What to Do When Clients Push Back on Your Process
Episode 681: Show Notes
Today, we’re cutting the small talk and diving right into part 2 of our conversation. That’s how important we deem this topic to be.
If you own a service-based business, there’s a high chance you’ve encountered a client who wants to change some aspect of your delivery. Usually, this comes up during the sales process, but occasionally it arises immediately after they’ve booked. Today, we’re talking about how to navigate this based on when and where they are wanting to customize the product, and how to handle it at each stage.
When clients feel that they can negotiate price, tinker with the scope, and haggle with you on the deliverables, what do you do? We’re here to help you navigate these complexities.
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How to Navigate a Customer who Negotiates Scope Before they Sign
First up, we’ve all interacted with a client who communicates objections to what you’re offering before signing on to your service. At this stage, what’s really critical is that you consider how much you, personally, are willing to customize what you’re offering.
It’s time to consider whether tweaking your product for this particular client would inhibit your efficiency in any way. Would it put you under undue time pressure? Would it reduce the resources you need to have available for something else? Would it impact the effort you have available to direct elsewhere? There are a lot of factors at play here, but it’s ultimately up to you if you want to bend to your client’s requirements.
Personally, we are offering a high touch experience and most of our offers are at a higher price point. Because of that, we are working with a smaller number of clients and we are able to make changes to our service delivery, as long as they are heavily noted, and taken into account from the very beginning. When someone is trying to negotiate delivery before signing the contract, it is up to you to actively capture this as you revise the contract, with ultra-clear communication with your client. It’s up to your comfort level to communicate pricing while a client is negotiating the scope of your offer, but communication is paramount to the process.
How to Navigate a Customer who Pushes back on the Process before they Sign
Sometimes, you’ll find a client who pushes back on the process you’ve outlined for them to go through to get the result that they want. Maybe there are strategy calls before they get any deliverables, maybe there are a limited number of revisions, and maybe there are assessments or forms that they need to fill out in order for you to do your job. Anything that a client is looking at and pushes back on, requires you to apply the skill of educating that potential client more than others in your ecosystem.
We see process as an opportunity to set boundaries with your client, early and often. We also want to reassure you that if you have that gut feeling that tells you that someone is going to be a tricky customer, you can totally raise the price. Consulting is part of the process. But you can only talk about time, deliverables, or communication guidelines. If you don’t have one of those things, it’s really hard to set scope. But what you can always do is determine the number of calls, where communication takes place, and what your turnaround will be. That’s where you set your boundaries while you’re establishing the process.
Understanding Where Client Resistance Comes From (They’re Not all Assholes!)
Along with setting boundaries, push-back presents the opportunity to educate clients about what it is that you offer. A conversation highlighting this lack of understanding often gives you the opportunity to share proven results from previous clients. It’s the perfect time to establish yourself as the expert and remind them why they need your expertise. Instead of assuming that the client is an asshole, it’s time to try to understand why they are bringing up their reservations, and why they’re doing it now.
Some of the ways we’ve set up processes might make a ton of sense to one potential client, and none at all to a client who is neurodivergent, or ADHD, or has limited time on their hands to understand what it is that you are offering. Often, a client just needs help to understand that tweaking the terms of the offer puts them at a disadvantage, and that’s where the educational piece comes in. We’ve had the experience before where we’ve assumed that a client is being difficult, but really they just needed an explanation from you to proceed in a constructive way. Sometimes, nothing needs to change. We can’t get mad when these things come up. We need to get curious.
How to Leverage Client Push-Back for Growth
If we continue to look at client objections as moments for curiosity, we can potentially evolve the process as we go. More often than not, a client bringing up their reservations is an opportunity to improve somewhere. Years of experience with clients have helped us to know how to add only what is necessary. We’ve learned to tweak our offer in ways that the client is not even aware of to accommodate their unique needs. For example, a client may be reluctant to fill out a form, but the information they can share with you over a call is much more beneficial to the process for that particular person. If that’s not something you’ve factored into your offer, you can always remove a deliverable somewhere else.
When you’ve had a really established system for a really long time, it might be time to reinvestigate and find out if someone truly is a pain in the ass who is perpetually frustrated, or if the situation is navigable. You get to decide what your breaking point is! That’s where your contract really protects you. Let’s quit assuming 75 steps down the road, seek out the question behind the question, and respond accordingly. Take a moment to walk away and reevaluate, and see how you feel on the other side.
These are not problems that are going to go away. These are situations you’ll continue to need to navigate. If someone is resistant to your process, we want you to get curious. Next, you need to decide if a scope change is needed, or if it’s an opportunity for process improvement you need to adjust internally. What would you change about the process in the future? What would you change about delivery? We want you to implement these changes the very next time you book your service.
If you want help figuring out what this looks like for your unique offering, book a call with Abbie today!
Quote This
Nine times out of ten, a client wanting to change the scope should change your price.
Highlights
How to Navigate a Customer who Negotiates Scope before they Sign [0:00:52.1]
How to Navigate a Customer who Pushes back on the Process before they Sign [0:04:44.1]
Understanding Where Client Resistance Comes From (They’re Not all Assholes!) [0:11:18.1]
How to Leverage Client Push Back for Growth [0:20:18.1]
Today’s Guest:
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:
Negotiation, Service Offering, Client Communication, Contracts
