Before you even think of suppressing those propositions, ideas or recommendations you have for your clients or related groups due to all too well-known common rebuttal and frustration from strings of throwbacks; hold on for now and let’s see how you can effectively get your propositions across to clients.
Shall we?…good.
We all often deal with new propositions, ideas, or recommendations – a possible course of action(s). This could be in different forms as it relates to relative clients types, projects, activities or varying “causes” over time like:
- Marginal changes to an original plan or existing “cause”
- Out-of-the-box concept(s)
- Additions to an existing or original “cause”
- Or an outright new direction
OK, let’s get this straight now, to effectively get your propositions across to clients to achieving the intended goals is both a learned and practiced skill every business leader, decision makers, executive or creative beings need to master and continuously keep honing on.
I have narrowed down seven practical key points as a guide to effectively get your propositions across to clients, having evolved myself over the years through varying practice, diversified experiences, unlearning and learning to driving vital set-points home in different interactions with relative clients types and classes in different cultural settings, geographical boundaries and cross-industries lengths that apply.
Let’s jump into it:
1. ESTABLISH TRUST & CREDIBILITY
Probably the most important factor to effectively get your propositions across to clients is trust and how credible you are or your organization. Your relationship with clients as with any human relationship is firmly based on the foundation of trust and credibility on which other things rest upon. When trust between you and your client is shaky or lacking, a vacuum is created – filled with suspicion and doubt, leaving no room for any meaningful communication of ideas or proposition.
Moreover, trust is rarely given. You’ve got to earn your clients’ trust and build a credible rapport in small moments along with consistency in the metrics of your varying exchanges.
Start from somewhere and commit to the values entrusted upon you as a leader, executive or the organization’s “face” as needful to effectively get your propositions across to clients that count on you. Here are some related resources you should check out on this key point:
2. UNDERSTAND THE GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Your propositions or ideas should drive home unto an objective, be it new or an existing one. It shouldn’t just be a fleeting one. Understand fully what it entails, how it could fit into your clients’ overall big picture or how it will help your clients achieve an adjacent goal.
For example:
- What are the goals of your clients’ original plan, action points or “cause”?
- How does your new propositions fit into such goal of plan?
- How well do you know about your clients “big picture”?
- Will your proposition or idea make “the big picture” better or brighter?
- Which areas of the original clients’ objectives would have to change to accommodate your propositions?
Always put the clients’ “big picture” in mind when trying to get your propositions across to clients or structuring your ideas.
3. GET ATTENTION & SET A TONE
You should know too well by now that your clients’ attention span like everyone else today, is shorter than ever as the current trends in our increasingly busy world suggest. Being creative in your approach is one surest way to getting your clients’ attention, as propositions or communication of ideas without getting your clients’ attention is like dropping a needle in a haystack – totally lost and drowned.
Some ideas here on getting your clients attention and setting a tone for your propositions across would include the following:
- Learn what interests your clients or team and you’ll sure be earning their attention
- Build momentum towards detailing of the ideas or propositions to set a tone
- Prime their curiosity pump by giving assurance beforehand of the value inherent
- Cut into it in the right setting and timing from your clients’ angle
- Hammer on the convergence of “need” and “the unexpected”
- Sum up the overall value with emphasis on its importance
And for everyone’s sake, hold on to that attention with the already set tone, as you move unto the next point!
4. KEEP IT SIMPLE & BE SPECIFIC
We do tend to overwhelm clients with over-explanation and professional jargon most times. This usually comes with our varying field of work, or demonstration of our expertise in the given area of propositions or related ideas that inadvertently blow our clients away or makes the conversation insipid with unnecessary complexity.
Do simplify the proposition for clients’ understanding and give priority to detailing necessary specifics about your propositions as permitted in a logical sequence makes it easier for your clients to grasp and follow through.
