It’s important to listen to everything your client tells you. But, writes Michael Rynowecer in 13 Unspoken Rules of Client Relationships, it’s probably more important that you hear what she isn’t saying. Because you need to follow the same unspoken rules that your clients have made “part of their core personality, behavior and decision making.” Like these:

1. Clients always find a way to hire the people they want when they want to.
2. Clients don’t fire their law firms, they just stop giving them work.
3. “Your rates are too high” is a euphemism for “I want to give the work to someone else”.

Read the post. Let these unspoken rules guide your behavior. You may not master all 13, but you just might start hearing more of what your client wants. And isn’t that the goal?