The Fastest Way to Undermine Your Relationships
Ninety-nine per cent of client-facing people who work in agencies want to appear confident, knowledgeable, bright and in control. Understandable but, in many instances, simply dumb.
As an example, an agency in the UK wanted to improve margin and client satisfaction.
Not unusual objectives for any decent agency manager, but this initiative was caused by the amount of work cycling backwards and forwards between client and agency with innumerable iterations, leaving timelines looking like wishful thinking and the quality of work inconsistent.
Based on client feedback, the reason for this seemed to be that account teams weren’t listening to their clients.
But why?
During a workshop with the account leads, a senior account lead admitted that a barrier to listening effectively was his need to immediately respond to a client’s question or challenge so as to ‘look smart’.
His need to look smart stopped him from asking questions or listening effectively and led him to give a bullshit answer.
The Cambridge Dictionary definition of bullshit is “to try to persuade someone or make them admire you by saying things that are not true” 1.
Like a slippery slope, once you are on it stopping the bullshit is almost impossible.
The client lead was not alone on this slope. His colleagues all nodded along in agreement with his behaviour.
What the account leads failed to realise was that this automatic response to clients not only inhibited their ability to listen, but also led them to missing an opportunity for careful inquiry and considered response.
Their clients would also detect the bullshit which, in turn, would undermine their confidence in the agency. No wonder work cycled around.
This will be happening around you. Listen to your boss, your colleagues.
Are they bullshitting clients and undermining the relationship? What might be a different response that could build clients’ confidence?
I would have more confidence in an executive who tells me they don’t know the answer, but will respond later after checking and considering the issue.
Equally, I would have more faith in an account team who tells me they will discuss my concerns and respond later, rather than defend the agency’s position to the death in a meeting.
I would have more confidence in an account lead who asks questions and seeks to understand my thoughts before trying to sell me on the agency’s point of view.
These responses make me feel secure and confident in the person, the agency and the outcome.
Top Tips
When a client asks a question or raises a challenge before answering try:
- Pausing, taking a breath and thinking about the issue.
- Asking questions to clarify your understanding of the client’s position, question or challenge.
- Reflecting and considering an appropriate response.
And, as a reminder, the first two rules of client management are:
- Never bullshit your clients.
- Never, ever lie to your clients.2.
REFERENCES
1. Cambridge Dictionary https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bullshit. Accessed April 30, 2018.
2. David Ogilvy, said: “Never tell a client a lie”. ‘How to Treat a Client’. Courier Newsletter. 1991.
