Why not check the water before you dive in?

There are two types of people when it comes to swimming: those who brazenly dive in without a glance, and those who dip their toe in and faff around in the shallows for ages first.

When starting important conversations with clients, you’ll need a happy medium between these two approaches – testing the water before you dive in. Try to strike a balance between being bold and proactive, while also taking time to fully explore the issues.

Perhaps you need to ask for feedback on a major project, have a fee discussion, or would like to introduce a colleague. For these weighty conversations, the following structure can help:?

• Gain permission to start the discussion.?Before we finish the meeting, I’d like to ask for a bit more detail about your intellectual property issues, if that’s okay??
• Ask questions to understand how issues will affect your client.?So, what would be the consequences for the business if this isn’t resolved??And how will that impact you??
• With the groundwork laid, you can then start to explore answers.?It sounds like this is a big concern for you at the moment. Would it be helpful for someone from our creative business team to give you a call??

Checking the water before you dive will help you approach important discussions with calm and confidence.??

“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.”

Rabindranath Tagore, writer and philosopher

Originally posted here.