Would Your Client Want to Have Dinner with You?

Would your Client want to have dinner with you?

This article is part of our Life at Work Series — where we explore the practices, challenges, and lessons that shape our professional lives.

People are People

Whether you’re in B2C or B2B, it’s still just people dealing with people.

When you win that consulting tender or training contract, it means your Client believes you can help them achieve their objectives — whether that’s solving a problem or creating new opportunities.

But remember:

Every Client organization takes a leap of faith when they bring in an outsider.

They Have Concerns

Until your Client actually works with you, they have concerns:

Will the big bosses like the consultant we chose?
Will our teams and individuals feel respected and heard?
Will the consultant understand and respect our culture?

It’s never just about what you do. It’s also about who you are.

Because who you are sets the emotional tone for the engagement.

And if you ignore or underestimate that emotional tone, it can quietly undermine the influence you were hired to create.

When I Started in Finance

When I began my career as an auditor, I was taught to be objective, rational — even cold.

In the company orientation at the time, they called it “being professional.”

So I twisted myself into a professional pretzel.

But honestly?

It felt icky. It didn’t match my personal definition of professionalism.

Over 25 years of working for myself, I’ve followed a different way:

Kindness isn’t a soft extra — it’s essential.

Kindness:

Improves productivity
Helps overcome defensiveness
Makes people more willing to share hopes and challenges

Lean Into Your Humanity

Winning the deal is great — I know that feeling well.

But now the real work begins.

When you help your Client — and everyone you interact with — feel understood and supported, you’re already halfway to helping them succeed.

And here’s a good test:

If your Client would look forward to having dinner with you, you’re doing it right.

Thank you for reading!

I regularly share stories, strategies, and insights from our work across Contact Centers, Customer Service, and Customer Experience. If this resonates, I’d love to stay connected.

You can drop me a line anytime, or subscribe via our website.

Daniel Ord
[email protected]
www.omnitouchinternational.com