Just the Facts

By Michael W. McLaughlin

Your competence, client relationships, and perceived value are, of course, essential to building a consulting practice. But to ensure your long-term success, you also have to get clients to accept and act on your recommendations. You might be surprised by how many consultants struggle with this aspect of client work—and then bemoan clients’ resistance to implementing their expert recommendations.

Getting clients to move forward on your recommendations depends, in large part, on your skill in managing the facts of an engagement. That skill includes gathering, analyzing, identifying the most relevant, and communicating about those facts.

Clients may want to make a change, but that desire rarely becomes a client need (and a sale) until you offer a compelling case for change that you anchor with inarguable facts.

Most clients–especially those who would be most affected by your solutions–are going to be skeptical of recommendations from an outsider to begin with. The burden of proof is on you, so it’s not surprising that client skepticism manifests itself in healthy questioning of your view of the facts.

If those facts (and your conclusions) make sense to clients, they will at least listen to you. But if the discussion bogs down over the validity of your facts, you can pretty much forget getting a fair hearing.

A Fact Is a Terrible Thing to Waste

For one client, the consultant’s facts didn’t add up and the result was a disaster. At the fateful meeting and after some preliminary discussion, the consultant slid a report across the conference table saying, “Our analysis shows that your revenue per employee is falling, while it is growing for your primary competitors. We have recommendations to solve this problem.”

The client quickly pointed out that errors in the reported number of employees and revenue invalidated the basis of the consultant’s recommendations.

If you end up arguing with a client over the credibility of the facts, you will have great difficulty returning to the subject of your recommendations. Even if you can get clients back to that topic, it’s often to point out the flaws in your argument and what additional work you need to do before the client will consider your opinions.

Even worse, once the client disputes the facts, or more correctly, your interpretation of the facts, expect the client to question the validity of every other assertion you make. By contrast, having the right facts, at the right time, helps you build trust and credibility with clients.

Experience Is Not Enough

Some experienced consultants assume that their track record will carry enough weight to convince clients to pursue a specific course of action. That is a risky assumption. Your assessment of the clients’ situation may be right on target, but that’s no guarantee they will listen to you.

In one especially heated client meeting, a senior consultant proposed that the client executives reduce the number of the company’s stores by 30 percent. The drastic cut was necessary, the consultant argued, because of the company’s dire financial straits.

The client executives asked how the consultant had arrived at that number of store closures. In response, he described, in detail, his experience in three similar situations. The clients pressed for alternatives to store closures and again asked the consultant how he had determined the number of stores to axe.

Finally, the consultant’s frustration boiled over and he said, “I’ve been doing this for 25 years, and your business in on the rocks. I think my suggestions will breathe life back into this business. Isn’t that what you want?”

Of course, the consultant lost the sale. The point is that the consultant didn’t think he needed to gather facts before making the sale. Without the relevant facts, he failed to persuade the clients to listen to him, in spite of his extensive experience.

What’s easy to miss is that the value of your expertise grows when you support it with an insightful base of facts. It’s not enough to be right; you have to bring others along to the same conclusion.

Make Sure Your Clients Can Handle the Truth

Always review the facts and your understanding of them with your client before you present any recommendation. Listen carefully to the feedback on those facts and be ready to adjust your thinking if you need to.

As you test your interpretation of the facts, your client will provide clues about how others in the organization are likely to respond to your perspectives. And the client will also begin to understand the degree of change to expect. Plus, if your facts are off target, you’ll know long before you draw conclusions.

When the conversation gets to the specifics of your recommendation, you and the client will be better equipped to understand the implications because you established agreement on the facts that support your ideas.

A strong base of facts does far more than help you sell a recommendation. Discussion of the facts also helps you assess the complexity of implementing your solution and build a foundation for lasting change.

The Facts Will Set You Free

When you’re certain of the facts, your creativity can flourish. Not distracted by what ifs, you’ll develop solutions that are more relevant, targeted, and sustainable. And you can focus any resistance on the solution, instead of on the facts. You should welcome debate on the merits of any recommendation you put forth. Avoid disputes about the facts like the plague.

As you develop your foundation of facts, consider three things. First, rely on multiple sources. Don’t go solely by information you receive from your client sponsor–or any other single source. Your independent perspective is of great value to clients; be sure to look for external sources of data that can shed light on the client’s issue.

Remember, your clients have access to multiple sources of information, just as you do. So take the extra steps to uncover facts that may not be immediately apparent. That additional effort can help you develop insights that others will miss.

Second, be sure you have cross-checked and verified every fact in your presentation, proposal, or other communication. Whenever possible, be able to cite two different sources of validation for every fact. If you can’t do that, be wary of basing your conclusions on those facts.

Finally, never forget that “facts” can be manipulated and misused. Be sure that your facts are objective and that your conclusions are free from the bias of preconceived ideas–yours and the client’s.

I can’t tell you how many consultants trip themselves up on their facts. As you develop any recommendation you’re planning to make, scrutinize your facts. How reliable are they? Do your conclusions follow logically from them? Do the facts and your conclusions support your recommendations?

Your ability to sell your recommendations and your services improves dramatically when your reasoning is unassailable. And that’s a fact.