Business Education

My Biggest, Most Important Client is #!@_&% — How can I Keep Them and Not Go Crazy

Fill in the blank. Angry, anxious, cheapskate, short-tempered, impatient, annoying, hard-to-please. No one enjoys dealing with difficult business clients, but sometimes we have to. These clients can be demanding, angry, and anxious. They can sap our energy and make us feel like we’re going crazy. But don’t worry – there are strategies for how to deal with them.

Running a Business Means Dealing with Challenges

No one ever said that running a business would be easy. In fact, it can often be downright difficult to deal with the various challenges and situations that come up. Whether you’re struggling to keep afloat or trying to figure out how to take your company to the next level, there are some effective ways to deal with difficult business situations.

Many small business owners have ‘em—you know, the clients who make you cringe when you see that they’re calling. The ones who drain your energy, criticize everything, and are slow to pay. Difficult customers exist in every business, for every company, and even though you may want to kick them to the curb some days, you know that it’s better to keep them if you can. So, how might you keep your difficult clients and your sanity? —American Express

The key attributes are persistence and patience. Entrepreneurs who stay the course but don’t rush into things tend to be the most successful over the long term. They push when necessary and recognize futility for what it is. In other words, they act appropriately to the circumstances they experience and do not try to bend reality.

Best Strategies for Managing Impossible Clients

Dealing with difficult business clients can be a nightmare. They can be demanding, angry, and anxious, and they can really put a damper on your day. However, with the right strategies in place, you can manage them effectively and keep them from ruining your business relationships, like the following:

Keep your cool. One of the most important things to remember when dealing with difficult clients is to stay calm and collected. If you start getting angry or frustrated, it will only make the situation worse. Take a few deep breaths and try to relax. This will help you think more clearly and come up with a plan of action.
Put on their shoes. Another thing to keep in mind is that these clients are just people. They have their own problems, and they’re probably stressed out too. Try to put yourself in their shoes and see things from their point of view. This will help you understand where they’re coming from so you can better address the problem at hand.
Don’t retaliate in anger. If possible, avoid getting into arguments with these clients. You might think this is impossible, but it can be done. Stay calm and collected — even if they’re yelling at you or cussing you out. If necessary, take a break from the situation. Politely end the phone call or meeting and go for walk outside. This will give both parties time to cool down and reset.
Walk the walk, talk the talk. Finally, always try to stay professional. These clients are probably already angry and frustrated, so don’t add to the problem by being rude or unprofessional. Address the issue at hand in a polite and respectful manner. You’ll be surprised how much this can help diffuse the situation.

What other strategies would you use to deal with difficult customers? Please, take a moment to share your thoughts and experiences so others can benefit from your perspective! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

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My Small Business Manager didn’t Manage the Business Well and Now it’s a Total Mess…What Do I Do?

June 23, 2022 No Comments

Some business owners run their company for many years, only to discover that they can’t do everything on their own. Once this inevitable realization materializes, most start to hire others to help them with various aspects of the business. Some even aspire to be largely absentee owners, leaving the day-to-day operations to a professional manager. So, they train someone up, giving them the responsibility of managing the company and then take a more offhand role, sometimes into a completely new venture or, to focus on one particular area. Typically, this goes fairly well, especially when said manager has been well trained. However, it sometimes ends in utter disaster and the manager winds up making a mess of everything. So, what do you do if you’re stuck in the latter nightmare scenario? What Good Managers bring to Small Businesses Before we get into how to fix a bad situation, let’s first look at why business owners hire managers in the first place. Usually, managers are brought on to handle all of the day-to-day activity. This allows the owner to put his or her efforts into expanding the business and even exploring new opportunities. A good manager will bring a nice return on investment, easily paying his or her salary, all while adding to the company’s bottom line. Bad management can impact employees and a company’s overall operations. Incompetent managers exist, and they can have challenges relating to staff members and keeping them motivated. In addition, substandard supervisors may not be able to balance budgets, increase revenues or capably perform other crucial tasks. —Houston Chronicle Small Business A good manager can really be an invaluable asset, being able to oversee employees, carry out projects, order materials and inventory, assign employees to various tasks and projects, and a whole lot more. In the end, the manager is also responsible for the public face of the company, particularly when the owners aren’t on site. Of course, there’s a great deal of trust involved here and unfortunately, that trust is sometimes betrayed. How Business Owners can Fix Mismanaged Companies If your small business has been mismanaged by an incompetent or uncaring manager, you’ve got your work cut out for you. The amount of damage he or she may have done may not be immediately apparent and will materialize over time. But, you can’t just wait to find out, you’ve got to leap into action immediately and do the following after letting him or her go: Talk to the employees. The very first thing you want to do is get a sense of the employees’ perspectives. You’re likely to learn a lot and some of it may take you completely by surprise. But, you’ll probably also get a kind of consensus and that will help you to know precisely what’s most important and how to prioritize what to fix first. Speak with vendors. This may sound a little odd but it’s probably worthwhile. Since vendors interact with the managers routinely, they will have different stories to tell and just like the employees, will probably give you some type of consensus. At the very least, you’ll find out how your former manager interacted with the vendors and if he or she had good or bad business relationships. Consult your customers. If you haven’t really heard any complaints from customers, this would be highly unusual. Although, your former manager may have been great in providing excellent customer service, while still mismanaging the business’ finances and/or mismanaging the team members. Regardless, getting your customers’ input is very important because it will let you know the reputation of your company. Lastly, you’ll have to go through the slow and meticulous process of piecing the operation back together. This might include having to make other personnel changes, establishing new relationships with different vendors, and possibly, having to repair customer relationships. Fortunately, a good business consultant can walk you through this very difficult process step by step. Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

The Pros and Cons of Hiring Remote Workers

May 17, 2019 No Comments

Hiring remote contractors or employees, like anything else, has its pros and cons. It’s a difficult decision, particularly if you haven’t done it before. When you need more hands on deck, you might wonder if it’s really necessary to bring in a full-time person into the workplace. With all it entails, it’s a big leap, no matter how many times you’ve done it before. So, what about hiring someone to work remotely? What are the pros and cons of hiring remote employees? Let’s take a quick look. Remote Staff Cons Hiring remotely can mean having to make a few adjustments, including time differences. You might find a great fit in a candidate who lives in another time zone. Sometimes, even an hour or two can make a huge difference. Hiring remote employees can be an efficient and cost-effective way to solve problems for small businesses. For many business owners, knowing the benefits of remote hires can open up a variety of benefits, from cost savings to efficiency. —On Deck.com Another possible stumbling stone is communications. Yes, today’s technology makes it far more easy to communicate over just about any distance. But, it still has it limitations, no question at all. Then, there’s the challenge of training. This might well prove the most difficult obstacle to hiring a remote employee or contractor. Remote Employee Pros Of course, there are some very good reasons to hire a remote staff member. Here are a few benefits to hiring a remote worker: Reduced cost. This can’t be understated. When you hire remotely — especially for a contract position — you’ll get the benefit of saving money on labor. A remote contractor can save money in the form of health care and other benefits. Plus, remote contractors might accept a little less in the way of compensation for their own convenience of not having to commute. Skill-set access. Sometimes, it’s just too costly to hunt down the right person with a needed skill-set in your location. (That person might not even be available or live in your area.) In situations like these, needing a particular set of skills, a remote employee could be a great fit. Time advantages. What works one way can work another. Someone who lives in a time zone that’s a couple or few hours ahead of you can serve as a big benefit to getting a head start. He or she can produce what’s needed and do so before you even get into the office. Less office drama. One thing most people don’t think about when it comes to the benefits of hiring remotely is that it doesn’t add to any office politics. Someone who isn’t physically on-site won’t feed into the gossip, which is another advantage. What other points would you add to these? Please share your thoughts and experiences by commenting! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

These Marketing Channels area Waste of Money

May 16, 2017 No Comments

When you’re in business, every dollar counts, and, counts big. Revenue is useful for many purposes, particularly those which propel your company forward. You choose where you spend your money wisely, and, always look to get a solid return on investment. This is why you are careful about your hires and day-to-day operations because these are the very backbone of your organization. Of course, one of the ways to grow a company is to make more potential customers aware of what you offer. That can be tricky, especially when you have a strict limitation on the amount you can spend. Therefore, you do what you can to ensure that those dollars are working to get you more work and not just go out the door without coming back in the form of new business. Don’t Waste Money on These Marketing Channels Because we live in an age of on-demand information, there are more channels available than ever before to market through. It starts with you and your team, and, your website and social media presence are all essential. Though the latter two are very much used and highly popular, you have to remember that these are just tools. Even during lean times, companies spend a lot of money on marketing, hoping that the spending will result in future sales. Unfortunately, marketing is one of those areas where it’s really easy to waste money. —Inc.com A cottage industry emerged with the solidification of social media and is now a multi-million dollar industry. Traditional marketing remains an option, as does other forms of spreading the word. While you ought to be as ubiquitous as possible, there are marketing channels that are just a waste of money. Here are some things you ought to avoid because of their poor return on investment: Internet marketing courses. These courses are supposed to instruct you on how to market your business online. The cost isn’t really the issue, but the amount of time you’ll spend learning how to do it and then trying to implement it is an exercise in frustration and futility. Vendor-focused trade shows. Renting a booth or table at vendor-focused trade shows is often a very expensive proposition. This might be worth it if potential customers were also in attendance. However, because these are typically closed to the public, you’ll only be exposing your business to others in business, even in the same industry, meaning your competition. Suggested content. When you’re reading an article, you’ll see titles related to what appears in front of you. Those aren’t there by way of magic, but through ad dollars paid by companies to get you to click through and be redirected to another page. Search engine marketing. This one is something that very few people are able to get results through because of the sheer amount of money it costs to make it worthwhile. Even if you have a large marketing budget, you don’t control where your ads appear, how often they appear, and your ads will be in a crowded space filled with competitors fighting for the same attention. Market research. This can be outdated and/or skewed to bolster a certain, predetermined conclusion. What’s more, you have no real way of validating all the information these contain. Another thing you probably should avoid is mailing lists. These name and address compilations can easily be outdated, and, it takes a lot of time and effort to put a mass mailing together. What’s more, the response rate is very small, only between 1 percent and 2 percent. Some firms claim as much as 4 percent, but that’s still quite low. The smart way to get your brand noticed is to build personal relationships. One of my favorite equations to illustrate my point is how to build Trust. People buy from you if the like you and trust you. The only way to Trust, is by building a Relationship, and the only way to build a Relationship is through Communication. Not by e-mail or text or even phone calls, but by interacting personally with your prospects. Through this personal interaction and Communication, you build a Relationship, and in building the Relationship, you earn the prospective customer’s Trust. Once you have their Trust … assuming you’re likeable … you will have the sale! So, a low cost way to market and grow your business is to build Trusted Relationships, and watch your business grow. It takes time, but how badly do you want to succeed with your business? You can do more to sell your products and services because you know all the information. Invest time into networking, mentoring, and volunteering because these are all worthwhile. [shareaholic app=”follow_buttons” id=”26833294″]

My Biggest, Most Important Client is #!@_&% — How can I Keep Them and Not Go Crazy

Running a Business Means Dealing with Challenges

Best Strategies for Managing Impossible Clients

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My Small Business Manager didn’t Manage the Business Well and Now it’s a Total Mess…What Do I Do?

The Pros and Cons of Hiring Remote Workers

These Marketing Channels area Waste of Money

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