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

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


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   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



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


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


Thanks!

Razzy