As a Salesforce consultant, what are you actually providing to a client? Do you believe you are providing a new Salesforce feature, an integration, a series of reports, or anything like that?
You’re not.
You’re providing the results of the new feature, the integration, or series of reports. The true value of your work is what the client does with these things.
For example, if you build a feature that’s not fit for purpose, then you’ve wasted everyone’s time. It might look and feel spectacular, but if it doesn’t fit its intended purpose, it’s effectively useless. So before beginning your work, you need to understand what the underlying business goal is.
Asking for this information early in the discovery/design phase is critical to understanding the real purpose of the client’s needs. Only after knowing this can you ensure whatever you build will serve that purpose.
The takeaway
During the early stages of conversation with the client, ask how will this {new thing} be used? What if you didn’t have this {new thing}? Why do you need this {new thing} now?
Once you have these answers, you’ll be in a much better position to ask about all the right technical and process details.