My old boss told me to never ask 'what do you think' in a client meeting

He said it was a weak question that gave them too much room to say no, and to always present three specific options instead. I thought he was being too controlling, so I ignored him for my first big freelance project. In the pitch, I showed one logo and asked that exact question, and the client just said 'I'm not feeling it' with zero other feedback. It totally killed the momentum and I had to scramble. I've used his three-option method for every meeting since and it's saved me so much time. Has anyone else had a piece of advice they hated at first but now swear by?

2 comments

2 Comments

blaker754d ago

Totally get that. It forces them to pick a direction instead of just shooting down a single idea. I started giving three options but making one clearly worse than the other two, so they feel smart for picking the better one. It guides the convo without being pushy.

the_piper4d ago

Honestly I used to hate giving options, felt like extra work. But seeing it framed like this, making one choice obviously bad, that's actually pretty smart. Might have to try it.