Your client is unresponsive, causing project delays. How will you navigate this challenging situation?

Its a very common scenario and can happen due to reasons, some of which are in your control and others that are beyond your control. Hence its important to start by a thorough assessment and understanding of the reasons what is causing the delays. Start with some basic principles: 1.) Review the project scope 2.) Understand the RACI (Roles and responsibilities) as well as the Service Level Agreement (SLA) 3.) Regularly communicate and request for meeting to discuss the situation 4.) Propose Ideas and solution to resolve the situation. 5.) Establish Rules of Engagement in collaboration with client to resolve any such occurrences.

Clear communication is key to getting things back on track. Set expectations upfront by discussing preferred contact methods (email, calls) and how often you'll check in for updates. This keeps everyone on the same page. If your client isn't responding, ditch the spammy emails! Send a quick, targeted email with a specific request or question for feedback. Make it easy for them to reply by offering multiple ways to reach you. Sometimes, a client's silence just means they're swamped. Try scheduling a quick call to see what's going on. If communication remains dead in the water, escalate the situation. See if there's another contact person at the company you can talk to. Remember, stay professional throughout this process.

This is a recurring issue more often than we think, especially in service industry. It's better to build a process framework and be detached. I categorise as level 1, level 2, level 3. In level 1 ( example: 30 days - 6 reminders) , I give all the benefit of doubt to customer and be patient, send gentle reminders, try to understand their situation and offer to help. If the customer is still unresponsive, I move to level 2 (example: 30 days - 3 reminders), tell them that what is the impact of not responding to us, the vendor or service provider. Then I move to level 3 (example: 30 days - 3 reminders) giving a deadline, post which the project will be scrapped/ the legal clauses in the contract will be invoked.

Patience is the key. Rather than just getting mad at client, I prefer to understand his situation. S/he might be in some bad situation so I prefer to reach out to discuss the situation there and preferably on call as messages possess hard language.

Hugely important here is to assume good faith. You can always react if bad faith is ever demonstrated. One huge project I was on, the counterparty vanished. We were getting very stressed because we had an LOI and no contract...and now no contact. The client was on a different continent so we didn't have lots of connections there. Best SMS I ever sent was asking "Hey, just wanted to check in. Are you ok? You're not answering email so I was concerned something had happened. Hope you're ok." I didn't ask FOR anything. I asked ABOUT them. They had suffered a heart attack. Back at the office, they were a great champion for us. Assholes are rare. Don't assume. Do persist. Be a decent human being. They probably are too. And SMS is great.

Act with an empathy in mind. Approach the client to see how they are and if they need your support. Check upon them to try to get to the actual cause of unresponsiveness. If with all these efforts you cannot make much progress, use the communication path for the escalation - try to find help on higher levels. Raise the importance of the impacts of client's unresponsiveness, but still keep the empathy in mind - you never know what other people might be going through.

I had a client who became unresponsive just before a major deadline at Vista Wealth Network. Instead of getting frustrated, I opened a friendly yet professional dialogue. I sent a message expressing concern for their well-being and the project's progress without being accusatory. I focused on the impact of the delay and my eagerness to move forward, offering multiple communication channels and suggesting specific times for a catch-up call. This approach showed my commitment and respect for their time. The client responded positively, and we were able to address the issues and get back on track, strengthening our relationship in the process.

Before rushing to any conclusions or taking other actions it is important to open a dialogue in a calm but empathetic manner to offer the client a safe space to explore, express their emotions, concerns or reasoning for their behaviour. By defusing the pressure to respond and creating a safe space creates trustand respect for all parties involved. Hereby, showing patience is the key to resolve such situations.

When a client is unresponsive and causing project delays, leveraging multiple communication channels can help re-establish contact and address critical issues. Start with a polite email outlining the necessary actions and decisions needed from the client, followed by a phone call to confirm receipt and emphasize the priority. If the client uses a messaging app like Teams, send a detailed message highlighting the importance of their response. Propose specific dates and times for a meeting to discuss the project status, sending a calendar invitation to formalize the request and increase the chances of a response. Prepare an agenda in advance to ensure all critical points are covered during the meeting.

Dieser Punkt sollte weit aus früher schon beachtet worden sein. Machen wir unseren Ansprechpartner klar welche Wichtigkeit der Erfolg des Projektes für Ihn persönlich hat, können wir immer wieder auf verschiedene Arten darauf zurückgreifen. Unserem AP muss bewusst sein was es für Ihn persönlich bedeutet wenn das Projekt ins Stocken kommt

En el caso de que el cliente no proponga una fecha, sería conveniente proponerla nosotros, en el entendido de que es un compromiso mutuo que debemos asumir para no ver afectados los intereses de ambas partes.

Clearly communicating the importance of timely feedback and the impact of delays on the project is one of the key things that should be played by anyone in a consulting role. Example: “Timely feedback from your side is crucial to meet our deadlines and contractual obligations.” Tying it back to the potential consequences of continued delays, including contractual breaches and additional costs helps understanding the implications. Example: “Continued delays could result in breaching our agreed timeline, which might necessitate a revision of our contract terms.” Propose a structured plan for regular communication and feedback.

Setting boundaries are crucial at the beginning of any coaching session. However, it is crucial to remember as a service provider, that these boundaries may need to be repeated in such situations as the client may not necessarily retain these throughout the sessions due to their own emotional changes. Hereby, offering the support is important, but making clear to the client in an empathetic tone, what possible outcomes the client may encounter if help is not accepted.

In the beginning of the project, there MUST be explicit discussion on shared responsibilities with single person is assigned for each. Also be vocal in setting expectations that can escalate out of empathy. If missed during inception, do it as a first priority.

One thing I’ve found helpful is to keep contact with several people from the client side, that gives me an advantage when I need to reach out to any other person regarding the project, because they will only have to check their email if they need to get up to date.

Hier ist es enorm wichtig bei den ersten Gesprächen einen Projekt Plan zu erstellen in dem alle Steps sowie zu involvierenden Personen eingefügt werden. Somit ist eine ganz klare Timeline für unseren Ansprechpartner ersichtlich aber auch welcher Step mit welchem Stakeholder als nächstes kommt

If the primary client contact remains unresponsive, identify alternative contacts within the client’s organization. This could be a secondary point of contact or a manager who can provide the necessary information or decisions.Use any existing relationships within the client’s organization to facilitate communication. A mutual connection may help in bridging the communication gap and ensuring the project continues to move forward.

There is a “stakeholders management” track in the project management. Try to find stakeholders who have maximum influence on the client. Communication through that stakeholders will be my CV more efficient than many attempts to reach the client who is in silence for some reason.

Buscar contactos alternativos es otra forma de conseguir la respuesta de nuestro cliente, siendo cuidadosos de no herir susceptibilidades, buscando opciones para retomar la comunicación de manera indirecta, por medio de un colega, un amigo o algún otro contacto que se tenga en común.

Grundsätzlich kann ich hier aus erfahrung sprechen das es enorm wichtig ist diese frage am anfang des Projektes zu stellen. "Um zu gewährleisten, das unser gemeinsames Projekt im Plan bleibt, welcher Ansprechpartner kann Sie vertreten sollten Sie gerade verhindert sein?"

A positive approach in solving problems is crucial. In majority of the cases situations are the issue rather than the people. Positive approach develops stronger relationship and creates additional opportunities. Building stronger relationships is extremely crucial in such situations.

This is by far the most crucial skill as a service provider in this field. Maintaining an objective manner is part of a positive perspective and mindset. The client requires my support in their struggles, hence we must keep our subjective views, which can easily lead to a judgemental, negative perspective away from a professional environment. Therefore, being continuously aware of ones thoughts is important.

Positive and healthy communication skills do not happen overnight. It takes intentionality to learn the tools to navigate these tricky situations. We expect others to adapt to us but maybe we need to flip it and adapt to them. If our client is unresponsive in a face to face interaction, we may need to rephrase the question, or we may need to respect that they are contemplative and need to time to think before responding. Asking them questions like "I just want to make sure you understood the question, do you need time to think it through?" can remove the pressure to answer without the necessary processing. We can also change our method of communication. Picking up the phone can feel uncomfortable but is often better than an email!

Maintain a professional and positive attitude throughout the situation. Avoid expressing frustration or blame, as this can damage the client relationship and further complicate communication efforts.Emphasize solution-oriented communication. Rather than dwelling on the problems caused by the unresponsiveness, focus on finding and implementing solutions that can help get the project back on track.Acknowledge and celebrate small wins and progress made, even in the face of delays. This can help maintain team morale and keep everyone motivated to push through the challenges.

It can be very hard building up the momentum to get a project rolling. I find that getting in the habit of routine progress meeting. Start from the very beginning with a quick meeting each month or couple of weeks. It builds the relationship and keeps things moving forward.

Few pointers: - Most importantly, you have to have intent to be helpful and demonstrated action to make this initiative successful. Be seen as a useful person to make the stakeholders successful in a meaningful and sensible way. - Understand the client team work culture. Are they lazy or out of bandwidth ? do they have priority for this initiative and right SPOC are even present ?

My first step is to try and find out why they are being unresponsive. In the past I have taken for granted that just because the project is important for me to deliver, it therefore must be number 1 priority for stakeholders. Secondly I try to avoid getting the communication channels being narrowed down to only a few stakeholders and consider who else might influence the unresponsive party. Thirdly, I am always mindful of escalation routes, not the first option but can be effective if all else fails.

Knowing the home address might be a good way to stop this situation from happening to begin with. I've had to go knock on a few doors in similar situations.

There are some other aspects of the project that can be looked upon without getting consent of the client, such as refining design elements, optimising code.