Difficult clients can make managing business feel like war. When tensions rise it can strain communication and make room for distrust to creep in. While it’s normal for disputes to rise every once in a while, it isn’t acceptable for clients to be continuously unhappy with your services.
If this is a situation that you find yourself in, it begs a few questions. First, are you performing the services they agreed to at a high level of quality? If the quality of work isn’t the issue, then perhaps there is a misunderstanding between the services you offer versus what the client thought you would provide them.
Next, if the issue isn’t the quality of work, the client might be instigating arguments for the sake of establishing power in the arrangement. This is where you need to dictate the kind of business person you are. Are you going to stoop to the clients level, or are you going to calmly explain to them the standard of your business practices? How you handle their behavior will be very telling of the relationship going forward.
At the end of the day, it is up to you to decide how much a difficult client is worth to you. If they signed a large contract with you, then maybe you are stuck with their attitude for a while. But, remember there is always another option, even if it isn’t always obvious.
