How to Deal with Difficult Clients

Based on Article in Consultiful, 2020

In your career as a business leader, you will encounter different kinds of clients. There are kind ones and not so kind ones, good days and bad days.

Even if you treat all of your clients with absolute professionalism and rarely make mistakes, sooner or later you are going to fail to meet a client’s expectation or make an error. There is always going to be a client who is having a really bad day or having difficulty understanding what you do, or in extreme cases, is just very hard to please.

So when you encounter them… keep your sanity and your peace. Avoid letting your guard down and then try one of these proven tips below.

Pay Attention

When you found out that your client is dissatisfied with your service, it is important that you pay attention to their complaint. Do not interrupt them. You can also record or make a note of what they are saying. This is important in order to figure out the reason why they are upset with your service. When they are done talking, start by going over what they said. This is a good way to let the client know that you understood their problem and makes them feel heard.

Take Time to Figure Out a Solution

Assuming that you are dealing with a client through email, don’t respond immediately until you have found a solution. You can let the client know that you understood their problem and you will get back to them shortly with a satisfying solution. It is important that you take some time to completely understand what’s going on and calm your initial feelings.

?Choose Your Words Carefully

Some words you use can have either have a soothing effect or a negative effect on your clients. It is not unusual for a problem to escalate just as a result of the choice of words from either party. If your client is not being polite, you don’t have to step down to his level. Remember your client may be having a bad day or misunderstand you. So the words you use can actually make him feel better - not only about the problem he/she has with your service but also about himself and his/her day in general. Your client’s problem may be a result of not completely understanding your service, after all this is a fast-paced world; no one nowadays actually read the whole?Terms-of-Service?before committing. Your client might also not be aware of the scope you agreed on initially, or have a different view of what is in and out of scope. They just want the job to get done. It is also good to remember that the people signing the contract and the ones working with it are usually not the same. Try and mirror your client’s words in order to put them at ease and assure them that you understand their needs.

Paraphrasing

“Parroting is repeating back verbatim the words of the speaker. Paraphrasing, rephrasing what the client said in your own words - to the sender’s satisfaction - is much more effective. It clarifies the message for both you and the sender. Paraphrasing allows you to check your understanding of the message and shows the sender that you listened accurately

De-escalate and de-stress

Keep your cool when a client takes an annoyed, angry or short tone with you. Avoid stepping down to that level. This might be exactly what the other person wants and frequently only escalates the issue. Keep a level- head and show an air of total professionalism in your interactions with the client.

Staying in the conversation does not always work. Your brain can only take so much before it goes into a fight or flight reaction. You may need to step away and take a few deep breaths

These techniques (if appropriate to the situation) also?helps to de-stress:

Imagine a relaxing scene: a vacation or a beautiful beach. You can even visualize yourself accomplishing a goal like getting through that difficult conversation with the client, shaking hands at the end.

Eat. Get some food you really love, and then make eating a conscious process. Recognize the texture of the food and how ittastes. How does it make you feel? This process helps your brain relax but it also helps you not to overdo the eating.

Chew gum, watch a favorite TV show, pet your dog or hold your cat. Watch a short funny video. Laughter improves the intake of oxygen-rich air and releases endorphins, thus first activating and then deactivating your stress response.

Listen to music. Classical music has a very soothing effect as it slows the heart rate, lowers blood pressure, and decreases stress hormones. Though you might feel like something different if you are angry.??I personally like the Twisted Sister song, "We're Not Going to Take it."

?Be Very Specific, Be?Measurable

When some difficult clients are dissatisfied they will tend to unload on you repeatedly using generalizations. “Your service is always so slow”?or?“nothing is working here”.?When you find yourself in this situation, it is best to make them get specific. Ask the client to please name specific examples of problems and then suggest specific, measurable solutions for their problems. You can also ask:?“if we solve your problem in the next hour, will that be all right with you”.?Requesting specifics from your clients and then providing specifics back is in your best interest when dealing with difficult clients.

?Acknowledge, but Don’t Agree

As a human being, when clients respond to your work with harsh criticism, you may have that natural impulse to deny it or claim you didn’t do anything wrong and then dismiss the client’s concern as being irrelevant. Don’t deny it; resist the impulse to lie. You may also be surprised to learn that completely agreeing to the problem may not help either. It might even add fuel to the fire. After all, you are dealing with a difficult client. Problems tend to be too complex to have a single party to blame. And even if you could blame someone, as a business owner you want to avoid your client "losing face." That client might not want to work with you again or even worse, end a contract. Also, blame usually snowballs and wastes time and energy that could better be used for problem-solving.

What you need to do is to acknowledge the client’s position and gently shift the conversation to the resolution. Repeat “Let's concentrate on the solution.”?This way, you move away from his/her ranting to providing solutions that don't implicate you any further.

That does not mean that you should not try to figure out afterward what or who caused the problem to avoid it from occurring again. Still, some situations can be beyond anyone’s control.

If possible, solve the root of the problem and move on without?bad blood.

?Consider Taking the Loss and Fire Your Client

There is no need to get into a tense, drawn-out situation over a very small amount of money with the client. Dealing with difficult clients is not only time-consuming but also emotionally sapping. In the end, you may win the argument and lose the war because your client ends up spoiling your reputation among friends and potential clients. At some point it is simply not worth the aggravation anymore. If you can afford a refund, do it and cut your relationship with the client no matter who is right or wrong.

Conclusion

Difficult clients are part of the business. You will have to deal with them at some point. You might have to unleash all the tactics and tips above to deal with them satisfactorily. In every case, try to see things from the perspective of your clients and do the best you can to meet your client’s needs while at the same time looking out for your business. Bear in mind that for small to medium-sized businesses, client retention is all about managing client expectations. In dealing with difficult clients, keep all your interactions polite and professional. Try to let the client know that you are solving his problem and remember you have the right to leave the room – or even the project – when he/she proves too difficult. You should never make a client lose face, but you should also not lose your own dignity.