Having Difficult Discussions with Clients.
Best Practices Series
Sometimes we have to have difficult discussions with our clients; hopefully this isn’t a norm for your workday. But it happens, and when it does it can feel like a cross-roads in your relationship. The topic could be any number of things: missing a deadline, falling short on a goal, overspending a budget, losing a key team player, reinforcing scope limitations, you name it. I’ve personally handled difficult situations more times than I can count, because we’re all human beings and we’re not perfect. These situations can cause great anxiety, so here are some best practices to help you through difficult times.
How you handle difficult situations will greatly impact trust.
1. Get your arms around the full situation.
It’s critical to properly recognize the situation, understand the root cause and timeline to where you are today, identify all of the associated stakeholders, and outline the realized or potential implications. Ideally, write all of this down to start a document.
2. Put yourself In the client’s shoes.
Once you’ve gained a full understanding of the situation, it’s really helpful to put yourself in your client’s shoes and look at the situation from their perspective. Try to understand the implications on their side both quantitative and qualitative. Be empathetic. Add this to your document.
3. Account for any damage done.
Armed with a reciprocal view of the situation, understand any implications to the engagement scope, timeline, budget, or impact on contractual obligations or even to the relationship. Try to account for any perceived impact or actual damages incurred to date or expected in the future. Add this to your document.
4. Align internally first.
In most cases, timing is a critical element in mitigating a difficult situation, particularly when reputation or money is involved. Ensure you communicate this situation with your team leadership and relevant higher ups as soon as possible .If you’ve followed my advice above, you’ll have a document to share that details the full situation and implications — this demonstrates that you have an intimate understanding of the situation, along with actual damage or probably outcomes. Ensure your internal leadership is aligned on how to handle the situation and proceed from there.
5. Bring the situation to the client.
Again, need to show some urgency here and handle this as swiftly as possible. How you approach the client depends highly on the state of the relationship. If you’re very close, you might schedule lunch or give them a call. If you’re not very close, you might schedule a meeting. In most cases, I’ve found it best to try to make this a one-on-one conversation with your primary client contact at first. Regardless, it’s critical to be empathetic, direct, and honest. Explain the situation, recognize the causes, and articulate the impact to all relevant stakeholders in whatever terms matter (time, money, etc.).
6. Align on a path forward.
Once you’ve laid it all out on the virtual table, I highly recommend offering 2-3 options for resolution and next steps, presenting one as the preferred option. The preferred option should be the one that offers the most substantial Win-Win. This option should also, as much as possible, make the situation “right” with your client. Cannot stress this enough. For the sanctity of the relationship, it’s absolutely critical to ensure that the scale isn’t tipped to the agency’s side and that the client feels like they’ve lost something.
7. Document and follow up.
Communicate back to your stakeholders what was discussed and agreed to, and then get to it. Ensure that everyone that needs to know is made aware, including any changes from what had previously been discussed. It’s important to recognize that difficult situations happen, mistakes are made, sometimes you get a curve ball. It’s equally important to deal with these situations like adults, handle them, and then move on.
If you follow these best practices, you’ll earn a track record of being responsible and accountable. Your relationship with your team and your client will continue to improve — trust will be earned. And that is always an aspiration for any agency and anyone in client services.
Feel free to share your comments on this topic, including any personal experiences you’ve had with dealing with difficult situations with your clients.