Dialogue with Clients - Process

Matter Scoping: The Client Conversation

The Dialogue is the main event of the Scoping process. Through the Dialogue, you can demonstrate to the client your focus on helping them achieve their business objectives. Specifically, the Dialogue allows you to validate your diligence findings and surface any new information that is critical to the advice and service that you will ultimately need to provide to the client.  

Introduction:

By this time, basic research about the opportunity and the client will have been completed and you will have developed some initial thoughts about how the matter should be handled. It is now time to have a formal scoping dialogue with the client. 

The Dialogue is ideally conducted face-to-face by offering to visit the client or inviting them to your firm (or to grab a coffee) to discuss the best approach for their matter. Your role in the dialogue is to listen to the client. Be careful to give time for the client to formulate their own questions about aspects of the advice and service you can provide.  During the dialogue, you will ask the client to share their current business priorities and to confirm your understanding of the critical path and potential pitfalls.

Recommended process for scoping dialogue

Before speaking with the client, identify 3-4 questions from your diligence that you want to focus on, and be prepared to use the questions to ensure the conversation is mutually productive.

During the conversation:

1. (Re)establish rapport with the individual
2. Remember to be an effective listener  
3. Go through your questions covering:
   1. Matter Overview
   2. Objectives
   3. Risks
   4. Service Delivery

Concluding

Finish the Dialogue with a reaffirmation of any next steps. Unless discussed otherwise, the immediate next step will be for you to follow-up with an executive summary of the conversation including any agreed next steps so that your team members will be aware of the client’s expectations. Other next steps may include the engagement letter, fee estimate, list of team members and main contacts, recitation of deadlines and key milestones, communication protocols, etc.

 The client conversation is a valuable way to demonstrate your consultative approach to working together to address the key objectives and challenges. In addition to showing the client that we have relevant experience, we want the client to validate that we have identified the right issues and the approaches that are best aligned with their preferences.