It’s all too easy to lean back on “Because I said so!” as the ultimate explanation for everything.
After all, you know what you’re doing, and you know you’re right. Why should you have to explain yourself?
Unfortunately, clients can be a lot like kids. They want to know why, and “because I said so” often isn’t good enough to win them over.
So, this month, make the time to include the why in what you’re doing.
Yes, it takes longer.
Yes, it can mean additional questions that also make things take longer.
And yes, some kids clients should trust you enough by now to know you have their best interests at heart, but they still question you, so… make time for the why.
If you need to, remind yourself that this is a part of playing the long game. Skipping the explanations saves time in the short term, but over time, it can erode trust and make you seem like a dictator who just doesn’t listen (according to my eldest son and also, apparently, dozens of highly respected psychological researchers, too).
So, this month, try to build some extra “why time” into your client meetings and interactions. It’s a small thing that can have big, long-term impacts, and if you can do something that can shift the odds of success even more in your favor, why not?