When “not right now” or “I don’t have the money” are the usual replies to most of your recommendations, you should really think about making your Roadmaps a strategic and consultative conversation. 

Here are some strategies that we will be talking about during our User Group Workshops:

1. Understand the Root Cause

• Clarify Concerns: Schedule another meeting within the week to fully understand why the client is rejecting the roadmap or project. Ask open ended questions like, “What are your primary concerns with this recommendation?” This can reveal underlying issues such as budget constraints, lack of understanding, or misaligned priorities. 
• Identify Priorities: Ensure the recommendations align with the client's current business goals. Sometimes the recommendation might not seem immediately relevant to the client’s pressing concerns. 

2. Reframe the Value Proposition

• Highlight Business Outcomes: Reposition your recommendation by emphasizing how it will impact the client’s bottom line. Explain the tangible benefits like cost savings, improved efficiency, or enhanced security that come from adopting your roadmap or project.
• Address the Risks of Inaction: Clearly outline the risks of not moving forward with the recommendation such as Cybersecurity Threats, operational inefficiencies, or increased downtime. (How did you sell your Disaster Recovery?) Demonstrating potential future costs can motivate clients to reconsider. “What is the cost to your business if you are down for a period of time? An hour, a day, a week? What is the potential impact if you have a cyber incident?”

3. Simplify and Prioritize Recommendations

• Break it Down: If the client feels overwhelmed by the scope or cost, break the recommendation down into smaller, manageable projects. Present a ‘phased’ approach that addresses the most critical needs first, with optional add-ons down the road.
• Re-Prioritize: Focus on “quick wins” that deliver immediate results and can build the client’s confidence in your expertise. Once they see the value of smaller projects, they may be more open to larger investments. 
• Remind: Show them a roadmap but keep the recommendations in the 3 to 5 range at a time. Even if you show them 20, prioritize with them / for them, so it becomes manageable. Remind them that tech debt doesn’t go away by ignoring, increase in risk.

4. Review and Adjust the Timeline

• Flexible Timelines: Clients might be hesitant due to the timing. Offer flexibility in the project timeline, allowing them to spread out the work (and costs) over a more comfortable period. Try to take account of the business cycle for the client when developing timelines. For example, a roofing company in Chicago won’t be as busy in January as they are in June. Plan your recommendations to the window of opportunity.
• Project Milestones: Set clear milestones with measurable results to show progress. This can help clients feel that they are moving forward, even if they’re cautious about committing to a larger project.
• Account Cycles: Know the accounting cycle for your clients. Most clients are on a standard calendar year budget, some on a different fiscal year. Plans should be set to help them hit the times that work within their budget cycle.

5. Leverage Data and Evidence

• Showcase Past Success or Failures: Tell a story of another client that did the same project. Present the case study of those similar projects and experiences even if they don’t yield positive results.
• Use Metrics: Provide data to back your recommendations. If you can quantify improvements in productivity and/or security for similar clients, it will make your case more compelling

6. Engage in Collaborative Planning

• Involve the Stakeholders: Sometimes decisions are blocked by individuals who aren’t fully informed or aligned with IT Strategy. Engage all key stakeholders - Business Owners, CFOs, Department Heads - in discussions to ensure everyone understands the broader value. Find yourself a “White Knight” in that organization who would bat for you when the time comes. 
• Offer Customization: Be willing to tweak the roadmap based on their feedback. Working collaboratively to adjust scope or specifics can make the client feel more ownership over the decision.
• Dale Carnegie Principle: “Let the other person feel that the idea is theirs.”

7. Educate the Client

• Educational Approach: Clients may not understand the technical or business implications of rejecting certain recommendations. Take time to educate them on how the project aligns with industry standards, regulatory compliance, or technological best practices. Make sure you are giving the right education for the listener. A technical person has completely different motivation than a C-Level. 
• Provide Continuous Guidance: Offer regular touch points through Business or Strategic Reviews to revisit the recommendations and reassess whether new circumstances, like growth, security threats or recession, might shift their priorities.

8. Build Trust Through Communication

• Transparency: Be upfront about why you’re making these recommendations. Show that your priority is the long term success of their business or organization. Not just pushing your sales agenda. 
• Listen Actively: Make sure the client feels heard throughout the process. Understanding their perspective and demonstrating that you’re adapting to their unique situation builds trust. (Empathy)
• Dale Carnegie Principle: “Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.”

9. Leverage Risk-Based Contracting

• Risk-Sharing: Offer performance based or risk sharing contracts for the project. Structure payments around reaching specific milestones (discounts if they can get there early) or build in SLAs tied to a specific performance metric. 
• Security and Compliance Risks: If the recommendations are essential to compliance or security, tie the decision to legal or regulatory consequences. MSPs can document when clients decline critical recommendations in LCI. This shifts some of the risk back to the client. Whenever possible, tie back to specific things, not just compliance. You need to understand the compliance they should be looking at. Is it just best practices, or something expansive like HIPAA, SOC, or NIST, or just a simpler one. Help them fill out a Cyber Insurance Form. 

10. Be Prepared to Walk Away

• Evaluate Fit: If a client consistently rejects critical recommendations, consider whether the partnership is mutually beneficial. If they are unwilling to invest in necessary projects, it could hinder your ability to deliver value and lead to future issues or dissatisfaction.
• Protect Your Reputation: In some cases, declining to work with a client who won’t adopt vital solutions may be the best course of action for protecting your reputation and ensuring you’re working with clients who align with your values.

I know I created a long list. Did I miss anything? I’d like to hear some stories of strategies that you have implemented. Tell me about the positives and the negatives. Let me hear some of your thoughts. Want to join in on the conversation during our User Group Workshops? 

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