Lesson – Consultative, Not Compliant

KEY TAKEAWAY

You were hired for a reason, namely your expertise and knowledge. Remember that when you are being asked to deliver things that feel off! Make sure that you provide consultative feedback and advise on best practices. Don’t just comply with every request.

Understanding Client Requests

When you got hired to be part of this project. Why did they hire you?


We discussed all of those potential requests that come to you from your stakeholders and how they could take on a lot of variations too. Is that really what they’re expecting, even if sometimes it might feel like that’s what they’re pressuring you to do?

Some clients say,

  • I have four contacts on this account, so please create contact one, contact two, contact three, and contact four fields for me.
  • We have this custom object for a company that we really like. So we want to make sure and use that as an ABC solution.
  • Can you guys go through and clean up our Excel?
  • We’re going to have a board meeting next week. Go ahead and be ready to demo that half-done thing we discussed that isn’t working.

If you have a client who makes requests similar to these, the question here is if it is your job to just go along with what the client is asking for? Is your role simply to comply?

 And this is key, why did they hire you?

The Importance of Being Consultative

They tried and failed. And that’s why you’re here. Don’t be encouraged or pressured into a always compliant state! With whatever the client wants, be consultative.


Be the one who’s the learn it all, the one:

  • Who’s asking questions
  • Reviewing the reasons why
  • Finding the drivers for what the clients want
  • Redirecting them to the right thing for the specific situation

As an example,

If someone asks you, “Can somebody on your team go through this Excel sheet and clean up the data, because there are a lot of duplicates?”

As a consultant outside the business, you’re generally not equipped to do that because the data has meaning and purpose that we don’t understand and only the company knows.

  • They must take a decisive role in managing that.
  • Again, is that really what they’re expecting, even if sometimes it might feel like they’re pressuring you to do it?

You want to push back on that because they hired you to be consultative, non-compliant, and just going along with the client’s request does not provide the value they need. For the example above, you could respond with what you can do, something like:

Sometimes, the client just thinks about it that way because that’s how they understand it. The real need of having you here is doing something different because if they want what they’ve never had, they’re going to have to do something they’ve never done, and that’s why they called you.

Interpreting Client Needs

When interpreting client needs it is crucial to focus on why they hired you. That’s what makes you a consultant. That’s why you’re being paid.

  1. To be part of the project.
  2. To interpret and process.
  3. To come back with a solution that meets current and future needs.

In the short term, it might feel challenging. In the long term, it will feel awesome and because you led them on a path that will lead them to tremendous success.

Don’t be compliant by just going along with what the client asks under pressure!

Be consultative, asking questions, learn all you can, and guiding your client in the right direction with respect and poise. They will thank you for it in the end!

Lessons Learned

  1. Understand the distinction between compliance and consultation in client relations.
  2. Demonstrate the ability to uncover the deeper needs behind client requests.
  3. Develop the skills to propose solutions that add long-term value and scalability.
  4. Enhance communication strategies that facilitate a consultative dialogue with clients.
  5. Reflect on the consultant’s role in guiding clients toward best practices in Salesforce implementations.