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Sergio Luis Conte
Helping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based Organizations
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Well, great question because, at least in my personal experience, it occurs not matter the client is "internal" or "external". I can write lot of things based on my experience but the key is the client must "feel" it is loosing money. I could say, it must be more than a feeling.
Boyana -
If the client does not have a sense of urgency about starting the project, something is clearly wrong. Should the project even exist in that case? Normally it is the reverse - the client is pushing to get the project started even though some prerequisites for doing so haven't been met... Kiron 
Rami Kaibni
 Community Champion
Boyana, I do face such situations all the time with some clients I work with who gets distracted and lose the sense of urgency for some matters and our job as Owner Rep or Development Managers is to always remind the client of the urgency to act on those items that are necessary to get the project going. Most clients will do that needs to be done but some needs more reminders and push than others.
If despite all those efforts, your client doesn't act on their part, then as Kiron mentioned, clearly something is wrong. 
Hello Boyana,
I’ve used the following approach in the past. [Client], we have already allocated resources in preparation for the project's start. If we do not engage immediately, we risk losing those resources to another project. If this occurs, we will need to recalibrate our project projections, as we factored their skills and availability (e.g., vacations) into the equation. Obviously, you would only make statements that are true for your environment, but the objective is to communicate that “changes will be required” if the project doesn’t start immediately. George 
Hi Boyana,
To solve this issue, we should calculate specifically the impact of late tasks cause by client in terms of resource (cost) and time then communicate it clearly to the project board. 
William M Hayden Jr
Adjunct Assistant Professor| University at Buffalo, School of Management, Operations Management & Strategy
Buffalo, Ny, USA
Thanks, Boyana.
Re: "project depends on some steps the client should done" Within the very first days of the project's start, using a "Project Responsibility Matrix." Be certain to add both internal and externals sources of input, reviews, approvals (R, R, A) for various project entities. Cheers, Bill 
To make it clear that delaying the start of the project will necessarily result in delaying the end of the project, I've found the following help:
a) Resist mentioning a date timeframe for completion (such as "September" or "Q3") based on an initial assessments... instead, say for example "Approximately 9 months from project start". This way you steer the client from fixating on a delivery date, and force recognition that (their) delay in starting will directly affect the delivery date. b) Use the relay race analogy: If the first runner in the 4x100m still hasn't decided what pair of shoes to put on when the starter's gun goes off, the second, third, and fourth runners can't very well be expected to make up for the first runner's delay and do well in the race (much less win). 
Boyana, a cost-benefit analysis can help the client understand the financial impact of delaying project start and encourage swift action.
Regarding the question, I believe we should return to the basic and most essential aspect, which is "communication." Most of the time, project management revolves around "people management."
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