This is all about repairing client relationships. Sometimes things happen. Projects go awry despite our best efforts, deadlines get missed, and goals get sidetracked! When you are doing work for a client and things go sour, all is not lost. You can still take action to repair client relationships. In this post we’ll talk about steps you can take to get your client relationships back on track.
“Building and repairing relationships are long-term investments.”
Stephen Covey
Five Things You Can Do To Repair Client Relationships
Whether you are just getting started in business or you are a seasoned professional, the five things listed below will help you mend damaged client relationships. When a project goes wrong it doesn’t have to be the end of the world. Rest assured that you, too, can fix and maintain the positive client relationships that benefit your business. After all, is said and done, a good client relationship leads to more work! It will lead to another project, a referral to more work, or in some cases it may lead to a job opportunity.
Here’s what you can do:
- Listen to Assess
- Own Your Mistakes
- Share a Clear Plan to Resolve a Conflict
- Consistent Communication Two Ways
- Focus on Positives to Mitigate Weaknesses
Listen to Assess
When a client relationship has a conflict or feels like it’s heading sideways, your intuition should urge you to get more involved and start a dialogue with everyone involved.
Listen first to understand! One of Covey’s principles, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” is at the core of this phase. Ask open-ended questions to uncover what caused the conflict. More often than not, there was a miscommunication about a process or detail that led to frustration.
Listen carefully to what everyone has to say, then take action to get things back on the right track!
Own Your Mistakes
So you’re ready to take action. What should that be? Well, the first action you need to take is to own the situation. If you or your people were at fault, then it’s time to take responsibility and create a positive conversation on how to move forward. If you feel the client was at fault, then having an open dialogue around how to get things back on track without blaming is the proper way to repair the relationship.
HOWEVER! If the client relationship is going sideways because of disrespect, then we are talking about a different kind of “owning.” For example, if your team member is belittled or openly discriminated against then it’s your job to “Own the Situation!”
This is how I handle issues: If there was an error in the work, I apologize and plan for the future. If there was egregious mistreatment of people in the workplace, then it is my responsibility to create a critical conversation around working in a global society. This may involve side conversations about race, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, etc. I ultimately want everyone I work with to treat each other with respect and dignity at all times.
No one should be called names or disempowered in the name of work and profit!
Therefore, I take it upon myself to own the mistakes of others even if they are not my own in the interest of creating a positive work environment.
Share a Clear Plan to Resolve a Conflict
Once you have listened to uncover the problem and owned the mistakes, you need to share a clear plan to resolve the situation.
If there is a conflict between two people, side conversations hopefully have led you to a place where everyone can work together. If side conversations fail, perhaps you as the team leader and the client’s team leader can change up the team configuration. If the conflict is between you and the other project manager on the client’s side, well then we are now getting into the thick of it!
Have an open conversation about how to move forward, and layout some ideas on how to make things better. I suggest doing this with an agenda and a living document.
On the meeting agenda, list the five parts of your plan:
- Affirmations for what’s good
- Review of the current state of things
- How we will move forward
- When we will check in on things
- Milestones to evaluate progress
This living resolution document can simply be a modified version of your project timeline. I create a separate tab to list the goals and objectives for resolving the conflict. I come back to this to help me prepare for each meeting. If there is progress toward the goal, I celebrate it. If there are struggles, I quickly review the plan and take five minutes in the meeting to review how we can get back on track.
Consistent Communication Two Ways
Consistent communication is a hallmark of good client relationships. When things are rocky, communication is even more important. You should have a regular meeting schedule. I would also add an email or a phone call to the mix.
Related Posts on Establishing and Maintaining Good Client Relationships
Five Things You Can Do To Maintain Good Client Relationships
Five Things You Should Do in Your First (and Every Other) Client Meeting
When there are issues, I suggest following up with a personal phone call. If the matter is mostly resolved after the initial plan, then an extra email with a recap and a positive message may suffice. This is a bit of a judgment call and will depend on the situation
The rule of thumb should be consistent communication in two ways. I always let my clients know that they are valued by communicating consistently. However, when times are rocky I will send a text or an extra email to keep in touch. Once the plan starts working, stay in touch. Call a day or so after progress and say something like this, “Hey [client first name] I wanted to chat a bit about how things are going. How are you?”
Build the relationship by asking open-ended questions and listening.
After the phone call, send an email that affirms what took place on the phone call. For example, you may say, “Thank you for the quick call the other day. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me about how we are getting things accomplished.”
Focus on Positives to Mitigate Weaknesses
My final recommendation to repair client relationships is to focus on the good things. If you are following through on the share and repair plan, there will be things you can point out. Look for kindness and affirm it out loud on a call or quote it in an email. Here are a couple of examples:
“Thank you for getting the feedback to us on time, sometimes even early! By doing so, you have helped us speed up the process and get us closer to wrapping up the project sooner than expected.”
“I’m so glad we’ve made progress after the rocky patch we had. I appreciate everyone on this call working toward a resolution. We are fully back on track and it’s because we worked things out! Well done y’all.”
“Hey everyone I want to take a moment to thank you for working through our recent rough patch. It’s not always easy to work in teams on projects, but you all showed us that we can get it done by focusing on our collective goals. We are on schedule to knock this out! Thank you!”
Summary
Having a process for when projects go wrong will help you stride confidently into successful client relationships. Luckily, this post has given you just that. First, you want to listen. You can’t fix things if you don’t know what is really going on. Then, own your mistakes. This part can hurt those of us with fragile egos, but it is worth it. Owning your mistakes goes a long way in building trust with clients. After owning your mistakes, it’s time to share a plan to resolve the conflict. The plan should be a living document with a clear agenda shared by you and the client – this way, everyone is on the same page about what needs to happen. As you work on the plan, stay in consistent communication with the client via two channels. Phone and email work great, and texting is a nice touch in the right situation as well. Finally, as your plan comes together and maybe even draws to a close, make sure to focus on the positives. Call out what each side is doing well so you can come together to celebrate another successful project completed despite difficult beginnings.
Helpful Links
The “Scientific” Method – The More You Learn – VIDEO
Trained to Learn – The More You Learn – VIDEO
Why Hire an Instructional Designer? – VIDEO
Types of Freelance Clients by ID Lance
How to Use Vimeo Review to Improve Your Learning Video
How do you know when you’ve learned something? – VIDEO
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