Do You Know When to Say No?

As a communications professional I take part in many discussions in comms-specific LinkedIn groups. A theme I hear often is how clients aren't appreciative - they miss appointments and deadlines, don't give the consultant a "seat at the table" for strategic conversations, they just don't seem to respect how communications can improve their bottom line.

Every engagement is different, and there certainly are some nightmare clients out there. However, a thought I always have when I hear these complaints is -- are you acting in a way that commands respect? Are you a consultant, or an order-taker? And most of all -- do you know when to say no?

Acting like a true consultant needs to start long before the contract is signed. You need to evaluate a potential client during the sales process, and evaluate whether the engagement can be successful. Sometimes the answer will be no, and the consultant needs to walk away. When I share this view, I usually get back some variation of "yeah sure, easier said than done."

Yeah that's true, and sometimes clients have every right and reason to be demanding. But I firmly believe the sales process is a two way courtship, and one of the things you need to evaluate is whether your firm and the prospect are on the same page and can work successfully together. There are times when that answer is no, and that's when communications firms need to just walk away.

Again, easier said than done. So here's a specific example. My former agency Strategic Communications Group walked away from an opportunity when it became very clear the client expectations were totally out of synch with their budget level and their growth stage as a company.

While at Strategic I learned a great deal about business development from my former partner Marc Hausman. In this case he had been talking to a small but successful government contractor for three months or so. This company had built a profitable niche, but wanted to grow to the next level.

If hired Strategic would have been starting basically from scratch, and without any internal marketing or communications contacts on the client side. They prospect needed basic corporate messaging, collateral, a web site design and help executing a social media strategy.

We had a successful in person meeting with them, and things seemed good. We proposed a three phase plan that we thought was compelling and clearly laid out.

Then two weeks ago, we had a conference call in which the prospect said they wanted to spend less, and move certain activities into different phases. We said the budget is the budget and was already lower than we usually offer, but we could move certain elements of the timeline around as needed.

Then right before a scheduled call with the prospect Marc got a short email from the prospect with a word document attached. It was a laundry list of tactics and deliverables the client expected to receive. Here's an abbreviated list - each one of these headings had multiple subheads I've deleted for space:

Branding / Campaign plan development

Communications Deliverables:

Corporate Identity System

Corporate Web Site

Corporate Overview Brochure (4 pages, self cover)

Solution Sheets (two-sided)

Corporate PowerPoint & Template

Pocket Folder

Public Relations Program (need to supplement this list with the social media level of efforts and ongoing tasks)

All this was to be done during a short term engagement and with an already discounted budget. Clearly, we had failed to convince this client that Strategic's track record of B2G success could be trusted, since they felt the need to replace our proposal with their list of requirements. This engagement would not be set up for success.

So Strategic decided to pass, and tried to be clear why while of course being diplomatic and professional:

Hey there, XXX. Thanks for the Email.

As the scope of work is currently constructed, we're going to hold off on submitting a revised estimate for a couple of reasons.

--Based on the business priorities you and XXXe articulated, we believe a socially-oriented view of external and internal communications is the best path to follow (i.e. crowdsourced creative, Web 2.0 functionality built into the site via WordPress, thought leadership blog, etc.). In our opinion, where XXX has landed is a dated approach and will merely paint the company as a "me-too" player.

--The scope of work is far too extensive based on the company's current size and growth aspirations. For instance, XXX simply doesn't require a corporate identity review or comprehensive PR/media program at this time. You're going to spend a lot of time and money on "nice to have" items.

--Without a full-time marketing executive on board, the company does not have the internal staff infrastructure or resources needed to manage an outside vendor as it undertakes such a broad set of activities. You and XXX have to run and execute on the business and I suspect will not have the bandwidth to invest 20 hours+ per week on this initiative. (And "yes"...that's how much time this is going to take.) XXX needs to prioritize scope for both time and cost considerations.

We really dig what you guys have built at XXX and think the company has the potential to be one of the next shining stars in the region's technology community. Yet, our view is that this project is not set up for success. I'm here all day by phone or Email reply if you would like to talk this through.

Otherwise, we'll be sure to stay in touch and look for other ways to bring value to the relationship. Enjoy your day,

The lesson for communications firms is don't ignore the warning signs, and then complain later about a disconnect. If your philosophy is to be selective about the business you take on, then you have to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. This is critical for staff morale, as well as your own sanity. (The second point may not hold if you work at a large firm where senior staff are rainmakers, and don't actually work on client activities. But that's a topic - the old PR bait and switch - for another post.)

This example would not have been a good match, and both companies were free to find a better partner. Of course an agency needs to attract new clients on a regular basis, but you can't be blind to disconnects before engaging. If you ignore these signs, you may find yourself frustrated and kvetching about it in your favorite LinkedIn group.