How to Shift Client Dependency Away from You?

Whenever I talk to business owners, one of the most common complaints that I hear, is client/customer dependency. Team leaders quite often find themselves answering their client’s call for the most trivial reasons. And let’s face it, we’re always running out of time and with such client dependency, we end up with more work than we initially started.

It isn’t unusual for a client to act this way, and often there are many underlying reasons. In this blog, we’ll understand the impact and the reason for such behaviour and the solutions to shift client dependency away from you.

What are the impacts of client dependency on your business?

The most direct impact is on your productivity. Solving your client’s problems day-in and out is bound to exhaust you. Besides, it will leave you no time to focus on the other aspects of your business. In addition, it results in -

No team growth

It is apparent that if you’re always the only one on the frontline, your team will never experience and learn to handle the client, and hence, will never grow. Rather, it will increase the team’s dependency on you. 

Poor customer service

We have a limited time and energy each day, and if you’re juggling between too many clients, you’re bound to make a mistake which will end in poor customer service.

Limited client handling

As you grow and gain experience, you’ll understand that we all have a limit. Some people can handle 20 clients, while others can handle 30, but no one can work efficiently beyond their limits. This will result in a constant number of clients, and your company will never grow.

Frequently, even after you’ve introduced your team, the client still prefers to call you. Which brings us to reasons for client’s dependency.

Why does your client always prefer to call you instead of a team member?

One of the reasons you’re trapped in this problem is because of the initial team image created in front of your client. It is mostly unintentional, but sometimes, business owners are hesitant to hand over their client to a team member. Some of the most common reasons are -

1.    Perfectionism

Keeping your clients happy is the ultimate goal of every business. But a perfectionist business leader believes that only he/she can understand the client’s needs the best. This often creates an image of team incompetency in front of your client.

2.    Underestimating your team

Here, rather than believing that only you can handle your client the best, you assume that your team cannot handle the client at all.

3.    Fear of losing the client

Another reason you’re sceptical about handing the client to a team member is your fear of losing the client if that team member leaves your company.

Let me make it clear that all the three reasons I mentioned above are nothing but your irrational fears. Every big organisation is team dependent, where the team handles the client and, the owner concentrates on the other aspects of the business. That’s how a company grows.

 So in order to break the chain, here are some solutions that you can apply to shift client dependency.

Solutions to shift client dependency away from you

 Before I start with the solutions, I’d advise you to not bring sudden change to your old clients. The reason is simple, they have already adapted your old system of work, and hence might be reluctant to make any changes. Instead, you can apply these solutions to your new clients.

1.    Involve your team member from the first day

 I cannot emphasise this enough. From client pitching to all the initial meetings, you must include a team member in client communication. It will make your client familiar with your team member and create an image of shared responsibility.

2.    Let your team member communicate

 Whenever communicating with a client via email or Whatsapp, let your team member respond to the client’s queries. What it’ll do is show the competence of your team and further build the client’s trust in your team member.

3.    Make your team proactive

 As a leader, you should influence your team to be solution-driven and train them to take charge when needed. This helps to solve your client’s problems beforehand and saves you and the team a lot of time.

To quote business author Ken Blanchard said: “The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority.”

4.    Divert the client on your team member

 From time to time, you should divert your client’s call onto your team member. Even when you know the solution to your client’s problems, politely inform them that you’re busy to address the problem and try to divert the client to a team member.

5.    Create standardised formats for client conversation

 Using pre written communication formats for emails, deliverables, client requirements etc. This maintains credibility and saves time. But apart from that, it leaves no room for mistakes.

Lastly and most importantly, no business can ever grow without trust, therefore, you need to have faith in your team’s ability. Mistakes are inevitable, but that’s how a business grows. As a leader, I’d advise you to maintain your composure. What you can do beforehand is, train your team to learn from the mistakes and grow your company unitedly.