A Client Trashed Our Work, and It was the Best Thing to Happen
“I’m really disappointed. It looks like something my own staff could’ve done with generic Microsoft templates.”
This was the first feedback I got on the corporate deck we had produced for our client — an accomplished scientist and formidable CEO of a biotech startup.
This was hardly the first time a client disliked our work, but the feedback had never been this blunt. I felt my face burn — and sweat beads starting to form on my forehead — as I searched for an appropriate response.
Do I go on the defensive, and list all the rationale behind the design? Or do I go on offense, like I’ve seen some of my more seasoned peers do?
But then I decided to respond in a way that was probably as surprising to the client as it was to me.
“I see. Thank you for saying that.”
The client stopped. She probably wasn’t expecting that.
Feigning composure, I continued: “Rarely do our clients just straight up tell us how they really feel. Now we can get into the specifics of why you didn’t like it, and how we can improve it.”
As I said this, I saw my client’s facial expression relax, and literally felt the tension leaving the room.
Digging Into to the Specifics
This allowed me to proceed with a series of questions on the specifics of what they liked and disliked. And over the weeks that followed, our discussions got quite substantive.
I realized that they didn’t care a whole lot for many design details, but were ultra-sensitive to the brightness and tone of the colors — we were just a bit too dark for their taste, and as soon as we brightened every color by just a bit, they loved it.
I also found that they — like many of our science-first clients — wanted data visualizations to be simple to read yet extremely faithful to the science. This was especially challenging because we designed visualizations they had never considered before.
But with patience came progress.
Weeks later, the CEO called me to say that the presentations we built with her had gone extremely well at major European conferences, and that they had signed on several key opinion leaders (KOLs) to support the next stage of their development.
“The way you structured and designed the deck is so different from what we’re used to in Taiwan,” she said: “But it worked SO well for our European audiences.”
Real Conversations Begin at No
I’m reminded of what famed negotiator Chris Voss has said: People think the most important word in a negotiation is “yes.” In fact, the opposite is true. “No” is actually the pivotal word that gets you to your desired outcome.
Often times, Voss says, the “yes” that people give you (and many clients give us) are actually a counterfeit yes.
We’ve experienced this ourselves — a client happily applauding when we presented the work, then complaining behind our back (which we found out through third sources).
That’s the worst kind of yes.
So next time someone says your work is dog shit, THANK them for it. Then ask them for the specifics.
Can you tell me precisely, in all its smelly details, what kind of dog shit it is, and how bad it smells?
