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Publisher : Independently published (December 15, 2018)
Language : English
Paperback : 103 pages
ISBN-10 : 1791751024
ISBN-13 : 978-1791751029
Item Weight : 5.3 ounces
Dimensions : 6 x 0.24 x 9 inches
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]]>Every business deals with challenging clients from time to time. Managing difficult clients can be a daunting task, but there are strategies and techniques you can use to help make the process easier. Whether you work in sales, customer service, or any other type of client-facing role, these strategies will help you make the most out of every challenging interaction.
1. Don’t Take It Personally
It’s important to remember not to take client criticisms and complaints personally. No matter how frustrated or agitated you become, remember that the client’s attitude isn’t a reflection of your skills or worth. Separate the person from the situation, and try to remain professional and courteous.
“Rather than getting defensive or angry, focus on listening to the client,” explains Matt Miller, Founder and CEO of Embroker. “Respond in a way that shows you care about their concerns. Show the client that you are doing your best to resolve the issue while reminding them that their behavior should not be negatively directed toward you.”
If possible, talk the situation through with the client and let them express their thoughts. By understanding their perspective, you decide how to approach the situation more effectively and strategize to find a solution that works for everyone.
2. Try To Understand Their Perspective
It’s easy to take a hard-line stance and push back against a difficult client. However, it can be more productive in the long run to take a step back and try to understand why they are acting combatively. Open up a dialogue by asking them questions and encouraging them to share their thoughts and concerns.
“Once you have a better understanding of a client’s perspective, it’s easier to empathize and come up with solutions that work for everyone,” shares Trina Johnson, CEO of Blue Forest Farms. “Most people who act out or become frustrated don’t mean to do so. More often than not, they are simply overwhelmed and need help navigating their situation.”
Taking the time to listen to a client and helping them understand what is going on can go a long way towards diffusing a tense situation. Empathize with their position to help create a mutually-beneficial arrangement.
3. Communicate Openly and Honestly
Effective communication is essential for any successful business relationship. This is especially true when dealing with tough clients. Open communication allows both parties to express their ideas and concerns respectfully. You should be sure to listen to their opinions and appropriately provide feedback.
“Be prepared to explain your decisions and reasoning, especially with a challenging client,” shares Christy Pyrz, Chief Marketing Officer of Paradigm Peptides. “The goal should be to come to a mutually beneficial agreement.”
Remember that you and your client share the same goal: to make your project successful. By communicating openly and honestly, you can avoid misunderstandings and ensure success.
4. Set Clear Expectations
One of the benefits of open communication with a client is to help set boundaries and build trust. Be straightforward in your communication. Don’t be afraid to speak up if a client is asking too much, and let them know what you are able and willing to do.
“Having boundaries with clients is a must, and you have to set those expectations early on in the relationship,” explains Alexandre Robicquet, Co-Founder and CEO of Crossing Minds. “From working hours to deliverables, let clients know what working with you looks like so that the lines don’t become blurred.”
Ask questions to make sure that everyone is on the same page, and make sure to follow through with what you say. Being honest and direct can help avoid misunderstandings that may arise in the future.
5. Be Patient
Patience is key in allowing both parties to feel heard and understood. It’s also important to remember that while they may have different expectations, they likely just want the best outcome for their project.
Liza Kirsh, CMO of Dymapak offers a simple solution for staying patient with clients: “Challenging clients can create stressful situations. It can be helpful to take a step back and give yourself time to cool off before responding. Taking a few moments to collect your thoughts and emotions will help you remain calm and professional in the conversation.”
Try not to let your frustrations take away from the overall goal of the project. Remain focused on what needs to be accomplished, and don’t let any miscommunications or disagreements derail your work. Set goals with your client, and break down tasks into manageable pieces so that progress can continue without interruption.
6. Be Flexible
Understand that clients may have different ideas or needs than you, so being able to adapt and be flexible is essential. Doing so will help make your client feel heard and respected, which will make them more likely to work with you in the future.
“When trying to be flexible, it’s important to be open-minded and willing to try new things,” shares Sasha Ramani, Associate Director of Corporate Strategy at MPOWER Financing. “This could mean adjusting deadlines, changing designs, or offering additional services. Keeping an open dialogue with your client and being willing to adjust your plans accordingly is an effective way to show that you are willing to address their needs.”
Of course, being flexible isn’t always easy — but it is necessary when it comes to dealing with difficult clients. By staying flexible and adapting to their requests, you can help create a better working relationship.
7. Keep Your Cool
Even in the most frustrating of circumstances, losing your temper will only exacerbate the situation and make it harder to reach a successful resolution with a client. It can be easy to lose your cool in a moment of high stress, but it is important to take a few moments to pause and collect your thoughts before responding.
“Take a deep breath and try to remain calm and professional,” recommends Andrew Chen, Chief Product Officer of Videeo. “Speak calmly and slowly and do your best to maintain a pleasant tone. If the conversation is going nowhere, suggest taking a break. Give both parties a chance to regroup. You may find that stepping away from the situation and revisiting it with fresh eyes helps resolve the issue.”
You may need to rely on outside help to bring an objective viewpoint to the discussion. Consider asking a co-worker or mentor for guidance.
8. Offer Solutions
When you’re facing a challenge with a client, you may need to offer strategic solutions to the problem at hand. Show them that you understand their problem and that you’re willing to work with them to reach a successful outcome.
“Listen, listen, listen,” shares Max Schwartzapfel, CMO of Fighting For You. “Always provide viable options that address the root of their issue. Be prepared to adjust your solutions, if necessary, and present solutions promptly. Taking too long to respond can frustrate the client and further damage the relationship.”
Remain open-minded and willing to try new approaches. It should be an open dialogue. Your flexibility shows the client that you’re invested in their success and committed to finding the best possible solution for everyone.
9. Follow Up After the Project Is Complete
Show your client you care about their project by following up after the work is completed. This can be a convenient opportunity to maintain a healthy relationship with a tough client and ensure future collaborations. This is also an opportunity to ensure that the client is satisfied with the outcome of your partnership.
“There are several ways to follow up with a client after a project is complete,” shares Brandon Adcock, Co-Founder and CEO of Nugenix. “You can send a quick note to thank the client for their collaboration. Ask them if they have any questions or feedback about the project. If they have any suggestions, take the time to listen and consider their points of view.”
Overall, following up with your client shows that you value their opinion and respect your working relationship. Follow-ups also help to build trust and confidence in your work, which can lead to more successful projects together down the line.
10. Learn From Your Mistakes
No one likes to make mistakes, especially when it comes to dealing with tough clients. The truth is that mistakes will happen, and it’s important to learn from them. Being able to look back and reflect on what went wrong can help you in the long run.
“Take a step back and analyze the situation after working with a challenging client,” Victor Mathieux, Co-Founder and CEO of Miracle Brand recommends. “Ask yourself what you could have done differently or better. This can help you develop strategies for dealing with similar situations in the future.”
Try to focus on the positives that came out of the situation as well. Perhaps you learned something valuable that you can use in the future, or maybe it opened up an opportunity for growth. Reframing your mistakes can help you focus on the bigger picture and keep things in perspective.
Final Thoughts
Unfortunately, working with difficult clients is part of the process of being in business. Luckily, you can use these strategies to help you better navigate the situation for everyone involved.
McClatchy newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.
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At the same time, the company is ramping up investments in media and innovation to help preserve elasticities and build unit demand by boosting consumers’ value perceptions of its products, executives said during the company’s third quarter sales and earnings call yesterday.
This strategy also would allow General Mills to hedge against additional possible price hikes, should they be necessary.
“We continue to forecast total input cost inflation of approximately 14 to 15% for the full year in fiscal 2023, including double-digit inflation in the second half. Looking beyond this fiscal year, we expect inflation to decelerate but remain above historical averages” in the mid-single-digit range for total input costs in fiscal 2024, CEO Jeff Harmening told investment analysts.
While commodity costs are coming down from their peaks, CFO Kofi Bruce attributed the ongoing inflation to continued labor pressure, energy costs and “other conversion costs that go into taking raw materials, creating value-added inputs that go into our products.”
Other harder to calculate but still potentially impactful costs contributing to inflation are added pressure from supply chain disruptions and product changes that allowed the company to continue to serve in a disrupted environment, Bruce said.
On that note, Harmening acknowledged General Mills service levels still are below its “normal range of 98 to 99%,” but it is improving and should reach 90% in the US by the end of the quarter.
Strategies for managing inflation
To manage rising inflation, Bruce said General Mills will “approach the fiscal year with an eye towards leveraging first, the productivity we get through our HMM cost savings programs. And to the extent that there is additional margin that we need to protect, we’ll use the other levers we have up to and including SRM.”
The company also will take into account inflation as it plans merchandising and marketing, said Jon Nudi, president of North American Retail at General Mills.
He explained that while General Mills is “getting back into merchandising in some categories that we couldn’t support from a service standpoint over the last few years,” it also knows that “ everyone in the industry is dealing with increased costs and inflation as well, so we expect to make sure that we’re rational from a merchandising standpoint as we move forward.”
Given that price points were up double digits across General Mills’ categories, the company is loath to pile on extra hikes, preferring instead to leverage price architecture and mix, Nudi said.
“We are much more sophisticated today than we were even a few years ago, and I think that’s helping us to make the right moves in the market, which is helping with the elasticities as well. So, it’s something we’ll stay focused on,” he explained.
Marketing, innovation investments keep consumers engaged
If price increases become necessary, General Mills is laying the foundation to justify them by investing in marketing and innovation – strategies that also should protect market share from private label if the economy drops into a recession.
“If we do run into a recessionary period, historically, we’ve held up pretty well. Obviously, private label does well during that period, but we’ve held our own and hold share relatively flat. It is really the third and fourth tier players in categories that seem to get hit the hardest from a share staple,” Nudi said.
General Mills’ ability to hold its own against private label “is not really an accident,” but rather can be attributed to its investment in consumer spending, Harmening said.
“We’ve been investing in marketing. And so, you see, over the last four years, our compound annual rate of growth and marketing spend is up, I think, about 4% or 5%” to keep pace with pound growth if not sales growth, Harmening said.
Explaining that “healthy investments in brands is critical for long-term growth,” Harmening said General Mill is investing behind “compelling, digitally enabled, high ROI campaigns, such as Cheerios’ heart health, 20% More Meat news on Blue Buffalo’s Wilderness line and our latest global Haagen-Dazs campaign.”
Innovation reinforces elasticities
General Mills also is investing in innovation to keep consumers engaged with brands and drive sales.
“Over the past three years, we’ve kept up our innovation pressure, and our new product retail sales have been 30% higher than the category average. We are continuing that focus with our fiscal 2023 innovation,” Harmening said.
As examples, he pointed to the company’s recent launch of mini versions of its Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Reese’s Puffs and Trix.
Many of these strategies already are paying off for General Mills, which reported net sales of $5.1b – a 13% increase – in its third quarter, along with a 16% increase in organic net sales. Operating profit also was up 20% in constant currency and earnings per share were up 17%.
“With stronger and more broad-based business momentum, we have raised our guidance and now expect organic net sales to increase 10 to 11%, adjusted operating profit to grow 7 to 8% in constant currency, and adjusted diluted earnings per share to grow 8 to 9% in constant currency,” Kofi said.
He added: “These profit and EPS ranges include a three-point headwind from divestitures and an estimated one-point headwind from the ice cream recall.”
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