ENTREPRENEURSHIP | DESIGN | BRANDING
A Simple “I don’t know” Can Close the Deal
Sometimes choosing to be honest is the best route to take.
I had been cold calling for about a week when three people finally gave me a positive response and asked me to meet them. One of these people was going to change my life.
I took one of my teammates and headed to the client’s office. Our nervousness was through the roof but so was our excitement.
So, the meeting started with me showing the logo I made for the gym, and another similar project I did for a small business owner. The reason I am calling this my first real project is because I turned down the previous payment.
The client liked the designs, but his next question froze both me and my teammate in our seats. The question was,
Have you looked at my existing social media presence as I asked in the email I sent?
Email? I hadn’t even checked my inbox. I felt so stupid and was just about to answer when my teammate blurted out,
Sir, we didn’t get the email.
I stared at him when the client laughed sarcastically and said exactly what I was telling my teammate in my mind,
We’re living in 2018 my child. I think we both know very well how much the world has advanced and how fast the internet is to not receive an email.
Exactly! was what I wanted to say but stopped myself. I’ll clarify my teammate once we were done with the meeting.
It was time I took control of the situation so before there could be any more blunders, I spoke up.
Sir, you are right. I apologize. I would definitely have gotten the mail and it is my mistake that I didn’t check it.
This sentence immediately took away 80% of the tension in the room. The client relaxed and decided to let us go for the mistake. He then proceeded to tell us about his background.
He had a master's degree and had worked in many renowned places. After having gained experience, he opened his own restaurant.
This was primarily to tell us that we have just started while he has been in the market since we were even born. And I don’t blame him really. He must have to face so many newcomers like us claiming to be masters at what we do when he can clearly see through us and detect our lies.
After telling us his background, the client proceeded to ask us about what we will do for his business and his social media that the previous social media manager couldn’t do.
Once again, the room was filled with tension. I took a 20 second pause and simply answered, yes you got that right, “I don’t know”.
Both the client and my teammate were shocked by my response.
Client: What do you mean “you don’t know”? Are you just trying to waste my time?
Me: No sir. I have a reason for saying “I don’t know”. I don’t know your problem. I don’t know your pain points. I don’t know your goals for your restaurant. I don’t know why you fired your previous social media manager. Without knowing any of this, how am I supposed to tell you how I can help? Let’s talk first. Let me get to know your business and your goals. Then I will surely tell you what I can do that the person before me couldn’t do.
Again, the tension was lifted and there was a sign of relief on the client’s face. The relief of seeing that I knew what I was doing. The relief of seeing that I was genuinely trying to help instead of just giving him a pretty design and taking his money.
The rest of the meeting went smoothly with him telling me about how he wants to sell his restaurant but the limited number of customers he gets would result in him selling with loss.
He told me his social media was flooded with fake followers. I was beginning to understand his problem.
After having a look at his current social media platforms, it was clear that his marketing was outdated. He needed advertising that resonated the food and services he was providing. The advertising needed to make his restaurant look as exciting as it actually was.
I told him exactly this and also requested him to allow me to change his outdated logo. I told him I wouldn’t charge him for the logo but for his social media campaigns to be successful, his logo needed to be changed.
He was convinced and the project was started. We worked together for about 6 months and gradually his restaurant started flooding with customers and he was able to sell his restaurant.
If I had tried lying to the client with basic sentences about how social media can help a business instead of saying “I don’t know” and trying to help him out, I would never have gotten to the place I am today.
We are humans, we make mistakes. Posing to be perfect won’t do us any good. Accepting our mistakes and being honest would take us to the success we want to achieve.
My name is Muhammad Usman, and I am the founder & creative director of a brand design agency by the name of Alif-Ya Studio located in Pakistan. My aim is to help not only the creatives but also the businesses that want to become design-driven and escalate their sales. If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to help out in the comment section. :)
