When you’re a social media consultant, it can be really easy to slide into pushy mode. Your client isn’t making a great decision, so you want to push them to the right one. Your client wants you to give them free work, so you have to push them towards understanding why that’s unethical. These kinds of situations come up again and again.

But do you know what happens when you’re constantly pushy as a social media consultant? You end up without that client you’ve been trying to push along.

For that reason, it’s better to go in with a more measured approach.

Pick your pushy battles

I think this has been the most impactful for me. I used to argue clients into the ground when they’d make a bad call. Like, why are you doing that? My advice was so much better than this.

And then I realized, a bruised and battered client is not a healthy client. I’d prefer healthy clients that I have a respectful relationship with and so something had to change.

I now choose my battles. Did the client listen to me when I explained why this was a bad call? Yes. Then this is not a battle I’m going to win, and I should move on. Or is the client digging their heels in despite not listening to me? I’m not gonna win this battle either.

There are so many scenarios when the wind just says to move on. Listening to those will make you a far better and more effective social media consultant. And I’m saying that even if your client does the wrong thing several times. When you pick the right battles, they’re more likely to listen to you and do what you ask.

Keep it in terms of the client, not you

Overall, a client doesn’t care what benefit you get from something. They want to make sure they are always getting something out of the deal. And sometimes that something is a stroke of the ego (these are the worst clients and I tend to avoid them, but they come around sometimes without warning).

So before a situation comes up, get to know the client. Find out what’s important to them and what makes them tick. We spend a lot of time figuring out the organization’s priorities, but knowing the priorities of the actual client contact is just as important. Use that knowledge when you have to be pushy and persuade them to do something.

For example, let’s say your client contact’s main concern is that they just want to be left alone (I feel ya on that one, friend). When you are in the position of having to be pushy, you might want to bring up how their decision will jeopardize their ability to be left alone. Who will contact them? Why will they be upset? How will they make that your client contact’s problem? Keep this all based in reality, because lying to a client will only hurt you. But if you truthfully play to their priorities, it should not come off as pushy (I say “should” because tone plays into this as well). You are just trying to save them that hassle.

Give your client a win

One of my favorite tactics when I’m trying not to be pushy is to figure out how to give my client a win. This is similar to the two points above but slightly different. Yes, you can give them a win by walking away. And yes, you can give them a win by knowing what’s important to them. But I’m talking about something bigger.

I saw that one of my client contacts was having a rough time at work. I knew she was fabulous. She just wasn’t connecting with her boss. She needed a win.

Something came across my desk that was perfect for my client, but it was out of my scope. I would usually have contacted this person’s boss directly with something like this, but I stopped myself. If I brought it to the boss, the boss would pat me on the head and that would be that. If I brought it to the client contact, she could have the opportunity to do the work and show her worth. So I brought it to the contact, and she made me proud with how she worked the opportunity and got major kudos from her boss.

What does that get me in the long run? The ability to not be pushy, as well as building trust with that client contact. They will listen to what I need more closely, because I gave them the ability to shine.

I have had some version of this happen so many times at this point, and I can say it is the easiest way to get a client to trust and listen to you consistently. So if you’re constantly feeling like the pushy consultant, it’s probably time to find a way to get that contact their winning moment.

Have you been pushy? How did you change that?