Back when my 25-year-old daughter was just about 10-months-old, my wife and I scrapped together our meager funds and went on a one-week vacation to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. The trip was pretty much a nightmare--at least for the first three days, until I realized why my daughter had gone haywire.
What I recognized was this. We picked our daughter up. Locked her into various strollers and car seats and whisked her away from her comfortable surroundings to someplace she was unfamiliar with. We never told her what we were doing. We never explained anything.
Even though Sarah was barely speaking at that point, she needed to be told what was going on. She needed to be assured that everything new we were doing was going to be alright. She needed to be walked through the changes she would experience.
Once we started doing that, Sarah was ok. She stopped fussing. She stopped bawling.
Here's the thing.
Clients are exactly the same way. Nine times out of 10 they say "no" to what you suggest because you don't explain what you suggest. You don't moderately and considerately move them step-by-step through your thought processes. What might seem simple, obvious and a no-brainer to you, might be upsetting and disruptive to them.
When I say treat clients like children I don't mean be condescending. I mean be thoughtful, thorough and caring.
Let them know what you're doing and why.
It couldn't hurt.
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