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5 tips for how you can handle difficult clients and still win

  • TommyCarey Level X3
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    5 tips for how you can handle difficult clients and still win

    If you've been working with client for long enough, you've had your fair share of difficult ones, and you either handled it wrong and everything blew up or you did it right and things were still difficult.  It's tough to please people who are already mad or just being difficult, so I decided I would write up this discussion that covers how I've dealt with clients that weren't ecstatic with my work.

    I've had thousands of clients since I started working online in 2003, which means I've had plenty of angry people yelling at me over the phone or through an email after they got their reports or we finished some work for them.  Usually the problem stems from the client thinking they're going to get everything listed on my website, when they're only paying for a few things, which basically means they expected more than they paid for.  It's different to expect a service to be over delivered, like my writing service here on SEOclerks, but if I send someone a 500 word article and they actually paid for a 500 word article then they can't really get upset.

    It doesn't matter if you have the best track record, with no disputes or complaints, you will likely have a difficult client here and there.  They won't always be mad at what you're doing, they will just ask for much more than they're actually paying for, because they are either testing you or think they should be getting it.  You need to stick to your guns, remember everything they are suppose to get, and even write it down in a file for safe keeping as well as save all the email conversations you had so you can refer back to them if the client ever complains about not getting what they were suppose to.  Other than that, here are a few ways you can deal with difficult clients and seill win:


    Be polite and solve the problem
    When an angry client calls or emails you, they will usually say everything is going wrong and it's all your fault, which it usually isn't.  There could be a ton of variables that could mess something up from the shipping to a 3rd party website not doing what they were suppose to, but somehow it falls back on you.  The client will think you're in charge of absolutely everything, trust me I've had SEO clients tell me to call Google and ask to boost their rankings, so you'll need to just stay polite in order to solve the problem.

    If you're polite, and you can calm down the client so they aren't just yelling and getting upset, you have a better chance of keeping them signed up with your monthly service or coming back to purchase another product.  No matter how the angry client is, you need to stay professional and not lose your cool, as soon as you stoop down to their level of aggression you've instantly lost.

    Be polite, solve their problem, open up their eyes to what actually happened, and move on.


    Offer them a new product or service for their bad experience
    A lot of times you can simply talk the client through the problem and everything is fine.  But, if they had a bad experience with your products or services, you can always offer them another one for free.  Usually they'll take you up on this offer, which never really made sense to me because they already had a bad experience the first time around, but they will feel like they're getting something for free and that is good for you in the end.

    If you sell products, send them a replacement for free and don't think about charging them for shipping and handling lol.  If you run a service, offer them a free month or throw in some add on services to boost what you've already done so they stay happy with you. 

    If you can't afford to give away some free stuff to an angry client, you won't last long.  You've likely been spending your money as soon as it comes in and now you're screwed.  Save up your money for this problem, and send them some free stuff to keep them happy.


    The client isn't always right
    I never understood why clients always think they're right, when in reality they're usually wrong, but they still feel it's a necessity to spout off and say what they "know" is right lol.  I won't treat these clients with kid gloves because they usually start off really angry, so I'll go right back at them with facts that break everything they've said, and I'll even link to pages of my website to show them why they're wrong.  Usually they'll come back with "Well that could have been edited after I bought the product/service!" and 99% of the time is hasn't been touched in over a year lol.

    I won't get angry with these clients, but I won't be the cherry person I usually am, because a client that thinks they're always right needs to be put in their place sometimes.  I won't tell them they're dumb or not thinking, but I will give them plenty of information to have them come to that conclusion on their own, which is usually enough.  I've been doing this for a while because I never tell them anything negative, and then sometimes they go to an open forum and start spouting off about us, which is the same as them digging their own grave.  I have alerts sent right to my email whenever someone is talking about any of my websites, so I'll know fairly quick when these people start typing about me in public.  I would say that 100% of the time, if you follow what I said above, you will win these little disputes because you can ask the person why they aren't saying the same things when you talked to them.  They will either disappear or they will back pedal and think "Oh crap, he knows I'm posting here about his company" and they will then get defensive.  You can't get angry, because you've already won, now you just add the killing blow which is answer all their questions again and link to every page again.  Everyone reading your conversation will see tha they original disguntled poster was in the wrong and was just being dumb.

    Clients aren't always right, and the ones who raise their voice about your product or service are usually the ones who are the most wrong in the entire situation, but they can hurt your business if you don't stay on top of their open forum posts.


    Understand that it's OK to let a client go
    I've had my fair share of clients that were less than desirable, so I cut them off and moved on.  These clients could be "know it alls", the always right type, or the people that always see something negative in your work even if you over delivered and gave them twice as much than what they paid for.

    For these clients, I simply tell them I'm discontinuing their service because it's too much of a burden.  I don't tell them they they are the worst clients I've had, I just let them know we won't be doing their work anymore.  You can do this for both digital services and physical products by banning an IP address or email so that people can't access your website anymore or even purchase from you.

    Usually, when you do this, they will go to Facebook or a forum and complain about you.  But if you know when they're posting, due to google alerts, you can go in there and comment on their post saying

    This is (your company name) representative and I'm here to tell everyone that (users pen name) was extremely difficult to work with and always wanted more than what he/she paid for. 

    We did everything we could to please them, but it was never enough, so we cancelled their contract/agreement with us and moved on.  We wish them all the luck in the world, but we will not be helping them from this point on. 

    Thank You,

    (company name)

    This will show you were being a professional the entire time and the person who is complaining will look petty, which will come out even more with their next few posts after your comment lol 5 tips for how you can handle difficult clients and still win


    Offer them a discount on their next month of service
    If you have a client that isn't 100% happy with your services, you can always offer them a discount or a coupon code to be used at a later date, so they can save some money when they want to continue with the work or when they want to buy a product from you.

    This doesn't always work because people sometimes don't want anything to do with your company, but you'd be amazed at how many will take you up on your offer 5 tips for how you can handle difficult clients and still win  This is similar to offering them something for free, except it doesn't hit your bank account as hard since you're either breaking even on the purchase or making a little bit of cash.

    If they had a bad experience, and they come to you about it, offer them a discount for their next month of service or give them a discount code to use whenever they want.  They will usually be happy with this and move on 5 tips for how you can handle difficult clients and still win



    In conclusion
    You'll never win over everyone, so don't waste too much time or money trying to put out these fires, because the ultimate fire hose is just cutting them off and being friendly the entire time lol.  Sure, you'll get the "I'm always right" clients, and they should be dealt with a little different, but that's a rare client that won't come across your desk too often.  Usually, if you just stay a professional and offer them something in return for their bad experience, everything will calm down and be OK for you 5 tips for how you can handle difficult clients and still win


    Remember to follow me!
    https://www.seoclerks.com/user/Razzy


    Thanks!

    Razzy

    #Clients Marketing & Monetization
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    JoeMilford

    JoeMilford

    I think I agree with some of your points here, and I definitely agree that often the client is not right. You are 100% correct that you can't win everyone over, and people in business should be realistic about that. However, the more you work at what you do and interact with your clients and audience you find out exactly how to market what you are doing. Offering discounts to keep clients is a good idea, but one has to be careful of the ones who try to take advantage of things such as this. Also, one has to be careful about doing this so much, in the attempt to hold on to "bad clients", that the profits overall begin to suffer, of course.
    6 years ago

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    Corzhens

    Corzhens

    For a difficult client I don’t think offering the discount is a good idea. Some clients would really take advantage like having a mentality of irritating you with the relentless haggling until you get annoyed and would give in to their demand. I’d say being friendly to the difficult client can get more good results because it would be like on a personal basis that the negotiation is not between a seller and a buyer but between friends.
    5 years ago

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    kgord

    kgord

    Yes, I think your points are right on. People who feel "wronged" in some way usually are much more ammenable to a solution if they feel they have received some sort of discount or favor. For those who are never satisfied, I agree that letting them go is sometimes the thing that you may need to do ultimately. Not every account is worth keeping.
    6 years ago

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    Martinsx1

    Martinsx1

    The discount is just like a bribe to keep your loyal clients happy with your services, even if you had a setback with your services, the discount would make them overlook the setback and trust in you. Although some unappreciative ones would always bad mouth whatever you do simply because they are made that way and putting in too much effort to keep such clients would be a wasted effort.
    6 years ago

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    kgord

    kgord

    Exactly, people are always happier when they are feeling they are reciving vindication in some way or that they have been heard. Business owners can use that to their benefit when offering discounts to customers.
    6 years ago

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    Pixie06

    Pixie06

    I had to deal with difficult customers in the past and handling complaints is not easy. We must try our best to solve a problem calmly so as not to further irritate the customers. There will always be some unsatisfied customers and I think it is better to let go of these customers as they are here only to waste your time. Turning a frustrated customer into a happy one can make them more loyal to your business.
    6 years ago

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    JoeMilford

    JoeMilford

    Pixie06,
    I have had similar experiences in business and in my classrooms. I have learned from teaching, over the last 15 years, that sometimes your most troublesome student, at the beginning of a course, can turn into the best and most appreciative student by the end of the course as long as you do not give up on them and remember to be decent, professional, and courteous. I apply this to my non-academic practices as well, and showing strength and humility at the same time is very possible. It's hard for people to argue with that, no matter how right they think that they are, in my experience. We are all going to lose customers, for a variety of reasons, but having professional and polite business behavior on our parts can keep as many customers as possible coming back to us.
    6 years ago

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    overcast

    overcast

    I think being humble is pretty much necessary. And one has to be understanding of the way the client can work. And also how the problem needs to be solved. That is the point of the cryptocurrency that we can work around. I think when it comes to handling difficult clients. These are some of the things that we have to learn and make the best of our time. And stuff such as this does take time. And we just have to learn this.
    6 years ago

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    AmieBotella

    AmieBotella

    I agree with this. There are so many unbelievable difficult people in the world and what you said that we cannot win over everyone is really the bottom line of it. At some point you try and try to rectify the situation but still, there will be times that you just have to quit trying on one particular client. And hope that this client will no longer bother you or your work altogether. So that you can move on and learn from these people and get better on the next project.
    6 years ago

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    JoeMilford

    JoeMilford

    I agree with you and Razzy as well. At some point, you have to just walk away from the situation. As long as you handle your end of the deal with professionalism and candor, then you can always walk away with your head held high knowing you were not in the wrong. This is a good idea, because, for all you know, if you handle yourself well with a difficult customer, they might realize later that they were in the wrong and apologize after a cooling off period. I have had that happen to me before, but either way, I just always make sure I do everything on my end with logic and fairness.
    6 years ago

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    AmieBotella

    AmieBotella

    I agree with you. When you can walk away without taking the low road, that is the best way to do it. But it's no easy feat to do. Especially when a client is borderline crazy and bully. There are those clients that think and act like they already bought you. And on some worst days, it will get the best of you. That's just a pure test of your temperance and poise. And when you leave the situation, that's when you'll just hope that they'll come around with what they did and apologize. But in my experience, these types of clients usually are arrogant til the end.
    6 years ago

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    Martinsx1

    Martinsx1

    What I have come to understand about such difficult clients is that the more that you try to press and convince them, the more they think of it as you have a hidden agenda towards your persistence in trying to convince them. So in my experience and opinion, I say it's best to give up on them and focus on trying more to work with the eager ones who prefer to deal with you.
    6 years ago

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    AmieBotella

    AmieBotella

    Majority of them are what you said really. Those who will always try to find fault in you because they actually do not trust you. But we shouldn't be also too quick to let them go and move on, there are still some who just wants to be persuaded and given extra time and effort. But all in all, every difficult experiences we encounter brings the most valuable lessons to learn.
    6 years ago

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    Corzhens

    Corzhens

    We all know that the client is not always right but it’s not easy to make it a reality especially if you are talking of a valued client. In my past business, we have experienced a client asking for 30 days that later on became 45 days of credit until it reached 60 days. For a longer period of credit, we decided to drop that client because he was already abusing our cooperation and generosity. And then he came back to us after some months but with a tamer attitude.
    6 years ago

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    vinaya

    vinaya

    As a freelancer, I always encounter difficult clients. I once received a writing contract. When I delivered the work, the client said it was not what he had wanted. While hiring me, the client had not explained his needs, he just said write on xyz topic. However, when I submitted he said he wanted this and that. Sadly, I had to rewrite the whole thing again in order to satisfy the client. Since I was being paid handsomely and the client had hired me the second time, I had to agree because I was expecting another contract.
    6 years ago

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    Everett

    Everett

    I am experiencing this right now and it's stressful!

    This discussion is right up my alley, because I have a couple of difficult clients now. Let me give a quick story of what I do, and what my products / services are so others will know what I am taking about.. .

    I sell php scripts, and have a website with my own created marketplace. I also offer the scripts for sale on other various code marketplaces as well. What I see most is buyers wanting to change the script up, and before I would offer this for free. Now, I simply can not do that anymore because the requests to change things, or add certain features is piling up (even as I write this I am getting emails).

    So I have thought to just create a service for my buyers to buy if they want tweaks or certain features for the script. I can not continue to do free tweaks or feature requests because it seems that once i finish one tweak or feature request the buyer has so many more for me to add and I literally have no time for any other clients or other online work that is not related to my php marketplace.. so yeah, I will definitely win (or lose - depending how you look at it) in the future when i offer tweaks or features for an additional price..
    6 years ago

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    Martinsx1

    Martinsx1

    These are wonderful tips on how to keep and handle one's client who is a difficult one. Being polite and calm in attending to such clients is one way to get things under control while it's being sorted out and also offering discounts is another good way to entice them to be loyal to your business offers and services. Also it's very important to note that it's not a must that you can keep all your clients, so the ones that are proving too hard headed, it's best to let them go, if on going and they discover that you were a better option for them before, they are still going to come back.
    6 years ago

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    Barida

    Barida

    Yeah, it is almost impossible to keep all the clients that will come our way for the best thing to do is to ensure that we are polite in our dealing as those clients will get to understand when we take out time to explain the situation to them. I'm that type of person that always treat my clients in a polite way and that has brought lots of positive reviews to me as well.
    6 years ago

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