Difficult Clients and How to Deal with Them

If you are an owner of a small business, you personally have to deal with various clients regularly. Sometimes it works out well, sometimes it does not. Let’s try to identify who are those difficult clients whom you are having a hard time working with and figure out why they are a problem.

Clients who know nothing

These are the clients who ask too many questions, hinder your work, interrupt you from important meetings and emails because they have a lot of queries about your services or products. Sometimes, you have to explain everything from basics, as you do for a child. You spend too much time on them, but they think you are wasting their time.

How to deal with such clients:

Explain that, even if you would talk to them 24/7 on the phone, their problems might not get solved. They have to do their homework and make an effort to research the subject in order to bridge the gap in their understanding. Perhaps, make a rule that they can’t call you more than once a day. Sometimes, you have to establish rates for such consultations to make them realize – the time is money.

Clients who know everything

You explain issues – they don’t listen. You build a relationship- they don’t trust you. You deliver tasks – they don’t pay you on time. Simply, they just don’t let you do your job. They perfectly disappear at times when you need them. They miss meetings, important emails, and phone calls. At last, their lack of organization becomes your problem, especially, when deadlines are tight.

How to deal with those clients:

You may avoid risks of such difficult clients by signing explicit contracts at the beginning. Make sure you protect your employees, your company, and your business. Obviously, be polite, flexible, negotiate, but strict and precise when it comes to priorities, mutual obligations, and possible penalties.

Conclusions

Clarity is the king. Make sure to be very transparent from the beginning. Apply best industry practices while dealing with customers notwithstanding how difficult in coping with they might be. At the end of the day, they pay your bills, and it’s not personal, it’s only business.