Soften up tough customers

Depending on your industry, hard-to-deal-with clients or customers are common for many small businesses. They either seem indifferent, call at all hours or constantly question your judgment. The good news, said Andrew Sobel, a client-relationship expert, is that rather than “firing” them, the right approach can improve the situation and even turn them into loyal fans.
The key is to master basic relationship rules and put them into practice for your business, says Sobel, who is co-author (with Jerold Panas) of the book “Power Relationships.” Here some tough customers and ways to deal with them:
• Insecure client. Although these clients are unsure of themselves, this often comes through as being unsure of you and your business. They are nervous about failing or looking bad.
Solution: Build more trust and reduce their perception of risk. Invest in more face time; reassure them about your product or service delivery. Increase communication and show them what you’re doing at key stages. Above all, demonstrate complete reliability and consistency.
• Know-it-all: This client thinks they know more about your business than you do and is constantly telling you how to do your job.
Solution: Re-establish your respective roles. If gentle rebukes don’t work, put your foot down. Remind them that they’ve hired you because of your expertise and experience.
• Aloof client: Some clients treat you only like a vendor and resist all efforts to build a real relationship. They are often very professional and can be perfectly pleasant when you’re with them. But it’s a purely arm’s-length relationship, which limits how much you’re able to help them achieve. Solution: Learn more about the client’s agenda and help them accomplish it. Try to more deeply understand their priorities –their underlying needs and goals. What’s important to them right now? What are they trying to accomplish this year?
• Tyrant: They have personality and emotional issues and treat their people – and perhaps you – poorly. Most people who works for them dislike them. The Tyrant could be a good-hearted person who happens to have an anger-management issue, or might be genuinely mean. The reasons may be unknowable.
Solution: If the client is nice to you, but tyrannical with their team, you may be able to influence them to change. Unless you’re specifically in a coaching relationship, however, they may not be open to that kind of personal feedback. If the client is treating you or your colleagues badly, consider moving on. •


Daniel Kehrer can be reached at editor@bizbest.com.

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