I’ve got some good news. In interviews with more than 70 owners, facilities managers, procurement officials, and head engineers in the public and private sectors and across industries I heard the same simple things cited. There are some key differences among various industries, of course, which is information for another article. But, when asked what clients really want, what brings them back to the same firms job after job, four answers were almost unanimous. In this article, I want to discuss the most surprising one. Here’s a hint: It’s fourth on the list of top qualities, but it’s the FIRST thing that will lose you your next job and every job thereafter. Now have you guessed it?

The answer is honesty—or lack of it.

Digging a little deeper, I found that a lot of things fall under that honesty word. Top among them is doing what you say you are going to do. Over-promising and under-delivering is endemic to our industry, and it is considered lying by many owners, unless the reasons are truly valid, could not have been anticipated, and your ongoing, open, and honest communication with the client keeps them aware of this BEFORE the situation gets out of hand.

Pointing fingers and passing the buck also fall under the dishonesty category, as does clearly underestimating your capacity to meet the schedule you promised to meet.

However (back to the good news) taking responsibility, being accountable, and solving problems (even if you didn’t cause them) raise your status in the client’s mind practically to sainthood.

Consider: When I asked clients for examples of "above-and-beyond" service, almost everyone answered, "doing what they said they would do."

Whoa! That’s "above and beyond"? How could that be? After some thought, I have concluded it means this: it is not enough to know your client (as rare as that truly is). You must also know yourself, and be willing to be yourself—also very rare.

Are you representing yourself honestly? Do you know what your firm can really do, and what the people you are assigning to this job can do? Have you researched the project well enough to know that you can indeed do it, on this project, under these parameters? Can you anticipate likely or even unlikely problems, and will you be prepared to handle them? Are you ready to tell the client when something he wants cannot be done as he wants it done, at least not by your firm? Are you willing to let the work that "can’t be done" go to someone who claims to be able to do it?

It seems so simple, doesn’t it? You can set yourself apart by knowing what you can do, bringing in help when you see it’s needed, solving problems when they arise without passing the buck, and above all, being honest with your client every step of the way. Simple.

My findings from interviews with 70 midwestern client's regarding service, quality, and loyalty in professional services firms were presented in Chicago in June. Research is underway now for Orlando, Denver, and Phoenix. The next program, Inspire Customer Loyalty: What Clients Have to Say, is scheduled for January 27 in Orlando, co-hosted by the Professional Services Management Association and SMPS. Engineering, architectural, and construction firms are invited to submit client or prospect names for potential inclusion in this research. All sources remain confidential, and clients interviewed also are offered the option to remain anonymous. About 10% of clients interviewed choose anonymity.

About the Author
Author and researcher Marcy Steinberg is the principal of Cynosure Communications, a marketing and public relations firm that helps professional service providers tell their stories and helps make their stories worth telling. Her first round of client research in the design profession appears in The Inside Scoop: Proposals and Interviews from the Client's Perspective, published by SMPS.