We’ve all had them.
Clients who – God love them – are a pain in your butt. They constantly cancel meetings (at the last minute)...
They think their problem is far more simple to solve than it actually is (and expect you to work miracles)...
They won’t make a decision, or involve 6 colleagues in every decision which halts progress and adds to confusion...
They tell you they want to make a change, but really only want a miracle solution where they don’t actually have to change anything...
You get the drift.
The thing is, these clients are probably great people who honestly don’t mean to make your life difficult.
And they want the best for their business.
So if they have become ‘nightmare’ clients, I’m sorry to say this but...
It’s probably YOUR fault.
Here’s why:
1) You haven’t pre-qualified them properly
2) You’ve taken them on as a client because you’re desperate for money
3) You had a gut feeling they weren’t a great match for your service, but thought you could work it out
And / or
4) You haven’t on-boarded them properly
The thing is, as a business owner it’s YOUR job to make sure the clients you serve are also going to serve you.
That is, they are going to get real value from your service.
Because the people who get real value turn into testimonials, case studies, and powerful brand ambassadors that raise your profile in your industry (propelling your business forward).
Nobody got into business to work with clients they don’t enjoy working with (and who don’t enjoy working with you).
The good news is you don’t have to.
How to avoid ‘nightmare client syndrome’:
- Make your branding and marketing messages 100% clear about your mission and what you’re about.
- Have a clear ‘red flag’ policy for potential clients. If they hit 3, politely steer them to another service.
- Make your expectations and requirements perfectly clear in your sales pages (like we have on our Opulence page) where we say who the program is FOR and who it is NOT for.
- Ask the right questions in your qualifying calls to weed out people who aren’t a good fit for your product or service.
- Have a clear on-boarding process where you set the rules of play.
Set their expectations for when and how communication will happen, what’s required of them as a client, when and how deliverables will happen, and so on.
This step is crucial for alleviating stress and distrust especially if you have a high-ticket service. Your client has just handed a lot of money over to you - they need to know you are taking 100% care of them.
Remember, you are NOT a commodity where the client is your mighty ruler and you must let them completely control the journey with you.
You are the professional; they hired you for a reason.
So it’s your job to guide them through their experience with you, so they reach the goals you both agreed to in the first place.