How to Deal with Difficult Clients

If you own your own home business where you have your own individual clients chances are you have had to work with clients who are less than cooperative. If you find yourself at a stalemate, learning how to deal with difficult clients can be a big help to your bottom line. Here are a few techniques for making client relations a little more simple.

Don’t Take Feedback Too Personally

Not everyone will be over the moon about the work you do for them, that’s life. If you run your own business that relies on your craftsmanship, one of the main issues you are going to run into with clients are creative differences.  This is especially so for people who’s businesses are creation based such as freelance writers and web designers. It is natural as an ‘artist’ or creator to respond negatively to criticisms of our creations which we almost always ourselves think to be perfect. The thing to remember when dealing with negative feedback is that it is not a personal attack. When you are providing a service to the client, you are taking on the responsibility of meeting their needs for the project they requested of you. If by chance your rough drafts of their project aren’t accepted point blank, just take it in stride make the necessary changes. Remember, your business is about the bottom line, so sometimes you will have to put aside personal feelings.

Protect Yourself with Solid Contracts

If your home-based business is service based, you can head off a lot of potential problems before hand by requiring that all new clients sign a service agreement. This document should outline both your responsibilities and those of your client. Make sure to include necessary payment plans and processes etc. If your client agreed to pay a deposit, write it in. If your client agreed to pay in weekly installments, write it in. Anything that is relative to the terms of your project should be covered so that in the event you find yourself dealing with a difficult client who refuses to pay or wants to argue about your process, you can refer to your very legally binding service agreement to remind them of their responsibilities.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

No, as a service provider, we cannot make people happy one hundred percent time but we can minimize time required in re-doing work by keeping an open line of communication. When you sign on a new client make sure you spend an adequate amount of time communicating about the project and really listening to their goals and expectations. The more you know about what they want, the less likely you are to stray away from the initial purpose during creation. Create directly for your client’s needs and your business will reap the benefits one hundred percent of the time.

Take Advantage of this Amazing Offer

If you provide a service to clients and you are working without a service agreement to protect your interests, it’s definitely time to consider getting one. If you would like to have a standard service agreement customized and written for your business, contact Desrosiers Quality Content today. We are offering this service for a $100 flat fee for a limited time. Visit our ‘Writing Services‘ page and fill out the short form to get your project started today!