝗻/𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: whether you win or lose a prospect, follow up with a call to understand how they came to the decision, what counted for/against your firm, and how you stacked up against competitors. 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: when an employee hands in their resignation notice, find time to have a convo and dig into what led to their decision, their thoughts on the culture, work, processes, etc. and what they thought could've been better. 𝗔𝗻𝗼𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸: on some teams, feedback is more forthcoming if it's submitted anonymously. This also opens the door for more extreme types of feedback, but it's an opportunity to gather information that might only become available on Glassdoor later. 𝗢𝗻𝗲-𝗼𝗻-𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸-𝗶𝗻𝘀: these can be between manager and direct reports, HR and employees, skip level meetings where leadership meets with employees a few levels below, etc. These are periodic conversations to gain perspective on how a team member is experiencing the work and the culture. It's also an opportunity to surface any roadblocks or issues that are getting in the way. These are some core feedback collection practices – what would you add to this list? And an important note about feedback: it's like any other source of information – some of it may be useful and others not so much. Separate the emotions surrounding it as much as possible and reflect on what makes sense to take away from the feedback. In some cases, you'll want to adapt and evolve but in others you may want to stick to your guns and hold firm on your principles.

From rising through the ranks in investment banking to coaching future leaders, I know feedback is the secret to success. In my 25+ years, I’ve seen how timely, well-asked feedback can unlock promotions, raises and career growth —don’t wait to ask. 1 - Ask for feedback in a timely manner - as soon after the event (eg presentation, meeting, research paper, sales pitch, etc.) as possible. ⭐ Avoid waiting too long to ask, as memories can fade over time. ⭐ Choose a time when the person can focus on your request - scheduling 1x1 time, go for a coffee, etc. - strive for an environment with few distractions. ⭐ Give the person a heads-up that you’ll be asking for their feedback, so they have time to prepare. 2 - Ask someone who you TRUST and will be honest and forthcoming ⭐ Be careful not to be tempted to ask people who you know will provide positive feedback. (Personally, I like to ask a pessimist/glass is half empty personality). 3 - Be CLEAR and SPECIFIC on what you want feedback on ⭐ EXAMPLE - Don't say "How Am I Doing?". Be more specific and say "Can you provide feedback on how I at the sales pitch with Client ABC" 4 - Ask for EXAMPLES ⭐ EXAMPLE - "When you say I sounded nervous during the pitch, what specifically did you observe? Was it my body language, the way I spoke, the pace of my speaking, etc.?" 5 - Be OPEN and receptive to the feedback and do not get defensive ⭐ If you are defensive, you can discourage the person giving you honest feedback (or any feedback at all) ⭐ Realize that PERCEPTION IS REALITY. If the person provided feedback that you do not agree with, realize it is their reality (and likely others as well). 6 - Put an ACTION PLAN in place to address the feedback. ⭐ Ask the person providing feedback for their views on steps you can take to improve. Be grateful and thank the person who provided you feedback and ask them if you can follow up with them in a few weeks time to see if they have seen improvement. I also like to encourage them to share TIMELY feedback with me whenever they notice something. P.S. Want help with your development needs ⭐⭐ I can help. DM me now or email me at craigbroder@emergingedgellp.com. ♻️♻️♻️PLEASE REPOST AND SHARE WITH YOUR NETWORK ♻️ ♻️♻️

96% of employees value regular feedback. Yet only 30% receive it consistently. In leading teams and coaching managers, I see this trip leaders up all the time. Most feedback fails. Because: • It comes too late • It’s too vague • It feels like an attack If you want better team feedback, make it a system, not an event. Here’s how: 1. Use the SBI Framework – Situation → Behavior → Impact keeps feedback clear and grounded. 2. The 48-Hour Rule – Timely feedback feels more caring and lands better. 3. Power Questions for Your 1:1s – Ask things like “What could I have done better today?” to build trust. 4. Make Feedback Normal – Build it into team rituals like retros and pulse checks. 5. Lead by Example – Share your own feedback and growth moments first. 6. Avoid These Feedback Traps – Don’t be vague, only negative, or skip follow-up. Consistent feedback builds trust. And trust builds high-performing teams. 💾 Save this guide for your next 1:1. ♻️ Reshare to help others give better feedback. ➕ Follow me, Melody Olson, for Leadership & Career Insights.

Over the last several weeks, Tipalti has hosted several customer advisory boards across the globe. One in NYC for US clients (by Far our best attended ever!), one EU CAB in Amsterdam, and our first-ever internal CAB with key customer-facing subject matter experts. CABs are an excellent way to engage with and deepen client relationships, but the real objective is to get deeper, more contextualized customer feedback to better inform your product and other business-related decisions. Here are a few insights I have garnered from our recent experiences: 1. The Impact of Listening: The power of Active Listening (aka #reflecting) can never be understated. Hearing first hand feedback from a customer while you look them in the eye, asking questions to clarify understanding, and then expressing that you are genuinely considering that feedback into your decision-making helps to improve your business while making customers more loyal. These conversations also help ensure your team is putting the customer at the center of their decision-making. 2. The Power of Human Connection: There is a distinct difference to capturing feedback in-person vs digital methods of capturing need. Businesses often prefer to use spreadsheets to make decisions and that is very important. But relying too heavily and solely on this, without getting the deeper understanding of Why clients care about certain things and without fully appreciating the Emotion and excitement or frustration levels tied to the feedback can lead you off track. There is an important place for human-to-human interaction in business and those who get that will ultimately run a more successful business imo. 3. The Value of Collaboration: These CABs are, by nature, cross-functional efforts to pull off. Customer marketing may pull the event all together, customer success and account management helps to recruit attendees, product guides much of the content and conversation, and customers may also help to inform the topics and agenda too. At the event, everyone is engaging with one another. After the event, these different groups need to synthesize the input, prioritize it, share the learnings with business leaders, and action the learnings. These are big undertakings but they pull the entire company together to focus on the customer as their north star and that alone is transformative. Thank you to Leslie Barrett, Paola Johnson, Veronica Wynkoop, Irina Musteata, Reut Golan, Gil Vind Picciotto and everyone involved in making these 3 CABs a great success!

If I took a blind sample of 100 agencies, I’d bet 95 of them don’t collect client feedback enough or the right way. Here’s how to maximize it: If you wait until the client churns to ask for feedback, you miss opportunities to improve the experience during their time with you. You miss opportunities to stop churn before it happens. The right way to collect feedback is strategically, periodically, and methodically. Our method for doing so: 1. Recurring CSAT Check-Ins We run a recurring CSAT process on a fixed cadence, once or twice per quarter. It’s not tied to a milestone or outcome, and it gives us a baseline sentiment across all clients. But it’s more of a pulse check than a microscope. So we’re in the process of changing that. 2. Feedback at Every Important Touchpoint For our next phase, we’re rolling out a new system that forces feedback at important moments. We're using a tool that blocks access to client dashboards (e.g., to-do lists or file downloads) until they respond to a feedback prompt. That may sound harsh. But instead of getting one broad review, we’ll be getting granular insights across every client phase and deliverable. If the client doesn’t like that or finds it annoying, they can go work with an agency that cares less than we do about their client experience. 3. Feedback by Phase We’re moving toward CSAT that isn’t just: “How happy is this client overall?” Instead, we’ll be able to ask: “How satisfied were they with onboarding?” “How did they feel after implementation?” “Did they get what they wanted from their Q1 QBR?” It’s the difference between saying our clients are happy vs. knowing exactly where the relationship is strong or needs help. If you’re not making it easy (and required) for clients to tell you how you’re doing…you should start doing that today. How do you collect feedback from clients? Any tools or tricks you swear by?

Back in 2019, Kris, CEO of Sendoso (one of our partners), flew into Chicago. We grabbed lunch, and I asked what brought him into the city. He said, “I’m just visiting clients to get feedback.” He’d been all over the country doing the same. At the time, Sendoso was a couple of years into scaling, but here was the CEO, personally making the rounds to see how things were going. While this may not be possible or even critical for every organization, getting feedback is. Typically it comes in the form of a generic email form that gets deleted as soon as it’s received. Kris took a different approach to make it personal and real. That stuck with me. I’ve similarly made it a habit to stay close to the people we work with, reaching out one-on-one, asking things like: What’s working for you? What’s not? How can we do better? Sometimes it’s a quick call. Other times, it’s sitting down over coffee or lunch. And I find it significantly more effective. Larger organizations can do the same by breaking it down a bit. Segment your client base and identify high-impact opportunities to connect personally with key accounts. You could also schedule regional meetups or virtual town halls to engage multiple clients at once without losing the personal touch. Clients are much more honest and forthcoming when you take the time to personally ask.

I've seen too many enterprise software companies get caught with customers in the 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗽: • Promise too much = lose focus • Listen too little = lose trust I was super lucky to have two incredibly product-minded co-founders in Ted and Joshua. Of the many things I learned from them, one that has really stuck with me is that while customers understand their pain points better than anyone, they're not best positioned to solve that pain - they're too close to it and just don't have as many data points across variants of that pain, resulting in a failure of imagination as to the optimal solution. Customer feedback is absolute gold, but that doesn't mean every nugget should get directly translated into the product roadmap. The topic came up during the AMA after our Logicbroker All Hands last week - here's what I shared with my team:  1. 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 - Make sure the customer is heard and build a 3D model of their pain in your head by probing into the granular details of what they're dealing with 2. 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 - Thank them for the feedback and communicate how this will inform related product research as we work towards an optimal solution 3. 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - Have we already solved this pain point, but in a counterintuitive way? Educate the customer on how other clients are successfully handling this today. Encourage them to try it out and share back additional feedback to round out our understanding 4. 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 - Advocate for clients by employing methodologies like RICE (Reach x Impact x Confidence / Effort) to map feedback to prospective projects in a structured way that will automatically reprioritize initiatives as incremental data points are collected over time  5. 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 - In subsequent client QBRs, share new learnings around initiatives their feedback has matured. Be transparent about where they fall in the company's priorities and update on new related releases that may partially address their original pain point  Valuing customer feedback and protecting the product roadmap are not mutually exclusive. These two goals are inherently intertwined and mutually reinforcing. Building every client request will degrade the product, but ignoring client feedback will also degrade the product - it's a fine balance. Customers don't need a 'yes' - they need to be able to trust that you're listening and leading with purpose.

Feedback is your ally, not your enemy. It's tough to hear; tougher to ask for. But you should do it, whether you’re the leader of an organization or an individual contributor. How to solicit it effectively? Here are five steps. Embrace discomfort as growth. It's hard to hear we’re not perfect. But let’s be honest, we know we’re not. Getting feedback can help us see our blindspots and make us better.  Ask a focused, but open-ended question. Instead of asking, “Any feedback?”, ask questions that invite specific insights, like “What’s one thing I could stop doing or do differently to better  ___?” Fill in the blank with an area you’re hoping to excel in.  Give the feedback-giver time to think. If you’re asking it in-person, it can be as uncomfortable for the feedback giver as it is for you. If you’re asking through a survey, consider making it anonymous so people can give open, honest feedback. Listen with the intent to understand, not to defend. Acknowledge the feedback without judgment. Look for the kernel of truth in it.  Act on feedback and communicate back. Show you value their input by taking visible action. Close the feedback loop by sharing how you’ve implemented the suggestions or why certain advice couldn’t be acted upon at this time. This shows your commitment to improvement and encourages continued honest dialogue. I’ve observed leaders engage in “feedback theater” – soliciting feedback to appear to care about their team or organization, but dismissing it and moving on. In contrast, some leaders genuinely want feedback, but then ignore it, even when it’s specific and consistent. These behaviors effectively erode trust, disengage teams, and undermine commitment. Embracing feedback with courage, humility and a commitment to growth not only elevates your leadership but also builds a foundation of trust and transparency.

“We have a feedback culture.”   That’s what the slide says in your onboarding deck.  But here’s what the team actually feels: → “If I speak up, I’ll be labeled ‘difficult.’” → “If I share the real issue, I’ll lose trust.” → “If I name what’s broken, I’ll be the problem.” That’s not feedback. That’s fear. And fear doesn’t build trust. It builds silence. Here’s how to start changing that 👇 1️⃣ Ask questions they’re scared to answer. Try: “What’s one thing we’re not talking about that we should be?” 2️⃣ Respond to feedback like it’s a gift especially when it stings. If you defend, they won’t bring it again. 3️⃣ Give feedback in real time, not once a year. Waiting for performance reviews = waiting too long. 4️⃣ Model emotional regulation. Your tone and energy determine if the room opens up or shuts down. 5️⃣ Normalize disagreement. If your team always agrees with you, they probably don’t feel safe enough to be honest. 6️⃣ Show them how to speak up then protect them when they do. Psychological safety isn’t just permission. It’s protection. 7️⃣ Do your own work. Your self-awareness sets the ceiling for theirs. No inner work = no outer trust. You don’t earn trust through words. You earn it through nervous systems. Because if people can’t breathe around you, they won’t be honest with you. Want to lead a team where truth feels safe? Start with how you listen. - ♻️ Repost to help leaders prioritize psychological safety 🔔 Follow me Julia Laszlo for radically honest leadership talk