I talk a lot about the need to learn the business of the client. That is, and always will be, the driving factor in making good recommendations.
But what that concept really gets down to is an understanding of motivations. It’s motivations that allow us to understand that thing that is deep down in the gut of the decision maker. When someone comes to you saying they want to evaluate a city for a new sales office – you need to understand whether they are doing it for the business or because maybe they are angling for a spot in the new sweet office which just coincidentally is right around the corner from where they want to live.
There’s nothing to prevent a business making a decision based on where someone wants to live. But there is something wrong with a service provider making the recommendation for them.