Are your clients managing you, or are you managing your clients? Some prospects who are the easiest from a sales process turn out to be the hardest to work with. Those who are the most challenging seem to be the best clients. Do you know why? Clients can be tough to manage if members of your sales team are:
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Afraid to ask the tough questions upfront. The salesperson was afraid to “rock the boat.” They just hoped the nightmare scenario would not happen and when it does, the client quickly achieves a power position over the rep. Always remember this key rule: diffuse the bomb before it explodes.
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Unwilling to rehearse conversations regarding competition. Your #1 customer is someone else’s #1 prospect. If you are having a hard time managing a current client, your competition may be in their ear. If you fail to rehearse with your client how they are going to handle their conversations with your competitors, you will later end up battling the conversations taking place when you are not around.
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Failing to create equal business stature. If your sales technique involves giving things away to keep a prospect or client happy, it’s like a snowball rolling down a hill. It will grow and grow until it’s unsustainable. Today’s value add becomes tomorrow’s expectation, and once the client-advisor balance is unequal, clients become difficult to manage.
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Desperate to make a sale. Desperation leads to discounts. If your clients pick up that you are desperate to keep their business and you really, really, REALLY want to keep it, watch out. Remember, there is a difference between hungry and starving. NEVER show signs of starving even if you are about to wilt away.
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“Selling” clients, rather than clients “buying” from them. If a client feels like they’ve been sold, they will look for reasons it was the wrong decision. If you do your job well and they truly buy from you, they will instead look for ways to confirm their decision in a positive way. They will now ask you what they need to do for this to be successful, rather than telling you everything you need to do to make it successful. The client will work for you, not the other way around.
Managing clients does not have to be difficult. The real struggle occurs when companies are coming from a mindset of scarcity instead of abundance. When this happens, you may find clients running your business. Don’t let that happen. Don’t let your mindset become one of desperation, of giving things away, of fear. Be strong, and manage your clients well.
