Know what your client wants from you

One tweet is all it takes

Dec 07, 2023

This has saved my skin more than a few times.
And it could absolutely save yours.

In today's post you will learn the simplest way to insure yourself against indecisiveness from your client.

Clients always think they know what they need.
But often they have no idea.

In the discovery process, before the engagement itself starts, you will chat about their challenges, their context and their goals. And based on these initial conversations, maybe you both decide to update their starting assumption to something entirely different.

This is very common and illustrates something crucial about the relationship between client and expert:

You are the expert and you can assess what your client needs. But they decide what they want.

Evolving projects constantly uncover new possibilities and clients can be seduced by this. They are attracted to new insights and their perspective widens.

Also what they want is changing. Even without them noticing it.

You need to keep tabs on their evolving desires, and you need to make them aware of these evolving desires.

There are two schools of thought around this:

The Jobs-To-Be-Done approach:1
When your client hired you, they were trying to achieve or do something. Figure out what this is and see how you can help them.
The Problem-Statement approach:2
Clients have objectives but also challenges that prevent them from reaching them. By identifying these and their blockers, you can help your client avoid them and get to where they want.

I prefer the Jobs-To-Be-Done approach.

When I start talking to a client, I'm always trying to converge on a statement of what they want. I actively listen and work together to craft their JTBD3, what made them ask for my help.

A written Job-To-Be-Done looks something like this:

As an experienced manager in the healthcare sector,
I want to discover what's the best way to package my expertise,
so that I can make money from what I know

Making the structure more apparent:

As <Role or relevant personal situation>,
I want to <do some action/achieve some objective>,
So that I can <reach some outcome>.

This format doesn't even feel like a tool. It's just a short sentence that flows very linearly.

I will refer to our statement at the start of EVERY session.

Each new conversation begins by checking if this statement is still accurate.
If it isn't, you need to adjust the statement so that it reflects reality.

Naturally, changing the JTBD affects the core of the work you'll be doing together.
This could mean delays, do-overs or even the projects' cancelation.

Both the JTBD or the Problem Statement come from related but separate fields. And there are others still: trained Coaches often use a variation of “what would you like to achieve with our work together” or "how do you want me to help you today?".

These are different fields, using different tools. But they share something:

All of these serve to make the client aware of what they want from the work.
Also they guide you in checking whether what you're doing addresses those desires.

I have a favor to ask

I love writing about how Experts can package their knowledge into custom workshops and proprietary frameworks. Your questions help me focus on content that is helpful to you. I'd love to see your take on this and other tips I'll share here.

How do you currently deal with clients that change their minds all the time?
Is this a problem you've faced in the past?

You can comment or just reply to this email if you prefer to remain anonymous.

The Jobs-To-Be-Done concept is part of a broader strategy and innovation process called Outcome-Driven Innovation

Unlike JTBD, the problem statement idea is much harder to pin down to a specific author. It has roots in the scientific method, is a staple of engineering and research and made its way into the business and design worlds.

But I won't always call it a JTBD. Most clients don't need to be distracted learning the theory behind each tool.