The Five Key Conversations to engage a new Client

Hi, I'm Jon Osborne and this is Clients by Design – an approach that helps you reduce the friction of creating clients you want by thinking like a designer.

Today, we'll explore five key conversations you need to have before engaging a client in your service offering

If you've read some of the other articles in this series, you'll have seen how by thinking like a designer, you can engage new clients – including in services that might be new or different to what you've done before.

Human Centered Design or Design Thinking describe the process and tools that designers use. Stanford University and design agency IDEO have both been pivotal in developing the approach, which looks at the ways that designers work and offers the tools and distinctions to make design accessible to everyone.

In my study, teaching and use of Human Centered Design over the last 7 years, I've found this process to be very powerful in guiding our clients.

In this article, I shared how not being the subject matter expert is helpful when enrolling new clients. How do we do that? By knowing the process which helps us structure a series of powerful conversations with our clients, that help us and them answer the key questions before we decide to work together.

The five conversations we need to have with a new client are:

 What is? We start by understanding their world

What could be? What could be different for them, that they care about?

Will we? We make a decision at this point whether or not to continue, based on a series of key criteria

What wows? Now it's time to dream, to come up with a series of solutions that deliver fantastic outcomes

What works? Finally, we come to an agreement on the high level details of an approach that works for all parties.

If you'd like to learn more about the five conversations, the Clients By Design program teaches the key elements of the five conversations. You'll learn what to pay attention to with each client, what to look out for, and how to get unstuck.

As a program participant, you'll be applying the process as you learn it, so you can offer value to your clients, cocreate a new offering with and for them, and get help along the way – with a group of committed coaches and consultants.

So remember to keep thinking like a designer to engage your clients in conversations that create value for you, and for them.

REGISTER HERE FOR THE FREE WEBINAR TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CLIENTS BY DESIGN