4 Steps For Accountants To Handle Difficult Clients

From time to time, there will be a somewhat unpleasant experience, where things don’t run as smoothly as you would like. Difficult clients tend to have a remarkable talent for slowing down the process, and cause quite the mental exhaustion in complicated situations.

When the time comes to handle an encounter such as this, here are a few simple ways you can come out on top with a satisfied customer in any accounting practice.

Choose Your Words Carefully

Each term of phrasing and language is imperative when dealing with a difficult situation. You have to be aware of what your client considered offensive or confusing.

This is because in most cases of a difficult client, the primary instigator of such trouble develops from either miscommunication or lack of knowledge on the subject you are discussing.

By maintaining a straightforward and carefully composed approach to your points of discussion, your message will appear clearer and more direct in its purpose. You may understand ‘Tax Audit’, where they may understand ‘Full Business Check Over’.

First listen to what they want to know and how they want to be told, then follow up with care.

Acknowledge Your Client, But Don’t Agree With Them

While it seems easier at first, agreeing with everything your client says can eventuate into a tough situation in the long run. Granted, it’s crucial to focus and understand everything your client is saying, but there will be moments of conflict where it is your responsibility to take control and handle it appropriately.

The successful pathway to accomplish this is to place the focus of the conversation on the resolution. Don’t make it about who is right and wrong or yourself versus your client: it’s about getting the best results, and if they understand that they will understand when you disagree with them, it is not at a personal vendetta. It’s because you know that it will not contribute to getting the desired outcome.

Be Very Specific

Difficult clients tend to be the ones that have legitimate concerns. These concerns can be troubling, frustrating, or confusing. This is why it’s important for both you and them to be very specific on what each of you mean. For example, if your client says “there’s nothing working”, you need to go into more detail to find out what areas of the business are not working. When helping to resolve their problem, you need to also be specific. As an example to the above suggestion: “If we place this strategy in place, it can help to get these areas of your business working again.”. If you need to, use measurable data along with graphs to show your client exactly what you mean.

Conclusion

When dealing with difficult clients in your accounting practice, it’s important to understand that they’re people too, and they may be going through different stages of conflict in their lives or business.

When dealing with difficult clients in your accounting practice, it is important to understand that they are people too. It is possible they may be in a stage of conflict in their personal life, or in another aspect of their business.

So, while there are times you are ready to fire up at your clients, it’s worthwhile to take a beat and invest in a calm, collected, and professional approach. Not only will this help you resolve the matter at hand, but lead the relationship you have with your client to brighter days.

Have you dealt with a difficult client lately?