Another way to build strong connections and gain insight into your client’s perspective is with empathy.
Let’s say you’re discussing a deadline with a client. Their position is that a certain Salesforce feature needs to be in production by the end of the week, and it’s just not feasible to do this.
Imagine the following conversation:
- Client: “I’m telling you, I need Next Best Actions to be rolled out by the end of week.”
- You: “I’m not sure I understand why there’s a sudden deadline for this feature. We need to do more analysis before just rolling something to production.”
- Client: “Just make it happen!”
- You: “It sounds like you’re under a lot of pressure. I’m sensing there’s more to this than you’re telling me.”
Using this style of wording, you’re showing your client you’re not taking a defensive position. Rather, you are putting yourself in their shoes to understand why they believe something needs to be done.
Notice no questions were asked. Questions can make people put up their guard. Instead you made introspective and considerate comments, using a soft tone of voice.
The takeaway
When a client demands a tight deadline or makes an unreasonable difficult request, the first step is to explain why their demands cannot be reasonably met. If the client continues to press, switching to a higher level of understanding can be very helpful. This means pausing this topic and trying to find out the underlying cause and addressing that instead.
PS. Shoutout to Pei Mum Lim for mentioning this tactic in response to yesterday’s email. She calls it, “reflecting feelings”.