What Do You Say When... You Have to Tell a Client Something She Doesn't Want to Hear?
What do you say when you have to tell a client something she doesn’t want to hear? You know something isn’t lining up during a presentation, but you hesitate to point it out because you don’t want to disappoint her or be the person who ruins the meeting. You might tell yourself it’s not your responsibility or soften what you really need to say, but protecting yourself from her reaction costs more than you may realize: your professional integrity and the confidence that comes from speaking up. This is the second episode of a series called “What Do You Say When…” Over the next week, these short episodes will each give you one concrete thing you can say when you’re stuck in a difficult moment.
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Transcript
00:59
What do you say when you have to tell a client something she doesn't wanna hear?
01:04
It's Thursday, you're on the call, as is your whole team, and she's presenting the numbers and the timeline, and she's very happy about it. The project is gonna be done.
01:14
It looks like it's gonna be a grand slam, and then slide six comes up, and you know that the date for the timeline is wrong.
01:23
You also know that she's probably already taken it to the people on her side for approval, and she might have told other people about it, so you hesitate, but then she looks up and says, "This all tracks, right?" Here's what happens next in your head.
01:42
You tell yourself that you are not gonna be the person to bring this up in front of everybody and ruin the sale.
01:48
You're gonna have to figure out another way to get the information to her or concoct some kind of situation where the timeline has to change.
01:57
You tell yourself that this isn't even entirely your job, and it's definitely not your fault, and is it even your responsibility? So you hedge and you wait.
02:08
Then you say something like, "You know, there's a couple things we're gonna need to keep our eye on," but you don't say anything specific.
02:16
Now, of course you hedged, of course you didn't say it because you learned early on that being easy to work with was the one thing that your clients love about you, and being liked feels not only really good but safer than being right.
02:35
And what I'm wondering is, is this pattern bigger than just this client? I want you to think for just a second over your whole career.
02:43
How many times have you known something that should be said and either not said it at all or delivered a softened version of it?
02:54
I want you to just think about that because the hedging, it buys you something important.
03:00
It buys you a pleasant call, the client keeps liking you, and you don't have to be the person who ruined the meeting. But here's what it is costing.
03:10
She is making decisions about timelines that she is paying you to help her understand.
03:17
It's also costing you your professional integrity and the confidence that comes from knowing that you can speak up and not only guide your clients in the way that they've hired you to do, but that you are the person with the confidence and courage to do that.
03:34
You're protecting yourself from her reaction.
03:37
You don't wanna watch her be disappointed or embarrassed or annoyed at you, so you trade her outcome for your comfort, and I understand why you're doing that, but I also know that you are tired of being this person.
03:52
Here's what you say instead on the call right when you see it.
03:57
"You know, I hate to interrupt, but there's a problem with this number and I would rather that you hear it from me now so we can make our best decisions moving forward." Then say what's wrong.
04:08
She might go quiet. It might cause a little kerfuffle. That's okay. That's integrity, and that's you developing the skill to be the person you want to be.
04:20
If it's already gone to other people, then you can say, "I know that this went to your board or your colleagues with a number that I now think is wrong.
04:30
Here's what I think we should do about it," and then you offer a solution.
04:34
You bring the problem and the next step at the same time because when it comes right down to it, clients are not paying you to make their Thursdays pleasant.
04:43
They're paying you to give them the information that they need for a successful project. I'm doing a free workshop this week. It is live.
04:51
There's no replay, and if you come, I will help you understand why you are getting stuck in conversations like this. It'll be worth your time to be there.
05:01
You'll figure out exactly why you're stuck and the one missing piece that can help all conversations get better. I'll see you there.
