#18: What should consultants do when clients insist on their ideas?

Many consultants face this dilemma at some point:
Do you listen to the client…
Or insist on your own recommendation?

On one hand:
“If the client is paying, I should give them what they want.”

On the other:
"If I follow their idea and it fails… They’ll blame me.”

If you push your idea, you risk losing the client.
If you follow theirs, you risk poor results.
Feels like a dead end either way.

But the real issue is not the decision itself.
It comes down to 2 things:
1) Your positioning
And
2) The expectations you created from the start

If you position yourself as a service provider…
Your role is to execute. Take instructions. Deliver what is asked.
You have lower responsibility.
They have lower expectations of you.

But you command lower pricing

But if you position yourself as an expert…
Your role is to diagnose and lead.
You’re not there to take orders.
You’re there to solve the problem.
You command higher pricing and bear greater responsibility.

If a client insists on their idea despite your recommendation…
It usually means they don’t trust your expertise.
They don’t want a consultant.
They want an operator.
That’s a client fit issue.

This doesn’t mean clients are always wrong.
And it doesn’t mean consultants are always right.
What matters is alignment.
You can read more about "alignment" in Post 8: The Retention Architecture Model.

Are both of you trying to build a long-term working relationship?
Or just trying to get your own way?

Most conflicts don’t start in the middle of the project.
They are already seeded at the beginning...
When expectations are not clearly set.

Trust starts to leak...
If expectations don’t match what you deliver.

The client experience suffers.
And by then, it’s already too late to “fix retention”.

Retention is not something you think about after problems happen.
It's designed from the start.
From the first conversation.
From how you position yourself.
From the expectations you set.

Clients don't suddenly become difficult.
It’s about who you allowed in at the start.
And what expectations did you create?

Retention isn’t about keeping clients.
It’s about letting the right clients decide to stay.
And that starts with alignment.

- Herek