How many times have you had conference calls or face-to-face meetings with a client and spent most of your time trying to nail down a small detail like the placement of an ad on the home page? After 40 minutes of going back and forth with the client someone usually gives up and it’s most likely you. Project Managers tend to relinquish the reigns to the client in order to move things along. When going back and forth with clients it’s important to stick with your ideas because the more you restate your idea the more likely it is that you’ll get on the same page with the client.

Here are some do’s and dont’s to think about when you get in these kinds of situations.

DO’s

1. Fully listen to the ideas your client is bringing to the table.
2. Use their ideas and your ideas to come up with a plan you can both agree on.
3. Depending on your client, change the kinds of words you’re using to describe your idea. Some clients are more technical than others.
4. Explain your ideas so that the client understands that you’re just trying to point them in the right direction.
5. Be respectful of their opinions.
6. Give reasons why you think you’re idea would be an effective option for your client.
7. Be persistent, but not forceful. The more you explain your idea the more your client will understand.

DONT’s

1. Never flat out give up on the client and your own ideas.
2. Don’t cut the client off while they’re talking about their idea’s.
3. Don’t tell your client that their ideas are bad. That’s a quick way to lose a client and hurt your reputation.
4. Don’t get frustrated when you’re having to repeat the same information over and over. Clients don’t know as much as you; be patient.
5. Never shut them out of a discussion. Keep them involved and active in making decisions.

I hope this helps you manage client meetings better in the future. Remember that clients will always think they know more about something than you do. In some cases that’s true, but hang in there!

If you’ve experienced this before and have some thoughts feel free to share them below by adding a comment.