It happened to me over the last week or so. For all of us in sales it has happened before, it will happen again – a client isn’t happy. The details are really irrelevant – it doesn’t matter whose fault it is, what went wrong, or what exactly set them down this path – what matters is what you do once you realize that they are upset.
The first thing you should do is listen – hear out their problem. Find out exactly what their pain is with your product or service. Don’t say anything at all at first except to ask questions to clarify their pain. Show that you do care.
The next thing you should do is apologize – sincerely. Understand that they have problems with your product or service and that they are coming to you to fix them. Apologize, say that you understand their problem and want to make an effort to solve it.
The third thing you should do is apologize again. And make sure that you really do mean it.
From here you need to calm their fears. If you are a service provider, they are likely worried that you either aren’t going to be able to continue providing the service they need, or not provide it at the quality level they need. If this isn’t the case you need to tell them that, but more importantly show them that. Show them your commitment to making them happy.
You should explain to them what you are going to do to solve their problem. If there is nothing you can do, be very careful in how you tell them that there is nothing you can do. Don’t appear to be passing the buck or the problem off. If it is a third party problem, offer to conference call with that person so that you can be sure to hammer everything out.
You should never yell or swear. I know that seems like common sense but when a customer is carpet bombing you with F-bombs and calling you every name under the sun it can be difficult to remember. Those of you who have met me in real life know that I’m fond of the occasional expletive – it is a vicious challenge to bite them back when being attacked for something that is not my fault – but escalating their anger isn’t going to get you anywhere. Take whatever they can give you – let it roll off and be gone – at least until you hang up the phone.
Most important of all things is to own the mistakes that are your fault. If you screwed the pooch – be honest and take responsibility for it. If your team didn’t produce the way you sold it – take the responsibility for it and find out how to make it better. Be honest in this and own the problem. The client has a relationship with you above all else and it is your job to manage that and keep it in the right attitude.
Finally you need to remember that there are going to be times where you can’t win. You won’t be able to make them happy. You won’t be able to deliver as promised. You won’t be able to soothe their fears. You may even burn them as a client forever. These should be a minority of your cases, but they will happen. Learn from them. Learn what you did wrong whether it was directly (you actually did something) or indirectly (you didn’t see the signs from 3rd parties or the client themselves). Learn what word tracks and phrases either helped or harmed your situation. Learn that though this client may leave, there will be others – if you can learn from your mistakes.
