Dealing with Customers from Hell

To Deal or Not to Deal

They shout, threaten, talk abusively, act condescending, whine, lie, demand inordinate amounts of time, push all your hot-buttons, raise your blood pressure, and cause you to reach for antacids. Who are these people? We call them “Customers from Hell.”

Unfortunately, every business has them. Fortunately, they represent only a very small fraction (we hope!) of the people who enter your store or use your products/services. Yet this small group profoundly affects how you feel about yourself and how you relate to all your other customers.

Because these customers are difficult to work with, as volatile as volcanoes, and very much “in-your-face,” you probably wish you could make them - POOF - disappear with a wave of a wand. But since you can’t, you have to deal with them. How? Follow the example of great leaders and see them as a challenge. Realize that none of us have control over our customers’ behaviors.

Remember that dealing with customers of all kinds (hopefully mostly good ones) is direct-driven to businesses’ bottom lines. Though we may not have control over our customer’s behaviors, we do have control over how we react to customers’ behaviors. Utilizing the model of Demand Chain Excellence, adjust your leadership role and style to bring growth to your organization—and to handle hellish customers.

Of course, sometimes dealing with “Customers from Hell,” or even more heavenly ones, is not in your organization’s (or your) best interest. No sale is better than a bad sale. Thus for every deal you must ask yourself the Hamlet-like question “To Deal or Not to Deal?” To help you answer this question, we will discuss various aspects of deal making. We will start with the two demands that make up every deal: Customer Demand and Business (Sales, Marketing and Service Force) Demand. Together they are called Total Demands, which is graphically depicted below.

Total Demands (Overview)

“Every transaction has two Demand side exits. One is Buy-Side Demand. The other is Sell-Side Demand, the opposite of Buy-Side.”

When selling, two concepts leap into the mind: Business Demand and Customer Demand. These are represented graphically by two scales, as shown below. The scale itself can be called the sum of these demands, or Total Demands. The way to optimize your ROI strategy and thus gain a competitive edge is to balance both sides, both demands.

Now that you’ve seen the big picture, let us now hone in on a few pieces of the picture: Sales results, Business Demand, and Customer Demand.

Sales Results

Sales can be created in a variety of ways. One way is to locate potential customers. This type of prospecting is often exhibited by the number of calls made and the number of hours worked. Another way is to gain repeat customers, as exhibited by the number of deliveries expedited and the nature of service given. However, by the term sales results we mean more than selling a certain number of specific products or services to a certain number of customers. (By the way, your organization does not have to be for-profit in order to be concerned with sales results. Voluntary associations, for example, sell ideas and programs to the community and governmental agencies.)

Sales results encompass the goals, whatever they might be, that sales people are trying to achieve through selling activities. When the sales results are business-focused, they are collectively called Business Demand or Seller-Side Demand. When they are customer-focused, they are collectively called Customer Demand or Buyer-Side Demand.

Business / Seller-Side Demand

In reference to Business Demand, the primary goal of Business Force (i.e. Sales, Marketing and Service Force) is to make a revenue, profit and market share.

Naturally, the thought processes and attitudes of business people vary. One sales worker, for example, may not give sales results a high priority. Consequently, he/she will probably not achieve a high sales volume. The primary goal of another Business Force may be to make her/his organization more profitable.

Yet another business person may be motivated the most by the idea of a big commission. The last two sales people may achieve the same great sales results though their attitudes are different. A fourth business person may not care much about sales volume, customer demand, commissions or anything else because he/she is “burned out.” Be it positively or negatively, the business force’s degree of concern for sales production greatly influences their behavior and resulting sales volume.

Business Demand comprises only half of the Total Demands. Let us now discuss the other half, Customer Demand.

Customer / Buyer-Side Demand

In reference to customer demand, the business force’s thoughts are centered on the customer. Sales people can display their customer demand attitudes in various ways. One business person may think that providing special services or giving a customer an advantageous deal is her/his first priority. Another may think making frequent, friendly calls to customers is the way to go.

A third may show concern for the customer by trying to completely understand the customer’s actual requirements and then presenting appropriate information that will benefit that particular customer. Unlike Business Demand, the significant factor in customer demand is not the making of the sale. It is how a sale is made, as exhibited via a Business Force’s words and behavior.

Put Together

Recall what we said earlier: The way to optimize your ROI strategy and thus gain a competitive edge is to balance both sides--both demands—of the scale.

Every business force should give great effort to increasing sales volume, organizational profits, etc., while giving equal importance to fulfilling customers’ demands.

As a result, on the Total Demands Scale, both Customer (Buyer-Side) Demand and Business (Seller-Side) Demand will balance. Let us clarify what we mean by “balance.” Yes, both sides of the scale should be of equal weight in order to balance. However, that does not mean each side should be equally light. Rather, each side should be equally heavy. (That is what we meant by “giving great effort.”)

The respective weights of Customer Demand and Business Demand will be determined by each Business Force. Every business force’s degree of Demand will be weighed on each side of the scale (with sales volume on one side and selling effectiveness on the other.)

The resulting total weight on the Total Demands scale represents the buisness force’s sales and service processes. The business force’s concern for the sale, his concern for the customer, and the way they are linked form the foundation of a business strategy. This business strategy is represented by the foundation of the Total Demands scale.

In a Demand Chain driven organization, the scales of business force will balance. However, in the typical organization they will not balance, partly because function-based management does not deal with these demands. At any rate, Total Demands can be expressed in different ways. One business person, for example, may place a high value on business Demand while placing a low one on Customer Demand. The sales approach for this person will be quite different, then, from the sales approach of someone who values Customer Demand much more than Business Demand.

Let us put that another way: Depending upon a business force’s expression of Total Demands, one side of the scale may outweigh the other. For example, the Customer Demand / personal selling effectiveness side may be somewhat heavy. However, the Business Demand / sales volume side of the scale may be very light. The reverse may also be true, with the Business Demand side outweighing the Customer Demand side.

When the scale is tipped on the side of Business Demand, the first-time-customer sales numbers might be good, but her repeat-customer rate might demand improvement. When the scale is tipped in favor of Customer Demand, the first-time-customer sales numbers may not be stellar, but his repeat-customer rate might be high. Ideally, the business force will balance organizational demands with customer demands.

Consequently, customers will feel like highly-valued VIPs and continue dealing with your organization—while your organization grabs more market share.

Keeping the Balance

Let’s get back to the non-Demand Chain driven business force. How does your Sales Force handle the various requirements of different customers? If you are like most opportunity leaders, your selling efforts are organized according to account size. If this is the case, then you are facing real challenges. You see, a business force dedicated to serving large account customers will usually pay too much time, effort, and expense on customers who are intrinsic value buyers.

Thus the value is often wasted or destroyed. However, although profit margins may suffer, sales will not; few sales are lost through over-resourcing. In contrast, under-resourcing often does lose sales, since some customers do want to invest time and resources in the acquisition process. And if you don’t supply it, one of your competitors will.

Therefore, it is better to invest too much in selling resources than invest too little. Of course, the best scenario would be to provide the demand right investment in selling resources according to customer . Then Customer Demand and Business Demand will be in balance. Your organization will gain sales, but not at the cost of profit margins--and will gain an edge on the competition.

Situations such as over-resourcing and under-resourcing selling resources are examples of value misalignment. Similar cases of value misalignment also occur when the Business Force is under-investing in extrinsic value customers. In these cases, the business force is probably over-investing in small intrinsic value customers who are looking for the cheapest way to acquire products. When values are aligned, the Customer Demand and Business Demand scales will be in balance. And when the scales are balanced, an organization can gain a Competitive Advantage.

About the Author:

David Chung is an expert in Business Model Design & Customer Experience Optimization with 15 years’ experience working on dozens of million-dollar leadership development and customer experience enhancement projects throughout Asia Pacific.

He is a well-recognized management adviser with considerable experience in unlocking executive/talent potential and enhancing business performance for the companies of Fortune 500, Global 1000, China Fortune 500 and Hong Kong Top 1000 listing.

He is the world’s 3rd patent inventor of the Customer Experience Management(CEM) methodology, a recognized management book author, the pioneer researcher of service innovation & customer life value management.

For further exchange ideas on this topic, please contact me through [email protected] or https://hk.linkedin.com/in/davidtwchung