Running Your Own Business – 5 Tips For Dealing With Nightmare Clients

One of the things I love most about running a business is that I can choose who I work with.

My favourite clients are people who are upbeat and positive, with a ‘can do’ attitude.

Whingers, moaners and complainers I find draining. You can spend an hour encouraging, enthusing, and inspiring them. Yet you can guarantee they’ll be back on the phone within a week right back where they started.

You’ll probably have a good intuition for the type of person you work with best. But occasionally, the odd nightmare client will slip through the net. Someone who started out charming starts being a nuisance and making unreasonable demands on your time.

Here are some tips for making sure YOU remain in charge – rather than them!

1. Trust your intuition. Sometimes you just have a hunch that a client is going to be a pain. You can’t put into words why. You just have a sixth sense about it. Trust these feelings and act on them.

2. Nip problems in the bud. If a client is a nuisance from the outset – say, complaining about your quote or prices, the simplest thing to do is send them a brief letter stating that you’re returning their cheque (or whatever they may have given you) so that they can explore other options elsewhere.

3. Set your boundaries early on. I once had a famous Hollywood actor as a client and made the mistake of giving him my home phone number. Early on in our working relationship, he called me on a weekend saying: “I just want 5 minutes of your time…” I was a bit star-struck, so I was happy to help. 90 minutes later, I was still trying to get off the phone. ‘Never mind’, I thought, ‘just a one-off.’ Except the same thing happened again a week later. I had made a mistake in not making my boundaries clear early on. It took a third call for me to realise the situation was getting out of hand. I then politely reminded him consultations were by appointment only during office hours – which he was happy to accept.

4. Increase your fees. One of my business friends has a policy of quoting 60% more for clients he suspects will be trouble! His thinking is that such clients are likely to take up more of his time and he wants to be financially compensated for it. Personally, I don’t think any amount of money makes up for the headache of a nuisance client, but if you’re more tolerant, this may be an option for you.

5. Make sure your actions are consistent. If you end a working relationship with a client, be firm but polite. Give a refund, if appropriate. At the same time, make sure you remove them from all your databases. The last thing you want is to keep sending them sales letters, mail-outs and autoresponders. They are unlikely to want further communication with you… and you certainly don’t want them coming back for further services.

All clients are different, so it’s important to weigh up your priorities. Decide what you’re prepared to tolerate, and what you’re prepared to let go. Nuisance clients can take their toll on your time and your health. The important thing to remember is that you don’t have to put up with them. It’s one of the great perks of having a business.