{"id":3216,"date":"2015-05-20T09:23:00","date_gmt":"2015-05-20T16:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/?p=3216"},"modified":"2015-05-20T10:50:53","modified_gmt":"2015-05-20T17:50:53","slug":"how-to-convince-clients-they-are-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/how-to-convince-clients-they-are-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Convince Clients They’re Wrong (Without Losing Their Business)"},"content":{"rendered":"

How do you\u00a0convince a client that he is\u00a0wrong?\u00a0<\/em>That was the question that I got from someone in the audience the last time I spoke at a conference.<\/p>\n

My first thought was: Ah, an age-old question.<\/p>\n

If you\u00a0work\u00a0in the service industry and thus have to deal with clients or customers, this question has no doubt crossed your mind. I\u2019ve personally been in dozens of situations where what the client was asking didn\u2019t really make any sense.<\/p>\n

And sometimes it\u2019s not even the person that I\u2019m directly speaking to. For example, a few weeks ago, I was told \u201c\u2026actually, this histogram HAS to be here because my boss says he wants it there.<\/i>\u201d Well then, there isn\u2019t much we can do about that, is\u00a0there?<\/p>\n

One of the posters that is\u00a0hanging in our office is this one from The Oatmeal<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"How-a-Web-Design-Goes-Straight-to-Hell-The-Oatmeal\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, this poster has\u00a0taken it\u00a0to the extreme. However, these types of situations happen from time to time and learning how to deal with them is a critical component of client relations.<\/p>\n

So, how do you convince a client that he is\u00a0wrong? Before you can do that, there are two things you need to consider.<\/h3>\n

1. Wrong about what?<\/h2>\n

Simply saying that the client is wrong is, well, wrong<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Every time the client asks\u00a0you for something, they are actually giving you a requirement that consists of at least three components. He\u00a0might be wrong about one or two of those, but most likely not all three. And that\u2019s the important part.<\/p>\n

As you may already know, a key step in software design and development is creating user stories<\/a>. Every user story has four components<\/a>: title, persona, action, and benefit. For now, let\u2019s leave the title out of the discussion (as we are not discussing user stories literally), and so we\u2019re left with three components.<\/p>\n

\"User<\/a><\/p>\n

Image credit<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

An example of a user story is: as a <\/i>project manager<\/i><\/b>,<\/i>\u00a0I want to <\/i>see how much time is spent on each task<\/i><\/b> so that <\/i>I\u2019ll know what is slowing us down<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/p>\n

This is a very clear, well-formatted user story. It represents a requirement for a developer or a designer.<\/p>\n

A similar requirement can be stated as: as a <\/i>project manager<\/i><\/b>,<\/i>\u00a0I want <\/i>each team member to write down for me how much time is spent on each task<\/i><\/b> so that <\/i>I\u2019ll know what is slowing us down<\/i><\/b>. <\/i><\/p>\n

The end goal is the same, but the way we get there is now quite different. And this time, it doesn\u2019t seem to make a whole lot of sense\u00a0because team members will waste a lot of time reporting like this, instead of making the process automated.<\/p>\n

If you heard the latter requirement, you might think \u201cThis is wrong, we shouldn\u2019t do it like that. I have to convince this client that they are wrong!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

So the first step is realizing what exactly he is\u00a0wrong about<\/i> – and in this case it was: how to\u00a0achieve the goal<\/i>. There\u2019s nothing wrong with\u00a0the goal itself, nor with\u00a0the persona in question (the\u00a0project manager<\/i> really needs this).\u00a0Based on my experience, it is usually the how<\/i> part that the client is wrong about.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/b>2. Trust<\/h2>\n

The second thing to consider is trust<\/i>.<\/p>\n

When the client asks\u00a0you to do something, at that moment he doesn’t\u00a0believe he is\u00a0wrong. If he knew what he was asking were wrong, he\u00a0would have asked you something else instead, something he\u00a0believed was right.\u00a0If you want to convince him\u00a0to change his\u00a0mind, he has\u00a0to trust you.<\/p>\n

\"Client<\/a><\/p>\n

Image credit<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The most important thing for a client at this moment is actually the end goal. He is\u00a0suggesting to you how to get there, believing it\u2019s the best way. So if you want to tweak the route, you need to make sure the final destination will remain the same.<\/p>\n

Spend some time making sure he\u00a0knows that you understand what he\u00a0really wants. Explain in your own words how you see the goal, what the benefit will be if it is achieved, how we will\u00a0know it is achieved, etc. Understand the goal and make sure the client sees that.<\/p>\n

Next, don\u2019t just discard his\u00a0how<\/i>. Instead, show a simulation<\/i> of what would happen if we did take this route. Explain how this approach does get him\u00a0closer to what he wants\u00a0but also point out the weaknesses of this approach. (I’m assuming\u00a0there are some weaknesses, otherwise the client wouldn’t be\u00a0wrong).<\/p>\n

Remember, no one likes to be wrong about something, but if there are downsides to the plan, make sure they don\u2019t remain hidden.<\/p>\n

This is now where your suggestion comes in, as you explain that you\u00a0know how to solve those downsides. Tell the client your solution. After all, that is your field of expertise. He is an\u00a0expert in his\u00a0business (and as such merited to suggest the goals), but you are an expert in your field: designing the tools to achieve those goals.<\/p>\n

Explain how your solution would still get him\u00a0where he\u00a0wants to be in the end, but also it would have far less serious downsides along the way. If you faced\u00a0this situation before, so you already have some valuable experience, point that out as well (but be sure to keep in mind there might be an NDA restricting you from discussing details of that past project).<\/p>\n

If the\u00a0client\u00a0trusts what you are saying, he\u00a0will see there\u2019s nothing to lose, and even more so, there are things to gain. It\u2019s now more likely that he\u00a0will tell you to do it the way you\u2019re suggesting it. And the best part is, you never had to explicitly tell him that he was\u00a0wrong.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

Many of us have asked ourselves How do I convince a\u00a0client he is\u00a0wrong?<\/i>\u00a0And yet, this question itself is wrong. It\u2019s too simplistic; it doesn\u2019t allow you to see that what the client is saying has many layers.<\/p>\n

Once you realize that, you don\u2019t have to convince the clients they are wrong. You just have to convince them you are right. Take what\u2019s good in their requirement and build on that. If they trust you, they will let you do it your way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Featured image was taken from The Oatmeal poster<\/a>\u00a0included above<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A key component of client relations is learning how to convince the client he is wrong without jeopardizing the project. A usability expert shares advice for how to do it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":3579,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[85,196,91,94],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Convince Clients They Are Wrong (Without Losing Their Business)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A key component of client relations is learning how to convince the client he is wrong without jeopardizing the project. 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