Incoming! It’s a Feedback Grenade!

I had my car in for some work last week.  The shop, as innovative and forward-thinking as they are, actually have a feedback system in place.  I was delighted to see a service business taking feedback seriously.  I was so impressed, I even took a picture of their system!

Is this what your feedback program looks like?

How does this make you feel as a client?

More importantly, is this the message you give to your clients when they provide feedback?  Research indicates the overwhelming majority of professional services firms (architects, engineers, lawyers, etc) do not solicit feedback from their clients.   And yet, feedback is critical to your ability to serve, keep, and profit from your clients.

Some clients are bold enough to provide feedback, at least once, even if you don’t ask for it.  Your response, though, will dictate exactly how much more feedback you will get from them.  When you get feedback, are you the grenade?  Do you get defensive and start spreading blame like shrapnel in all directions?  If lodging a complaint (or even giving constructive criticism)  feels like pulling the pin on this example to the right, how many clients are going to keep on complaining?

While we all want our clients to stop complaining or criticizing, making them afraid to do so will only further the speed at which they take their projects (and corresponding fees) somewhere else.  Rather, we want more feedback – in the form of praise!  Now you can turn clients into allies – loyal consumers of your services, and champions of yours when referrals are requested.

Here are three fairly basic approaches to help you become adept at avoiding shrapnel, and encourage your clients to give you more feedback.

1. Respond without reacting.  When criticism comes in, realize it’s not personal, but really just information.  Your client is training you to help him better.  I know it sometimes feels like an attack on you, your character, and your self-worth.  It’s not.  Feedback is always more about who’s giving the feedback than who it’s about.  Understand what your client is trying to accomplish with this information.   He’s got a problem, he hired you to help him with it, and now there’s another problem to deal with.  Instead of trying to explain how it’s not your fault, be very interested in his problem, and how you can fix it.  ”Oh, wow.  That does sound like a problem.  How can I help you fix that?  Is there anything else we can do to avoid going down this road again?”  If there are other people involved, and you are the one that takes this approach, you’ve just risen above the crowd and earned a huge dose of respect from the client (and probably your peers too).
2. Focus on the process not the people. People don’t intend to screw up.  When stuff goes awry, look at the process used.  If you focus on the people involved, the conversation turns to blame.  The best that can happen here is someone else gets to “pay” for the problem.   This builds conflict between you, your team, and your client.  Conflict is not healthy when trying to build effective processes.  If instead, talk about the process that resulted in the undesirable outcome, and cement your role as the leader steering the team (regardless of what your business card title says).  By pointing fingers at a process – which is emotionless and easy to adjust, you don’t have to try to change people.  A process can be documented, explained, understood, and modified on the fly to produce different results.  Draw the process on a white board with everyone involved.  Act as the recorder, asking which processes work best for each person, and build consensus on a client-focused plan.  If the client designs the process, he will take more ownership of the results.  More importantly, you’ve again been trained as his expert – worth a premium price so he doesn’t have to deal with this again with someone else.
3. Ask for feedback often!  When your clients see you as a grenade, ready to explode, they are less likely to train you to expert status.  But, asking for feedback in a soft, friendly, comfortable manner will diffuse challenging situations before they get big.  You will create a feedback habit with your clients, and they will be much more engaged in helping you help them.  It’s their process now too, so they want it to succeed.  Follow up to check on how changes to your service are working, measure the results, and adjust your course when needed.

Over time, you will build a level of trust, loyalty, and expertise with your clients that no other professional will be able to match.  Now you can be “the guy” he goes to.  You can charge a fee that’s great for you, for a service that’s great for him.  Even better, no one has to pick shrapnel out of their hides.