The Pleasures and Pains of Dealing With Clients

As entrepreneurs or business owners, we have the pleasure of dealing with clients on a regular basis. This does not necessarily have to be sarcastic. Dealing with clients is a part of running any successful business. But some days are surely more difficult than others...that's just the nature of the beast (pardon the cliché).

Some of your clients are lovely. They are personable, humorous, and respectful...and hey, they recognize that you are a person too! Some clients are just easy-going and just all around easy to get along with. If only they were ALL that easy, right? In the business world, we all know that there are going to be those clients that are just difficult to deal with and may even ruin your day. All in all, here are some tips or advice on how to deal with clients.

• Be patient. Again, as most of you probably have read in my other blogs, this one is not easy for me. I really have to work at keeping my cool and listening to others' problems rather than jumping in with my own attacks. However, I have learned that when a client is upset or angry or is frustrated because you aren't getting or understanding what he or she wants, just let them vent. Let them get their anger or frustrations out. As long as they aren't abusive in any way, just let them go. It's even a good idea to take notes while he or she is going off, that way you can address each of his or her concerns in a professional, respectful, and patient manner once it is your turn to talk.
• Don't take it personally. Another biggie. It is very, VERY difficult sometimes to not let clients ruin your day. Sometimes they will say exactly what gets you revved up or what pushes your buttons. If you need to, or if you can, step away, count to ten, and then refocus on the conversation or situation at hand. Try not to take whatever he or she says personally. Nine times out of ten, they aren't out to piss you off or hurt your feelings intentionally, they just want help or want something specific and they are having trouble communicating how to get it or how to get through to you.
• Work with them. Although this may seem obvious, it's always good to remind ourselves of this: avoid getting into arguments. Remember that the name of the game is to not win over your clients. It's not about winning a battle, placing blame or determining who is right or wrong. It's about reaching a common goal...providing a service, selling a product, and generally meeting the client's needs and expectations.
• Find a common ground and negotiate. Sometimes you may disagree with a client in providing a service to them. For example, they may ask to hire you for one of their services or purchase a product, but they may ask you to do different things that may be outside of the scope of what you particularly provide. All in all, provide them with a quote. If the quote is outside their budget, then try to negotiate and find a common ground...one that helps you collect the revenue needed to provide the service, and ultimately one that the client is happy with and will keep him or her coming back to you.
• Avoid illegal schemes or misconduct. You'd be surprised how many scams are out there these days. There are those sketchy organizations out there that are looking to scam others and want to enlist your help. Regardless of what benefits or pay they offer, it's always best to stay away from these situations. You don't want to risk jeopardizing your company's reputation at all. In responding to him or her, you don't have to be rude or judgmental, you can clearly say in a professional manner that you are not comfortable engaging in such an activity or service or engaging your staff in it as well. Nine times out of ten they will understand, and just look elsewhere. Crisis averted.
• Clear-cut communication. Finally, one of the best success tools in dealing with clients is communication. Like any relationship, communication is one of the best keys to make it work. Often times if you are providing a service, a client may have skimpy or sketchy instructions for their project, or there may even be a language barrier. It is always important to get the scoop up front before agreeing to something. There is nothing more embarrassing than receiving directions up front, doing the project, then finding out it was completely wrong...in that you either made a mistake, or you misinterpreted something that was or wasn't in the original instructions. It's up to you to clarify.
• Keep records. This is probably another biggie. From the very moment that you either receive a call or an email about a specific project, service, or product, start recording. Take down detailed notes; record calls, either via cell phone or Skype, if necessary; make copies of instructions, quotes, etc. Keep detailed records and files on each project and client. If there is any dispute later on or with payment, having your records and files organized with help you.

Just recently I had to work with a difficult client. It was actually my inspiration for writing this blog. Last week I had to work with a client who wanted various travel posts on his website. It didn't seem like a difficult job. I quoted him a certain amount for the number of posts that he needed. He then came back with a lower number claiming that was all he was authorized to offer. So after some negotiation, we reduced the number of posts needed so that the revised amount was fair. So I kept copies of his instructions via our Skype chat and followed them to a T when I started working on them the following day.

After I finished the first few posts, I sent him the links of the first few so he could get a feel for what they looked like before I continued. Then, in the most inappropriate way, he started telling me they were in the incorrect format, they looked horrible, etc. I struggled not to get angry. But I went over with him the instructions that I had. All he kept claiming was to "follow the other posts", "look at the other posts", which I'm sorry, were not clear instructions. In my eyes, I had. However, rather than argue with him, he I tried to clarify the instructions and get him to give me detailed specs on what he wanted and how he wanted them to look. Again he kept claiming, "Look at the other posts". I tried to tell him that those instructions were not detailed enough, but he wouldn't listen. At that point he said, "Fix them!" and just signed off Skype. I was so incredibly angry at that point that I had to take time away and collect my thoughts prior to trying to diffuse the situation. Unfortunately, this isn't so much a success story as we were unable to finish the project together. However, it was absolutely a learning experience.

Then I had another client where he wanted me to be at his beck and call pretty much 24/7. When I bid or quote projects for potential clients, I factor in the resources needed to complete the project, any research needed, as well as my time that has to go into it. Unfortunately, there are the projects, which just take way more time than I budgeted, well, that's what losses are for. However, I won't treat it as a loss if the client hires me for other projects or services. I realize my situation is a little unorthodox. I work full time as well as run this business on the side. Some clients understand, others flat out do not. They send email after email, Skype message after Skype message, and then flip their lid when I don't answer right away. I had this one client who wanted me to work on a PowerPoint presentation with him. Okay, sure. So we would spend an hour or two each day working together via Skype and then I would put together the pieces needed from our call. Only that wasn't enough. He wanted me available through Skype the second I walked in the door after work through the night. When I explained that the project was not properly budgeted nor do I have the capacity for that kind of time, he decided to look elsewhere. Again, not so much a success story, but another learning experience.

Then comes my all time favorite...the woman who never paid. I've learned that this is an unfortunate realization when it comes to running a business. There are losses and they happen. There are those out there who just don't pay. I wrote on the better half about a hundred articles for this woman, and she never paid a dime. The project was to write 300 articles total. After writing 100 and communicating with her on a daily basis, she never even paid me after the first 100. I can't even talk about how much money I lost. After delivering her the first 100, she kept pushing me to write more and that she would pay. There came a point, and I hated to do this, when I said, "I'm sorry, I cannot write anymore articles until the first 100 are compensated for." She agreed and I gave her my PayPal account info. After that she took off and I never heard from her again. Fortunately, as another learning experience, I've learned to do research on a client before agreeing to work with them, look at feedback provided by other contractors or businesses, ask for upfront payments or deposits for high-paying, long term projects, as well as provide official invoices...which is all something I never did before.

Finally, the last point I want to touch on is sexism. As a female entrepreneur, you would be shocked at how many times I have encountered this in my two to three years in business. I have had made arrangements with potential clients that in the middle of an interview or Skype chat have...seriously...asked me out, asked me to "cyber", or have commented inappropriately on my appearance. And I'm sorry to say, I am not racist or showing prejudice by any means, but this seems to be mostly with men from other countries. Again, no prejudice, just facts. I realize that women are treated differently in different cultures and in different countries, however, in the United States women are respected and are becoming more immersed in higher level and executive positions, and even becoming entrepreneurs. Obviously there is still the issue of equal work and equal pay, but that's a blog for another day. All in all, particularly women entrepreneurs should be on alert for this.

I think we can all agree that there are all different types of clients out there. There's the tech-savvy, the not-so-tech savvy, the picky, the vague, the fun, the difficult, you get the idea...and if you have been in business long enough, you've probably seen at least one of each. In running or operating a business, it's important to recognize and deal with each type of client and how to respond in a manner that will guarantee you their business and keep them reaching out to you.





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