Suzanne Chadwick 0:00
Hey, lovely, welcome back to the podcast. awesome to have you here. Today, I feel like we're getting into a super juicy topic, which is all about client management and dealing with difficult situations. And the reason that I wanted to record this episode is because I have been running a number of master classes for other people's communities. And I feel like this is a really common question that comes up, I'm going to be honest, it comes up in my community as well. So I thought that I would answer a number of questions that I get around client management, that could help you as well. So I went just gonna dive straight into this episode, because I think it's so good. So the first thing that I get asked a lot of times is really understanding how to vet a client so that you know that they're the right client for you. Because I think that what happens is that when you're starting out in business, you know, if we go back to the three different levels of business that I've shared in the past, the first level is build and test. And I think that when you're at the build and test phase, you take on a lot of clients, because you're like, Yes, I'll work with anybody. That's so amazing. I'm gonna work with anybody. And so you take on a lot of clients. And in that process, you really learn who you like to work with, and who you don't like to work with? What are red flags? And what are things that you really don't want to have to deal with. When it comes to clients. And you know what it is they need or want, if it's not the right fit for you. So the first stage of right client management is actually thinking about the type of client that you want to work with. Now, you might need to work with a few clients before you get clear on that. So if you're at the start, I would really like you to think about, you know, what are the types of clients that I think I want to work with personality wise, the way in which they work? You know, what are like non negotiables? For me? And also, how do I want to work? Like, what are the boundaries that I want to set from the start? So, before you even get into all of, you know, the client management side of things, asking yourself some of those questions could potentially save you trouble in the future. And I feel like I've learned along the way, but I also feel like I learned a lot in my consulting days, when we would speak with a client. And we would ask a lot of questions around budget, the way that they work, who has sign off? You know, What's the timeframe? What are their expectations of us being really clear on contracts, things like that. So I had done this for a long time. And it felt like just something that was a continuation in my business as well. So no matter what kind of business you've got, I want you to ask yourself, what does good look like if this project if this client was to be a dream client, if things were to work really well? What would I want that to look like? How many calls would I want to have? How many touch points do I need? What else do I want to make sure that I'm getting from them? And how do I want them to be in the relationship as well? Now, obviously, you can't dictate all of that. But if you can put, you know, some guidelines around the way that you work, why you like to work like that, what your expectation is of the client as well, that I think that that's really important. So I was on a masterclass recently, and one of the students, one of the community members asked me, you know, when I work with clients, I really liked them to communicate a lot with me, I think it really helps me to deliver a better result to deliver that on the day. And I said to her, Do you feel like you explain all of that at the beginning of the relationship? Do you explain, listen, in order for me to give you the best result? These are all the things that I really need from you. Is that something that you think that you can do? Is that something that you're happy to commit to in order for us to have the best result on the day? And I think what happens when you get into issues around client management is that expectations have not been set, and they've not been communicated well. And there are a lot of client management issues where communication could have been the Savior of all of the issues that you might have down the track. So knowing what you want

by being very clear on them, like setting them out in writing, setting them out, when you're in a discovery call, explaining to your client, how it works, what they need to do, in order for this to work for them, and getting their verbal agreement and then providing it in writing. And then obviously continuing to reiterate that within the relationship as well, you know, as we agreed, we're going to have a call next week, we're going to book that in the diary, so that we can make sure that we get x done. And I think that you being the leader in the relationship, and this is such a key thing as well is that a lot of times, we feel like the client is the boss. And I almost want to take that language out of it. It's a partnership, it's a relationship. Now you are the expert in what you do, which is why they're paying you, which is why they're coming to you. So I also think that we as service providers need to step up and be the leader, because we understand what's required in order for the client to get the best result. So not only do you need to know what you want, and how you want to work, you need to communicate it verbally and in writing, as well as leading the project and helping the client through it, you're leading them through it, they're not leading you because they don't know what good looks like potentially when it comes to what it is that you do. So if I just let my client lead the way, I don't really know how far we would get. Whereas once I understand what we're trying to achieve, then I can create the roadmap for us to get there and make sure that we're on calls every fortnight I get my clients to book into their calls every fortnight. Yeah, I mark out their action steps. And I say to them, Come back to me if you've got any questions on this, if you need help with it, let me know. And then we go back and we track where they're at, so that I am leading them as their business coach to achieve the goals that they have said that they want. So that's the first bit is all of the communication and setting expectations. And knowing what you want. Now, within that before you even get into the relationship, one of the things that I've developed for myself is whether it's consulting, or speaking, or coaching is that when you book a discovery call with me, I asked a set of questions. So I asked questions like, you know, what's their business website address their social handles? What do you need support with right now in your business that I might be able to help you with? This is a really important one. How have you tried business coaching before? What was your experience and results? I'll come back to it in just a second. I also asked Why have you decided to look for help right now. So is there something happening? And why is now the catalyst or the time for them to make that change? If you are looking for business coaching, and you're happy to share, what's your revenue level? And then I'm also asking what goals do you have for the next three, six and 12 months? What do you want to get out of the coaching relationship? Are you ready to take action on this? If this is a good fit right now, so you're ready to make a decision? And then if there's anything else they want to share with me, then they can now I want to come back to what do you need support with right now. Now, if somebody comes to me, and they're like, I need to make $100,000 in the next month, or in the next two weeks or something like that, then I'm probably not even going to get on the Discovery call with them. I'm just going to get back to them and say I don't think that's something that I can help you with. Because to me, that's not a realistic goal. Now, obviously, I'm going to read through the rest of it to make sure that they're not like we're already making, you know, $80,000 a month, and we're now wanting to go to add $1,000 a month. So I would definitely look at that and make sure. But when I asked the question, have you tried business coaching before? And what was your experience and results? This is always a really interesting one for me. Because if I get somebody that's like, yes, I've tried like five business coaches before and none of them have been able to help me. And none of them ever helped me get results to me that I've got a lot of questions around it. So having the questionnaire before I even get on a coaching call helps me to know what it is that I want to delve deeper into, to understand to make sure that this client is an action taker. Remember, we talked about naming and claiming our audience, make sure that this client is an action taker. There's somebody who takes responsibility for what it is they're wanting to do. You know, they're clear on what the outcomes are that they

want, etc. So that tells me a lot me asking them what their revenue level is also tells me whether they have some understanding of what their revenue and their profit It is, where they're at and how I might be able to help. And also, then what are your goals for next three, six or 12 months? So what is it that they're really wanting to do longer term? And how can I help them? And can I help them? And I have to say that this is the first year that I have probably said no, to a number of clients, because I'm like, I just don't think based on what you've told me, that I can help you to achieve those goals. Now, either, I felt the goal was not realistic, the client was not willing to do the work in order to get the outcome that they wanted. Otherwise, there was like a communication issue or things like that. So there was something there where I'm like, I don't think that this is a bit. And I think sometimes we're really scared to say no to clients. And I know that when I was doing the masterclass and coaching call in somebody else's community recently, one of the things that somebody said, I'm really grateful for inquiries. And so I don't want to say no to people, because I feel like, what if they talk or, etc, but I just said to her, but what if you take somebody on that, you know, is potentially not going to be great, and you have a bad experience with them, you've got to fire them halfway through? Is that something that you want them to be talking about? Instead, I think being really upfront, like if I was to enquire with a service provider, and they were to say to me, Suze, listen, based on what you want your timeframes, your budget, etc, I don't think we're the right people to help you. But listen, here's maybe a couple of other referrals where you could go have a chat with them, I would be really grateful for that. Because I don't want somebody to take me on who doesn't think that they can help me. So I just want you to think about that. What is your vetting process? So that you're asking meaningful questions, and I want to reiterate that, so that you're asking meaningful questions, that's actually going to help you to decide whether this is the right client for you or not. So that's like, the first thing this is even before you started working with somebody, yeah, this is the whole understanding what it is you want, how it's going to work, how you want to communicate, if they're the right client, etc. Now, if you end up in a relationship in a client relationship, where after you started working together, it's not right. I really want you to think about that. Now, like, if that hasn't happened to you, amazing, but I do want you to start thinking about it. Now. If that was to happen, what would you do? Is there anything in your contracts at the moment that cover you for that? Is there anything around cancellation, so there should be some sort of refund and cancellation policy in your contracts, so that you, it's very clear, and you can obviously communicate with that with them as well, at the beginning of the relationship, and make sure that the contract signed, you've got a copy, etc. But if you get to that point, then I think it is about being prepared. So somebody else on the call was saying I started working with a client. And then within a very short period of time, I realized they were not the kind of client that I really wanted to work with. And I didn't really know how to get out of it. So I just said to her, if in that case, you get to that point, then you could say to them, listen, I'd really like to have a conversation. These are some of the things that are really important to me when I work with clients. And I feel like I didn't realize at the beginning of our relationship, that that was not the case, whatever it is. And so I don't think that this is the right fit. And I don't want to, you know, continue to deliver this service, if I don't think that I'm going to be able to give you the outcome that you want. And this is not the right fit for us. Now, you will have to work out how you want to say that. But I really want you to think about it prior to it happening. Because what happens is that when we don't know how we want to get out of a situation, then we don't either get out of this situation and we tolerate it and we put up with it. And we are in a situation that we don't want to be in. Otherwise, we kind of fluff it up because we're not prepared. So number one, make sure you know what your cancellation and refund policies are. Number two, if you need to break contract with a client, at some point during the engagement, what is your approach going to be write it out? You could potentially have a conversation with them. You could then send them an email and then you can like close close the relationship. Yeah. Now the other thing you've got to take a look at and have a think about which hopefully you've got in a refund policy is if you've not started working together, are you giving them the deposit back if you have started working together? Are you You know, getting paid for what you've done. But then obviously not invoicing for the rest or giving partial refund, etc. So that's another thing you've got to work out, like whether you've got invoicing, add a third, a third, a third or something like that. So just think through it so that you feel confident and prepared should something go wrong. The next thing that I really want to talk about is clients who want more than what you have said that you will deliver. And I think once again, this is a communication thing. So one of the things that we're used to doing consulting, and I've also done in my own business is at the beginning, we say that the quote, for the work is to cover all of these things. Now, if you want, if we go over time, if you need additional sessions, if you need x, y, and Zed, and this is because you're you're experienced and you know what else clients might want and ask for that could be scope creep. So beyond the scope of what the original agreement was, then you can front load that where you say, sometimes like, this is what we've agreed. But sometimes if clients need additional things, I just want to give you the pricing for that. Because it's really important that obviously, you know, we don't end up doing a whole lot of unpaid work that is not part of the project as agreed. And I think that's sometimes when you are willing to have that conversation, which can be a hard conversation. Sometimes it kind of lets the client know that you're kind of not somebody who can be walked all over. But you know what's going on, you know how to manage a client, you know how to scope a project. And they know that if they need additional work done, that it will be charged at x rayed. So that can really help in future situations where that might happen. So just pre empting, that is really important, too. And the last thing that I just want to say about client management and working with clients that you really love. And I have to say, and I've said it before, I have clients where I'm just like, you are awesome, I want 100 of you, if you can name and claim your audience, you're gonna have a lot less of the clients that are not right for you coming to you. So if you're like, I work with action takers, I work with people who want to build a personal brand, I work with people who want to be visible, and they're willing to kind of suck at something before they get good at it, like they're willing to take risks, then amazing, like, let's go, let's work together, let's get your business organized, let's build your brand. Let's take a look at your money. And let's get you profitable and paying yourself. And so if I get somebody that comes to me, they're like, Yeah, I don't want to do anything, but I want to get leads, I don't want to show up, but I want to get leads, then they're not the client for me. So I think also getting super clear on who you're for and who you're not for. That's like your first filter. You know, you've got that first filter where you talk about your ideal client, why you love working with those people, what results your clients get, and you know, the things that they might have overcome and what you value, what are your values, and what is the method in the way that you work. I think that really sets you up for success. Because then people who are not into any of that, they're not going to come to you and expect you to help them if you're like arm. I've talked about everything that I work with my clients on. And that's not what you're wanting. So I'm not the right person for you. But then I might refer them to somebody else who I think might be a better fit for them. So that's almost like number one. So number one is name and claim your audience so that you filter people before they even come to you. The next thing is really making sure that you're really clear on what you want, how you want to work, your boundaries, and the way in which you want a client relationship to work as well. The next thing is your vetting. So making sure that you know, as people come into your business, you're asking them questions that matter, questions of substance that are going to help you to make a really great decision as well. And then the law and then also being able to manage difficult situations too. So when you get into a difficult situation, how are you going to manage it? And I just want to give a shout out to TM solicitors Tracy

Tracy has written some of my contracts. She's helped me with a dispute in the past. And so having somebody legally in your corner should things go wrong, is just a huge weight off your shoulders as well where you've got somebody who's guiding you through it, who understands how it all works, that can advise you as well. I think is really, really really worth it. So have all of those things in place and hopefully then you'll never be in a situation that says situation you don't want to be in. So those are some of my thoughts, my advice, my experience on client management and I hope that it's been really helpful for you if you've got any questions, just DM me at Suzanne Chadwick and let me know if this has been helpful, then let me know as well because it's actually a topic that I really love to talk about because I think that when you set your business up well, to work with clients who you're like, I want 100 of those types of clients. It just makes it so much more fun and so much more enjoyable to work with the clients that come your way

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