When the client "just doesn't get it"

The following is based on one of The Covenant Group’s clients. All of the names and telling details have been changed.

I first met Spencer Riley seven months ago. Spencer’s business had begun to fall off over the previous few months, and he was eager to reverse the trend.

Prior to becoming an advisor over three years ago, Spencer had been an accountant who specialized in working with small business owners. Although he found the first couple of years as an advisor challenging as he acquired various licenses, designations and product knowledge, he managed to build a core of clients that appreciated his extensive technical knowledge. He was able to explore in-depth the financial statements of his clients, diagnosing potential risks and tax implications. His strategy for future growth depended on trading on his previous accounting experience. Unfortunately, Spencer found it increasingly difficult to close business.

Shortly before coming to see me, Spencer had lost a large case he hoped would pull him out of his downward slide. 

When we met, I asked Spencer to tell me about this case.

The prospect was Jordan Lowe, the owner of fixtures manufacturing business valued at $30 million. A current client had given Jordan a glowing recommendation for Spencer. During their first meeting, Jordan was friendly and forthcoming with information about his business and personal finances. The more Jordan talked, the more excited Spencer became. The potential business was massive. Jordan was woefully underinsured, both personally and in his business, and his personal wealth was at risk because it was largely tied up in the business. Spencer pounced on the opportunity and outlined the myriad ways he could help Jordan. 

When I asked Spencer what Jordan’s response was, Spencer shook his head and explained. “He didn’t get it. I’m getting frustrated with these clients who just don’t get it. I mean, Jordan’s a bright guy, he’s built a multimillion-dollar business virtually single-handedly, but he has trouble grasping simple concepts. I don’t understand.”

A redflag went up in my mind as I listened to Spencer.

Spencer went on to say he had followed up by sending a detailed proposal along to Jordan. But communication had been dead ever since.

“Spencer,” I said, “a friend of mine who owns a small business recently relayed a bad experience he had with a consultant. In their first meeting, my friend began by outlining various growing pains the business was experiencing and then suddenly the consultant jumped in with a recommendation to implement a client relationship management system that would cost upwards of $30,000. That was the end of their relationship. My friend described the consultant as a pushy travelling vacuum-cleaner salesman disguised as a business consultant.”

Spencer looked at me curiously, wondering why I was telling him this story. 

“Spencer,” I said, “can you tell me what went wrong here?”

“Sure, your friend was upset because some guy was trying to sell him something he didn’t need.” 

“Actually,” I said, “that wasn’t the issue at all. The consultant was right. In fact, my friend eventually implemented the very solution the consultant recommended, but through another consultant.”

Spencer shook his head at the injustice.

“Spencer,” I said, “we’ll return to that story in just a moment. But first, I’d like to ask you how you would define your role as an advisor.”

Spencer answered, “I develop expert solutions for my clients designed to help them minimize risks in their lives.”

I said, “Earlier you mentioned that Jordan ‘didn’t get it’. That’s something I hear from a large number of advisors, in fact, advisors who tell me their clients ‘just don’t get it’ tend to define their role the way you just did. But your definition doesn’t capture the essence of your role as an advisor.

“Let me return to my friend’s story. The consultant’s mistake was that he made, what I call, a leap of logic.”
Spencer looked at me.

“The consultant was dead right. In fact, his ability to diagnose my friend’s problem so quickly was actually his downfall. The consultant leapt from an assessment of my friend’s current state immediately to the solution, skipping over the process of exploring my friend’s thoughts and feelings about his current situation, his desired outcome and his thoughts and feelings about the gap between the two. And by doing this, the consultant became in my friend’s eyes a product pusher.

“I believe this is what you’ve done. And it’s a mistake many advisors make. In fact, I usually find it’s the bright ones that fall into this trap.”

Spencer asked me why he didn’t have as much trouble closing business earlier in his career.

 “Spencer,” I said, “that’s part of the pattern as well. Earlier in your career, you were less experienced, and ironically that helped you. You had to go through the exploration process and you took your clients along with you. But now, after seeing the same problems over and over again, you’re skipping ahead of where the client is. And that’s deadly to an advisor’s business.”

Spencer nodded, “I can see that happening.”

“The irony is, you were more completely fulfilling your role as an advisor even though you had less experience. Let’s return to your definition of an advisor’s role, ‘to develop solutions.’ Many advisors seem to, as I believe you have, put an emphasis on their ability to develop expert solutions. While this is a necessary aspect of being an advisor, it doesn’t capture the essence of your role, which is to engage your client in a learning relationship. Your role isn’t to simply present a solution once you’ve diagnosed the problem; it’s to lead your client to the same solution. In a large part, your role is a teaching role, which means you need to focus on your client and move at their pace, not yours. You have to deal with their level of understanding, not yours.

“The key is to avoid getting ahead of your prospect. This isn’t easy, especially when you’re experiencing your own anxiety and tension about the meeting. The moment the light bulb goes off in your head and you know how to solve your prospect’s problem, your impulse is to tell them you have the answer. For you, that would relieve tension, but it has the reverse effect on your prospect. They don’t have your knowledge, and for them your solution comes out of the blue. Suddenly they see you as someone promoting his own agenda.

“You have to resist the impulse to jump to the solution, and instead focus on your client. You must guide your prospect through the learning process. Help them become aware of their problem. They need to experience the loss intellectually and emotionally. And then they need to move to a conclusion they have worked through that resolves the issue or problem. Only then will you be able to get a commitment from your prospect.

“When your prospect says they don’t get it, you have to see that as a failing on your part, not theirs. You’re the teacher, and you have to take responsibility for your learner.”

Spencer agreed. By the end of our session, Spencer was eager to adopt this new teacher/learner model for working with his prospects. Over the next few months, he worked on his approach. Though at first he found it challenging to bite his tongue when he knew the answer, he gradually slipped into the role of teacher. He found himself closing more business, and recently reported to me that he was on track for seventy-percent growth over last year.

Lessons Learned

Spencer learned that he’d been losing cases because he was getting ahead of his prospects. He realized that his strengths, his technical expertise and his ability to quickly diagnose his prospect’s situation, were the source of his problem. He would make what I call a ‘leap of logic’: he would go from recognizing his prospect’s problem to announcing the solution, long before the prospect fully understood their problem. Doing this increased the tension in the relationship. He often found himself frustrated with prospects who ‘didn’t get it’. In turn, his prospects, feeling Spencer’s frustration, would see him as someone promoting his own agenda. Spencer learned that he’d misunderstood his role as advisor. By focusing on the solution, he’d neglected his client. He realized that being an advisor means engaging in a learning relationship with the prospect and playing the role of teacher, guiding the prospect through a process in which they come to a conclusion about the solution on their own. Spencer learned that the key to avoiding ‘leaps of logic’ lies in staying with the client and working at their pace and level of understanding.

________________________________

The Covenant Group is referred to by many as the place entrepreneurs go to become Business Builders. They are considered to be thought leaders and have authored the best-selling books, The 8 Best Practices of High- Performing Salespeople, The Entrepreneurial Journey, and The Business Builder.