Today we are going to talk about working with difficult VA clients, The ones that are … well, difficult. Challenging. Annoying. Whatever your word is for someone that drives you crazy.
Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today’s Quote: Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. – Bill Gates
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Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
It’s simple fact that you will eventually come up a challenging client. What we will cover today is what you need to learn from that client, and how to proceed moving forward if you get into the weeds with someone. Let’s go!
We love our VA clients don’t we!
Sure we do. they pay us to do stuff we love.
But in many cases these people that we decide to work with are brand new to us. we don’t know them from Adam, and so we have to get to know them through the work we do together.
And sometimes it goes well. We click. We communicate well. We work well together. Everything is great. If we have any issues, we sort them out easily.
But sometimes it doesn’t go well.
We struggle.
We don’t communicate well.
We don’t sort issues out easily.
So let’s talk about what to do when you have to deal with a difficult client.
Actually, first let’s figure out what we consider to be a difficult client.
A difficult client is:
One who micromanages your work.
One who doesn’t pay you on time.
One who pushes your boundaries.
One who does everything last minute.
One who communicates poorly.
One who treats you like an employee.
One who never sends you the work you need to do the work you need to do.
One who complains all the time.
One who thinks they know better than you.
That’s probably enough examples. You get the picture. It’s super frustrating to even go through that list.
These people exist though, and we need to learn how to deal with them.
I think the first thing I want to tell you is that none of this is okay.
Clients don’t get to do any of this to you or with you. Just because your clients are paying you, it doesn’t mean that they get to be difficult.
I’m totally team YOU here, but I’m about to tell you something that you might not like.
If you have difficult clients, it may not be them that is the problem (yep, so that means it could be you!)
So we will start there and then I’ll tell you how to fix any of these problems if you are having them.
Yes I am sorry, but you are a big part of the problem if you have a difficult client.
The reason is super simple: you teach people how to treat you.
If a client is treating you poorly, it is because you are letting them.
So the first thing we have to do is fix how you handle yourself in your VA business.
You are a business owner.
You own your business, and you get to make allllll of the decisions in it.
You get to decide your rates, services you offer (and services you don’t), communication methods, payment terms, lead times, scheduling … every little bit of it!
Clients get to decide all of those things for THEIR business.
Not yours. Theirs.
Do their clients tell them when they will pay them, or what the rate will be? Or how they will communicate with them?
No they do not!
I’ll give you an example to illustrate what I mean:
Can you imagine calling your dentist and saying I need to come in tomorrow at 1:30, and I need you to give me some full veneers, and I will only pay you $20.
Of course you can’t. You are contacting another business and booking their service.
You need to find out when they have time in their schedule, if they even offer the service you need, and then how much they charge for that service.
It is exactly the same for your VA clients. They need to find out all of those things from you.
May seem like a silly example, but it illustrates how you need to reframe your mindset around being a business owner in your own right, and how you need to change your thinking… especially if you have difficult clients.
This is why policies are sooo important to create starting out. Your clients need to understand that you call the shots and that they are hiring you to provide a service, but that there are expectations that need to be managed about how that happens on a daily basis.
Okay so let’s get into how to fix some of these issues if you are experiencing them.
Micromanagers – you are not their employee. They do not get to manage anything about what you do. They can tell you what needs doing, perhaps the way they would like it done, but then it is your responsibility to keep the task on track and keep the client up to date on status. Sometimes people micromanage because they aren’t sure the status of something. It is your responsibility to keep the client current so that they don’t need to micromanage. Provide regular updates or a place to get updates to make them feel better.
Late payers – switch them to prepayment. If you have not been paid, cease work immediately until you get paid. Once you have waited on payment, you will find it easier to ask new clients to prepay you. Don’t worry, you’ll get there at some point in your business. It will likely be after the first time someone pays you late. It’s a policy you need to set and hold. Of course this is about repeat offenders.
Boundary pushers – you set boundaries for a reason, office hours, communication methods, response times, lead times, etc. If your clients break any rules and getting away with it, that’s on you. If someone sends you a text, and that’s not a comment option, respond by your correct comm method. Bad habits form quickly when you let clients cross boundaries, so hold them any way you can.
Last minuters – the only way to get away from doing last minute work is simply don’t do rush work. if someone is supposed to give you xx days of lead times hold them to it. No rush fees, no ‘okay just this once’, it’s a no. Of course this would be after you send reminders for the proper lead time. Setting the client expectation that the work can not be completed at the last minute is a simple way to get them to handle stuff on time.
Crappy communicator- You may need to teach this one. If you are doing way too much back and forth because they can’t tell you what they need, Streamline your process (maybe a form or a checklist?). Or maybe they phone you every day instead of going through your project management system. Only do scheduled calls, and keep them very short and on topic. Spending your week on endless meetings isn’t a good use of your time, and will eat away at your time to do actual client work.
Boss employee guy – Quite simply you are not their employee. Don’t act like one.. Don’t respond like one. Make sure they know that you are not their employee. Every day.
Where’s the stuff – If you are constantly asking your clients to send you stuff and they don’t, walk away from. them. Seriously, you can’t care more about their business than they do. Get them to hire you for ongoing work that is essential, and then they will send you what they need to send you because it matters. I used to work with clients (business coaches was my niche) who were enrolled in a program with their own business coach – that meant that they had an agenda and a plan and I knew that they would value and prioritize the work they needed me to do. If you are always fighting or rushing last minute, stop caring so much until they do.
Complainers – Negativity sucks. If all your client does is complain about you, someone else, or themselves, cut ties. Especially if they complain about you and it is not founded.
Smart guy – Your clients are hiring you for your expertise. If they think they know better than you, you will continue to encounter challenges. Now I have been a great VA and I know a lot about how I think things should be done, but I trust VAs to do my work once I’ve said my piece. You need to help your clients feel confident and cared for, but at some point they have to accept that you know what you are doing. Like my housecleaner!
How’s that for getting help with difficult clients??
I think it is super important to get your difficult VA clients under control (or fired) as soon as you can.
Like Bill Gates says, your most unhappy clients should be the ones you learn the biggest lessons from. And trust me, if you have a client you consider to be a difficult one, they are not happy. You are not happy. It’s time to learn from them.
So learn, and adapt – and implement new rules and boundaries where you need to. Today!
If you started and got into some bad habits, correct them now. And be sure that any new clients you bring in are not being allowed to do any of this difficult stuff.
If you haven’t experienced any of this yet, create your policies for all of the above and make sure your clients know about it.
Change your policies, hold your boundaries, adjust your mindset and run your business.
Fire clients who don’t fit or who don’t adapt.
Your business will thank you, and it will flourish when you set and keep all the rules!!
Need Some Help?
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you – there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I’ll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I’ve helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I’d love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) – I bet it’s exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week, see you next time!