Active listening skills translate to success, until they don’t

One of our best attributes is being able to closely listen to our clients desires and translate them to results, but sometimes it just doesn’t work…

Word choice is incredibly important when discussing your wants and desires with vendors, or any one for that matter.  Especially important though when working with vendors that bill by the hour.

Third time’s the charm… Had a recent client experience, which in hindsight is quite funny.  Likely frustrating for the client initially, but all’s well that ends well.

When doing a website project, we always like to spend some time up front having the client share with us the websites they like, and then we dig in a bit further to ask exactly what they like about the various sites they share with us as favorites.

The recent interaction went according to plan.  However, the client only shared one site with us as an example.  In hindsight, this is where our translation skills faltered…

We delved into other design due diligence, and based on the discussion, came up with what we believed was a very unique design customized specifically for them.

Next up came the design review…

Overall favorable comments from the project lead.  He shared it internally and they provided some additional feedback.  We made adjustments and let them know it was ready for design acceptance and we would build away!

Then, a few days of silence.

A call or two and prodding emails from us to keep the ball rolling.

Then:   Ring… Ring…  “Hi – yeah so we still have some issues with the design.  You know that site we said we liked…  We want it to look EXACTLY like that one…”

Now it was very clear… And you did not need a PhD in active listening to get that one!

IMHO, we are now in the midst of building a much better website than the example provided.  The client is actively involved when necessary, and has been able to put on their design hat.  They are happy, so we are happy.

We also accept where our translation faltered and are making concessions.  In the end, the new site is turning out beautifully, in form and function, and you would never guess is started life as a copy-cat.

To me this is such a great example how active listening skills and clear communication are so critical to the success of any project, and how easy it is for that intersection to fail.

Also, brings to mind a protracted CRM system purchase negotiation with a large law firm in The Netherlands.  After three months, I finally realized that “Yes” can mean… “I hear you, but we will come back to that again later.”  I laugh about it now, but then, not so much…, but that is a story for another day.

In case you missed it, below are some recent posts, including an important update on the upcoming Google Index changes that may affect how your website appears in search results.

As always, we love to hear from you!

The ProfessionalWORX Team

Considering a Website Update? Read these first:  They are all quick reads and contain several points that will apply to your project:

Want to be more consistent and strategic in your marketing?  Read these easy to follow steps to create an actionable plan: