I finally got a client to follow my process without fighting me on it

Had a project last month with a lady from a real estate agency in Phoenix. She kept wanting to jump ahead and skip steps in my onboarding. Three times she sent me stuff I wasn't ready for yet. Then I remembered something that happened at a conference I went to in Austin back in March. A speaker said to literally tell clients "this step exists because I learned it the hard way." So I tried it with her. I explained each stage of my workflow and why it mattered for her timeline. She finally stopped pushing and we finished two days early. Has anyone else had luck just being real about why your process is set up that way?

3 comments

3 Comments

nathan_kim16d ago

Man I used to think laying it all out was overkill but you're totally right. Being upfront about the hard lessons changed everything for me too.

scott.alex16d agoMost Upvoted

Not every client appreciates hearing about past failures though, some just want confidence upfront.

jessica33116d ago

@nathan_kim hit on something important there. Being honest about the mistakes you made really does build trust with clients. It took me a while to learn that admitting my own stumbles actually makes them respect my process more.