The Clients Fear by: Joseph Daniels

There is a common belief that we avoid doing things that make us feel out of control. Upgrading our business and personal websites seem to spin many people into that dreaded feeling of being out of control.

Our web guru tells us to write and format content and ftp it to a host on a server. Well when I talk with people they tell me what they really hear is a lot of terms and phrases that make little or no sense and that leads to the feeling of being out of control.

When I first started creating websites I would give long technical spiels about the server hardware and how bandwidth affected the pixel size of the images that could be presented on the website. Ya right! There was more glaze covering the eyes of my clients than on an Easter ham. If you don’t eat Easter ham take my word for it they are glazed all over. I’d finish my spiel and open the floor to questions. What I was really doing was opening up the dreaded bottomless pit of silence that every person giving a presentation dreads. Finally someone would ask a question, “ will we be able to send email from the website?”

As a presenter I was crushed when the only questions I would get would be about trivial issues that could be answered in one sentence. I would yell inside my head “ please ask me about how we can bring traffic to your website” or some other such question. But because I was no more in tune with my clients thinking than they were with my thinking I could not understand why the good questions rarely came. I would chalk it up to a whole list of excuses that did not take into account my own thinking.

It took some time but the light bulb finally went on and I realized that I was not listening to the concerns of the clients and not recognizing their fears. Yes, the clients did not tell me their concerns in terms I could really understand but then again it was not their job to make me understand how they thought and felt. (Lightblub) It is my job as a guide to creating and maintaining a web presence to listen and to figure out what the client is looking for. Sure they might not have a clear path they can lead me down, that does not matter. As the person selling the service I have a clear duty to hold the client’s best interests in the forefront of my thinking and actions. I can guide them and maybe push a little but when all is said and done I work for them and they need to know this.

Have you ever walked into an office for a meeting with all your props in your arms and your head full of original and creative ideas? The morning air is crisp with possibilities and the sun shines just a bit brighter with its reflection gleaming in the glass door you pass. You are sure you have your ducks all in a row and that you will knock it out of the park and tie it up with a bow, this is your day and your meeting to control.

Yes indeed, it is your meeting to excel in and make the client happy, to show how you will lead this campaign and this company to new levels of success. There is a black cloud hovering just out of sight though. That cloud is just waiting for you to set up your props and start laying out your case to the client before it sends a thunder clap ringing throughout the room. The cloud has a name and it is “Control.” It is the one thing we want more then anything and the one thing we need to learn to give up if we truly want to listen to the client, to really hear what the client is saying.

You can be in control of the overall project while still listening to the client’s wants and needs. You are the expert and are being paid for your expertise. If you want a long-term relationship with the client, you cannot afford to exercise white-knuckle control. When I speak of control I am speaking of having things go your way and if something or someone wants to go in a different direction you find yourself frustrated and your zeal for the project goes out the window. This type of control does not play well with either the concept or the action of listening.

If you have a problem listening to your client I suggest the following. First take notes of what your client is saying making the notes comprehensive so you can understand them latter. Second sit still in your chair and look the client in the eyes while he or she is talking, of course you can look away to take notes and so as not to bore a hole into their head with your stare. Third ask the clients to expound on points you find both interesting and ones you really don’t understand. Fourth give the client a recap of what they said so that you both have the same understanding. And fifth never finish a sentence for a client, let them talk.

There is plenty of time for you to lay out your vision for the project and to shine. But the early meetings with the client need to be an exercise in listening and getting to know the clients ideas. Merging what the client wants with your talent will not only bring about a stellar result it will cement a long-term relationship with that client