The Client Letter
December 16, 2013
The Desert of Arizona
Sunrise 30 Degrees
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It’s hard to be in the “do you like it?” business when you’re working with clients.
You get hired to make the widget. They tell you to paint the widget red. The client sees it and says, “It’s great, but I don’t like the red.”
“But you asked for red…” you say.
“I know,” says the client. “But now that I see it, I’m thinking blue would be better.”
This has nothing to do with the color of widgets, of course. Because this same type of scenario plays out in many ways for many types of service providers.
Argggg… what’s the problem?
The problem is that being in the “do you like it” business stinks. If your only measurement of success is that the client likes the work, good luck!
If you bill by the hour, you might have a steady stream of changes until the client “likes” it or gets tired of your inability to read their mind. If you bill by the project, well, your profitability is screwed!
You’ll be working your tail off to hit a target you can’t even see. You can’t even be sure the target exists!
It would be a little bit like getting the prescription from the doctor and immediately saying, “You know, I think I’d like something a little different. This prescription just doesn’t do it for me.”
No one does that. Why?
Because doctors aren’t in the “do you like it” business. And they’ve trained you to know that.
They’re in the “let me tell you how it is” business.
You were not put on this planet to take orders for no good reason. You were put on this planet to use your talents and gifts to help people make progress.
So here’s a better recipe:
STEP 1: Client and provider get clear on objectives for the project. If the client can’t articulate what they want to achieve, then don’t move forward until they can.
STEP 2: The professional (that’s you) recommends a course of action in order to achieve the goals stated by client.
STEP 3: The professional executes on that plan of action.
STEP 4: The professional can rest easy knowing the objectives were achieved or make changes if they were not.
If you’ve spent too much of your time in 2013 in the “do you like it business,” there are two recommendations for 2014:
First, upgrade your belief in yourself and in your value. Use this.
Second, immerse yourself in a steady stream of “positive brainwashing” so that you never again forget what you are here to do. Use this.