Despite our in-built response mechanism to believe the customer is always right, is this true?
As a service provider, our clients are buying in our years of expertise and experience, our professional qualifications, adding all of this to their teams and commercial weaponry. Each client has a choice about whether to do this or not, based on their ability to shop around, listen to recommendations and referrals, check out our quotes, hear our initial ideas and choose whether they trust us to deliver outcomes and advice worth taking up.
But how often do we provide our best advice only for clients to ignore it and to come back at a later date saying "We should have listened"? Thankfully not that often, although our reaction is tinged with a slight sadness and frustration that time will have been lost and efforts will have to make up for further slippage in reaching objectives.
If we have toothache we go to the dentist, we don't try to fill the tooth or take it out ourselves. So it makes sense to choose your business advisers, consultants or mentors very carefully - take into account personalities, approach, gut feelings, recommendations, testimonials, previous work, a mutual sense of humour and likeability. Then, trust them or at least give them a chance to prove they can be trusted; because they should be bringing their best work to the table, to the benefit of you and your company.
It certainly takes a degree of confidence and the ability to let go of the reins in favour of someone whom you consider knows more about a topic than you do. Some executives are unable to do this but the ones who do, get the best results.
Listen to your consultants or advisers, ask questions, calmly consider then make your decision to take their advice, or explain why it might not work. Try a different approach to the issue to make it work if necessary; it may be something has not been passed on correctly or some information is missing. If you decline every piece of advice on the basis you know better, you have to ask: why employ anyone? It's a waste of time, money and effort on everyone's part.
Similarly if there are issues communicating or your relationship of trust is compromised, it's probably better to make a change.
Working in partnership with a client should be a joy, filled with successful outcomes. We have certainly found that's the best way to work.
