Conflict Resolution: 4 Expert Tips For Dealing With Cumbersome Clients

When you’re a solopreneur, you deal with a range of clients. Sometimes that’s the awesome thing about this type of work. Other times… not so much.

At some point, everyone will encounter that client. It’s the client who is so difficult it causes you stress every time you have to respond to their emails or their phone calls. Maybe this client keeps you up at night and makes you wonder if you’re really in the right career. Well don’t give up yet!

Before you let yourself spend all your energy stressing about those troublesome clients, remember that there are ways to handle those people. While they may never become your favorite people to work with, you’ll at least be able to have a pleasantly professional relationship by keeping in mind a few key tips:

1. Get Curious About Complaints

When a client complains frequently and makes your life more difficult, it’s really easy to get frustrated and dismiss them as simply a grumpy person. Maybe they woke up on the wrong side of the bed… Every. Single. Day.

But the truth is, sometimes you can learn from those clients who are quick to complain. Customer feedback is incredibly valuable, and these customer are offering feedback to you in heavy doses. Maybe they’re just bad at communicating it clearly and effectively — that’s why you need to get curious.

Think about what causes your difficult clients to become upset. While they may not express they’re frustration to you in a professional way, it doesn’t mean they don’t have any valid complaints. Try to ask the client questions to guide them to give more actionable feedback.

Learn about what they feel like is lacking from your service. Even if they’re requests aren’t reasonable, sometimes the wildest ideas can inspire creative strategies to make your service better than all of your competitors.

2. Clear Communication Is Everything

You have to have strong communication skills in your tool box when you work with difficult clients. When you know how to communicate clearly, you’ll be able to explain your position with confidence, and you’ll be able to incorporate feedback — both negative and positive — without difficulty.

Dr. Karyn Gordon, author of “The Three Chairs: How Great Leaders Drive Communication, Performance, and Engagement,” shot me the following during a recent email exchange: “People with high emotional intelligence give ongoing feedback — formal and informal — and increase their ability to influence others with each interaction. They also are eager for feedback and are able to receive it with an attitude of humility, rather than defensiveness.”

Continued Dr. Gordon, “They are hungry to improve, and they value others’ input. They try to create a safe environment for others so that issues can be discussed. They don’t shy away from conflict, but rather, lean into it and focus on solving problems quickly, not blaming others or avoiding issues.”

The first thing that’s essential to communicate is the scope of your work. If a client complains that you’re services aren’t up to par, you can refer back to the your description of the scope of your wok and explain you have done what you’ve agreed to do.

You can also establish goals with your client and give updates about the progress you’ve made toward goals. This helps you have something concrete to refer back to if your client is unsatisfied.

If your client is continuously unprofessional, despite your explanations of the scope of your work and the goals of a project, you can also establish expectations of client behavior. This allows you to remain professional, while establishing boundaries to ensure you do not have to work with people who try to take advantage of you.

3. Remember, It’s About Relationships

Sometimes you’re going to get off on the wrong foot with a client. Whatever the cause of this is, establishing a good rapport with that client can help smooth things over. To do this, you have to find common ground. Client relationships work similarly to most other relationships. Ask questions about their family, hobbies, goals, or anything else the client enjoys talking about.

Often, clients will be more willing to talk about themselves if you show that you’re willing to share things about your own life. Mention the sports game you watched the previous night or that you’re planning a camping trip over the weekend. Sometimes these things will get your client talking. You just have to see what grabs their interest.

Just like with every other type of relationship, sometimes you have to explicitly address a conflict before you can move forward and repair the client relationship. Address the tension if it’s there and ask if there’s something you can do to solve the problem.

When you build sincere relationships with clients, you’re more likely to be able to deal with difficult conversations. Sometimes your most difficult clients can even become friends.

4. Don’t Take It Personally…

You can get curious, communicate effectively, and try to build a relationship, but sometimes there’s just nothing you can do to please a difficult client. This can be a stressful part of doing business, but it’s important to remember, it’s just business.

When a client can’t be pleased, you two might just not be destined to work together, and that’s okay. There are plenty of other potential clients out there. Don’t let the stress of one difficult person use up all your energy.

Sometimes a difficult client might try to make things personal. If someone attempts to criticize you personally, you know it’s time to cut your losses. Don’t waste your time on people who can’t live up to elevated standard of professionalism. Losing one difficult client can open up you’re availability for other clients who will go about things the right way, so if it’s time to let a client go — though this usually happens the other way around — don’t be afraid to pull the trigger.