What do you do if your client's needs are unclear?

When client needs are unclear, I prioritize open communication and collaboration. I initiate discussions to understand their goals and expectations, actively listening and asking probing questions. Providing examples and suggestions aids in clarity, encouraging the client to articulate their needs. Collaboration with stakeholders ensures alignment. Documenting discussions and agreements prevents misunderstandings. Continuous iteration based on feedback refines requirements. This approach ensures effective navigation of ambiguity, leading to solutions that meet client expectations.

If your client's needs are unclear, it's essential to communicate openly and ask clarifying questions to gain a better understanding. You can also propose a discovery phase where you work together to define objectives, requirements, and expectations before proceeding with any work. Active listening and empathy are key in this process to ensure you address their needs effectively.

When you look back at your school years you were taught to read and write, sometimes we had to read out loud to the class or even the whole school. But one thing we were never taught was listening. The first thing I ever leaned in sales was you have two ears and one mouth, use them in that ratio. 30+ years later and this has stuck with me. So much so that I'd put the large majority of my success down to listening. When you listen to understand customers feel hear, they feel understood and will trust you as a result. You will also find yourself asking better questions as you know your customers needs that much better and all of this results in increased conversion rates and profits. Which is after all what every business wants.

Listen closely to the client's responses during discussions. Take notes and seek clarification on any points that are unclear or ambiguous

A client has not fully thought through the project A product’s requirements are based on understanding the difference between what is really required and what is a simple “nice to have.” A client’s ability to understand the difference between the two is not always reliable. It is important to explain these two types of requirements for the success of both the client and the product development team working on it.

Majorly as part of my discovery meetings with prospects and clients, I usually apply Simon Sinek's "Golden Circle of "Why,How," and "What" to probe questions. This way, I can get the exact needs, see if their response aligns with my product and provide a better solution

When you are not clear about the needs, Continue asking questions to gain a clear understanding of the client's requirements.

Ask the client to re-focus on the bigger picture, get them to explore what it is that’s driving the project and how they want their people to feel. With time to reflect on these answers will help them see things from a different perspective and in turn identify clearer goals

Uncover Vague Needs: Ask open-ended questions (e.g., "Success looks like what?"). Let them elaborate, don't assume. Show you value understanding their true needs.

In my experience , sometimes if requirements are not defined with any use cases then it may be a problem for a sales guy to understand the needs as well . - We should try to understand what the client wants to do , What are the end outcomes they are expecting , short term goals they are clearly focusing on if they are not aware with the long term planning . - Open ended questions is always a way to get your clients speak , speak more about themselves , more about needs , requirements and problems which they are keep on facing . - Asking more questions again & again may help you to explore and understand underlying concerns .

In managing client needs, I employ a three-step method: Discover, Assess, & Motivate. In the Assess phase, it's crucial to articulate the issues clearly and provide a summary to gain approval for moving forward. For instance, identifying a concern with the billing process, I might say, “We’ve noted challenges with invoicing and have implemented system enhancements. Let’s explore the payment methods first. Does this align with your priorities?” This approach helps in summarising and clarifying, ensuring we address the most critical aspects. An effective summary might be, “Given the emphasis on budgeting, our immediate focus is refining the invoicing process to aid in your financial planning for the coming year. Is my understanding correct?”

Confirm Understanding to Avoid Miscommunication: Summarize client needs & expectations you heard. Ask for client verification or correction. Builds trust & ensures everyone's on the same page.

One thing I can share with you all , while having conversations with your clients - as a sales person we often have many things in mind ( We are judging them , trying setting a higher perceived value , giving rebuttals , being calm , disclosing features of products or services part by part , understanding the 1st word they say and trying to build up response in the same time ) We may have different perception buildup , we all have different perspective to understand things , " confirming what you understood " ," Summarizing needs and expectations " helps you both to be in the same page and it's also an opportunity for the client to provide additional details or clarify any points that may have been misinterpreted.

Yes, there is no harm in asking the client if you both are on same page at certain important intervals of communication so as to keep the intact understanding.

After gathering information, two areas have been helpful to me over the years. 1. Timely Communication: Timely follow-up is the key to understanding. Confirm receipt of any client communication in a timely manner, and clearly communicate the expected turnaround for your deliverables. This allows your clients to set expectations their key stakeholders and provides reassurance you're getting the job done. 2. Consistent Touchpoints: Check in with clients formally and informally. You might survey them using a tech platform, like MS Teams, or conduct project satisfaction touchpoints at predetermined intervals. Account management requires exceptional communication. Timing of consistency of that communication if fundamental.

Clear Needs = Clear Documentation: Write everything down: meeting notes, emails, agreements. Easy reference for both you and the client to avoid confusion. Builds transparency and accountability.

I agree on document everything as I have personally excelled on my post meetings results and this works wonder I promise. Either write notes or use laptop to type.

Use project management tools like Trello or Asana to document goals, discussions, and action items. In a recent collaboration with an Indian ed-tech startup, their initial request was for a "go-to-market strategy." Documenting our discussions helped us define their target audience, unique selling proposition, and key marketing channels.

Repeat back to the client what you've understood from the conversation and ask for confirmation. This ensures that you're both on the same page regarding their needs and expectations. Document the key points discussed during the conversation. This will help you remember important details and refer back to them as needed.

Can't agree on SMART Goal. Be SPECIFIC in asking for what you desire, MEASURABLE means to have limits n road-map, target for the communication shall be able to be ACHIEVABLE, only RELEVANT topics shall be discussed and TIME-BOUNDed discussions shall be there along with deadlines of the tasks.

Goals aren't just destinations, they're mission-driven narratives. Without them, we drift aimlessly. For beginners, focus on client pain points. Identify their top 5 frustrations, then: Flip the Script: Transform client pain into opportunities to provide solutions and value. Set SMART Goals: Craft specific, actionable goals around these needs, with clear timelines for short-term (6-12 months) and long-term (>12 months) objectives. This approach aligns your efforts with client impact, fosters a sense of purpose, and provides a structured roadmap.

L’objectif doit être mesurable donc chiffré avec une deadline permettant un premier bilan à mi parcours sans quoi aucune action corrective ne sera possible. Bien mesurer le temps d action nécessaire pour initier des premières tendances est important.

SMART Goals = Clear Path: Understand client needs first. Set SMART goals together: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. Creates a project roadmap & tracks progress. Shared commitment & success measurement tool.

Collaboratively define SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound). This provides direction and keeps everyone focused. For example, while working with a Canadian B2B telecom company, their initial request was for a "sales pipeline optimization strategy." By setting SMART goals, we defined a specific target for increased qualified leads within a set timeframe.

Having Continuous communication is like having an ongoing conversation with your client. Imagine you're working on a puzzle together, but you're not quite sure what the final picture looks like. By talking regularly, you can share your ideas, ask questions about what pieces are important, and make adjustments as you go along. This way, you're both on the same page, making progress together, and ensuring that the final result is exactly what they had in mind.

Une communication continue permet d’acter des points de passage avec son client et ainsi de mettre en place des plans d’actions correctifs si les résultats ne sont pas au rdv. Si tout fonctionne bien cela est important aussi car cela rassure le client sur le bon pilotage du suivi de son compte et par ricochet sur l’atteinte des objectifs fixés.

Continuous communication with the client is essential for project success. Regular check-ins enable updates, feedback gathering, and alignment with evolving needs, fostering collaboration and preventing misunderstandings. Proactive outreach is crucial, ensuring consistent dialogue and effective account management.

Fundamental to serving a client is maintaining a respectful appreciation that clients at times may be unable to articulate or actually may not know what they want. Thus, bringing one's active listening and inductive reasoning skills is invaluable to help them find their way amongst all the rabbit holes that may all have something to do with what they want but lack clarity up to now. The most important thing to do is understand which faculties your clients use to understand things -- are they visual, auditory, verbal, cerebral -- in walking through their ideas? You can use your understanding of how they process information to reflect what they have shared in a way that helps them begin to get clear.

"Bring your expertise" is something important to add to the previous sections. You are the provider, so you are expected to know your field better than your client, and have experience with other customers with similar needs. Here you can really bring added value by guiding your client towards the right combination of solutions for his unique situation and objectives.

Unpacking client needs requires a multi-faceted approach. It takes a trained eye for human behavior to uncover the root causes and design the right interventions. Be aware of the bias, ask questions to clarify and tighten the scope. Remember, the client's input may be subjective and may have stemmed from their personal challenges/recent concerns, overlooking broader employee requirements. Ensure you have insufficient data. Client's choices could be made relying on intuition or anecdotal experiences, rather than a comprehensive assessment of performance disparities. Be aware of misdiagnosis of needs, occasionally, the remedy may not entail training but rather process enhancements or addressing motivational elements (skill/will issues).

When dealing with a client whose needs are unclear, asking questions and listening attentively is crucial. This will help you gain insight into their business objectives and challenges. You can also offer various options and gauge their reaction. Think of it as a detective, where you gather clues to unravel the mystery of what the client wants. If a client's requirements seem ambiguous, it is essential to ask more questions to understand better what they are looking for. Engaging in open, honest conversations can be helpful. I suggest scheduling a meeting or a call to discuss things in greater detail. This way, you can eliminate any confusion and ensure that both parties are on the same page.

Listen more than you speak!!! If you’re doing more than 10% of the speaking during a client interaction then something is off… Take a step back and work out why you are talking so much! Are you asking the wrong type of questions? What’s preventing the client from speaking? What’s your objective? Does it align with theirs? Sometimes taking it back to basics helps…