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“Our clients love us. Winning their next project is a sure thing.” You have, no doubt, heard this kind of comment many times. You may even have said it yourself. My response: “How do you know?”

In a recent independent performance survey for one of my clients, I interviewed nine staff members from one of the firm’s most important clients. The issue was the level of satisfaction the agency had on its performance nearing the conclusion of a three-year project. At the end of one interview, the staff member told me, “This is the first time that any consultant has made a real effort to find out how I felt. I can’t understand why more don’t.”

The punch line is that, though the agency was generally highly satisfied, there were a few issues it wasn’t happy about. And my client had no idea. Wishful thinking could have cost it work worth millions of dollars in fees.

The lesson is simple. If you don’t ask, you won’t know. Here are a few simple rules for getting meaningful feedback:

1.Never send the project manager. Clients generally don’t like to give bad news. During a project, personnel develop relationships with your staff and don’t want to cause problems for them. They may feel that the issues partially resulted from their own actions, such as lack of direction or scope changes. Your team members, especially the project manager, can never be unbiased listeners.

So who should ask the questions? Clients often will share difficult issues with someone perceived as independent. There are three options: principals not directly involved in the project, key leaders with authority and credibility; or outside consultants, public relations or independent survey firms.

2.Consider the medium. I like face-to-face meetings; it is easier for me to probe when I’m sitting across from a person. I know others who are skilled at getting detailed information over the phone where distance and anonymity facilitate good critical feedback. Well-designed mail and electronic media offer even more anonymity. Each has advantages depending on your specific situation.

3.Keep questions simple and open. Dr. Stu Rose of Professional Development Resources suggests a simple series of questions with follow-ups. For example:

• “During our performance on your project, what about our team/approach/service has been most valuable? What made it valuable? What else?” Repeat until the well runs dry.
• “What has been the least valuable? What issues or problems did it cause? What else?”
• “If the project were to start over today, what would you do differently? Why? What else?”

Keep the questions short and focused. At the end, summarize what you heard and ask for confirmation of its accuracy. “Did I get it right? What have I missed?”

4.Just listen; don’t debate or solve. No matter what you hear, or how unfair or inaccurate you believe it to be, do not debate the issue. You are not there to get to the truth; you are there to get your client’s view of the truth. As soon as you start to argue, the information stops.

Finally, as a professional trained to solve problems this one is tough, but a feedback interview is not the place to propose solutions. Keep in mind that you are only hearing one person’s perceptions. Promising to fire your project manager at this point is not the right answer.聽 Committing to follow-up is good, but don’t hammer out details until you have more information. And don’t neglect to do any action you promise.

During these economic times (or any other for that matter), firms simply cannot afford to not know what your clients really think about you. Get out there and ask.

Steve Walker is the principal of SRWalker & Associates and a member of the Society for Marketing Professional Services. He has more than 35 years of experience in engineering, construction and professional services marketing. Contact him at 503-288-3379 or [email protected].