First impressions, building trust and ignoring what your client asks for

Part 2 of 13 of my series on the profession of management consulting

First impressions and building trust

When meeting a client for the first time, just like in dating, first impressions count. But making a good impression is more than about relying on how exactly to shake hands or how to wear a tie (and no, bringing flowers won’t help). Despite what consulting gurus say, there is no textbook approach to this. There are no set plans of action, nor a perfect recipe for success. Like snowflakes, no two clients are the same, so keep your antennae up and radars on at all times.

A seasoned consultant can change approaches in an instant and think on his feet. He is always observing the client’s behaviour and adjusting accordingly. Think of it like driving on a Montreal road. Even if you are driving towards the same destination every day, your exact path is always slightly different. You have to avoid the many pot holes and take all the right detours - otherwise you’ll find yourself on the curb without a ride.

Not only is this first encounter, or “entry”, the first stage (of 5) of the consulting process, it can set the tone for the rest of the engagement. You have to use almost all of your consulting skills in this stage. Specifically:

Relationship building (be likeable damn it!)

Analytical skills (notice…everything! be sceptical!)

Expectations management (don’t promise the moon and deliver New Jersey)

Communicate effectively (throw out that gum, think before you blurt)

Manage resistance (use that vinegar, honey)

Basically, all this effort is to help build trust. Your client’s trust in you is vital. Without it you are almost certainly doomed. You may not gain access to all the information you require, nor will you develop any further business. Trust is important and in this context is a mix of:

how credible you come off,

how close/at ease the client feels with you, and

the level of risk this engagement represents.

While you cannot measure any of these, it’s important that you know that you can certainly alter them by managing your client’s perceptions of each of these factors - within ethical limits of course.

So why build trust? Because you’re going to need it. Especially when you tell him what he’s asking for isn’t what you’ll give him. Say what? Read on.

Ignoring what your client asks for

So, you rocked the first meeting with the client, great! Now what? Now you have to do what’s best for your client. Re-read that sentence. It does not say, do what your client asked for. While the two are generally related, they may not be the same thing. One may be a symptom of an underlying problem. So how do you go about telling your client, “No”? How do you go about telling him he wants X and not Y?

Let’s skip back about 7 paragraphs.

Assuming you worked all your consulting skills:

The client likes you, so he’ll be receptive. (NOTE: he’s already LinkedIn’ed, Facebook’ed, and Googled you).

You have a good feeling of what the problem is, or at least enough flags have been raised that you know you need to dig more.

You haven’t promised anything that you cannot deliver.

Your client is crystal clear on your thoughts and intentions which is good because clients don’t like surprises.

Your client is on your side so he supports you and co-owns the problem you both defined.

All these factors will help you enormously. While it certainly is possible to recover from most situations, it’s much easier to recover if you’ve prepared and laid down a good foundation.

But how do I build these skills?

It’s pretty tough to be born with these skills. While some lucky few have always had them in spades, others… these skills have to be developed. Here’s my take on how to build these entry-stage skills:

Volunteer and learn how people ask for things and how to solve a myriad of problems. As consultants you have to be a jack of all spades.

Help people and know the life of a consultant. At the heart of the profession, a consultant is a helper.

Socialize a lot and chit chat. Knowing how to chit chat is an art. Knowing how to play off people’s behaviours is vital.

Don’t be dumb. Ok well, you have to know something about something to be a consultant. C’mon.

What are your thoughts about first meetings with clients? What skills do you think you need to make things go smoothly?