A story I lived
Turning client churn into retention — by listening first.
At Lotus Interworks, several clients were already considering leaving. My first instinct was to convince them to stay by defending the work. That wasn't what they needed.
When I stopped selling and started asking — what's frustrating you, what are you not getting — the real problems surfaced. Some needed better communication. Some needed a service we weren't offering yet. The solution was never the starting point. The client's problem was.
That shift in approach helped me retain clients who were on their way out.
Lesson
Retention isn't about offering more. It's about listening better. Don't start by selling the solution — start by understanding why the customer needs one. I carry this directly into product: understand the user problem before deciding what to build.
