No, No, No … I’m the Expert!

If you’re a fundraising consultant, you’re an expert … either in general development, or in a fundraising specialty such as direct mail, online fundraising, or grant writing. Your clients pay you because they want to access your expertise, and the results they will get by following your advice. 

That’s why it can be so frustrating for consultants when clients overrule their recommendations and go their own way. It makes consultants want to scream, “No! I’m the expert, you should listen to me!” 

It’s happened to the best of us: You recommend running A/B tests before launching a major online fundraising campaign, but the client just wants to dump the whole budget in and get started. You advise including a P.S. in the annual appeal letter and addressing the letter to each individual donor, but the board chair insists that letters can’t be more than one page (thus no room for a P.S.!) and should all be addressed, “Dear Friend.” 

What should you do in these situations … when the client is making decisions that will cause them to raise less money, and you’re worried it will reflect poorly on you? 

Here’s the thing: You may be the expert, but the client is paying the bills. So, unless you are willing to walk away and tell the client to find another consultant, you’ll ultimately need to do as the client asks, even if it hurts the end result. 

My suggestion is to make a simple and clear case for why you are making a particular recommendation. If the client disagrees, you can reiterate your points one more time, coming at it from a different angle. If the client still disagrees, you should note your dissent (“OK, I understand you want to print the letter in white ink on black paper. I strongly believe that this will cause your fundraising revenue to go down significantly on this letter, but of course I will follow your directive and create the letter as you suggest.”) Then, do your best under the difficult circumstances dictated by the client. 

After the strategy has been completed sufficiently to gather data, when your client complains about the results, you can remind them (kindly) that you predicted revenue would be down because of the white on black printing, and suggest that they try a traditional black type on white paper for their next letter. 

You may be the expert, but ultimately, the client is the king.