Experiencing hiccups with a client can be a nerve-wracking experience for even those who have nerves of steel. Most times, some sort of conflict can be healthy for your relationship though, as discussed in Chapter 15. How you respond to these issues can really make or break things (hopefully not literally). Keep reading on to discover how to navigate tumultuous waters with your client.

What to Watch out For

*cue cheesy infomercial* Is your client cutting you sideways glances? Throwing shade at random moments? Giving you the cold shoulder? Stakeholders not returning your calls? Does it feel like someone’s broken up with you?

You have a case of the client blues. It can happen to the best of us for a multitude of reasons, including mistakes you’ve made to things completely outside of your control. Though, nothing’s worse than the client falling to pieces because things have gone awry and you’re oblivious to it all.

Do a gut check. If any client interactions have made you feel uncomfortable, or you’ve left a discussion wondering if everything’s okay, or even if something tiny seems off, don’t ignore those warning signs. Sure, it’s much easier to pretend that nothing is wrong, but it’ll be much more beneficial for your team and client if it gets addressed and soon.

Responding to the Issue

Freelancing for Dummies encourages freelancers/consultants to do whatever is necessary to bring your client relationship back on the mend and to get client satisfaction back to a good spot. This is especially true for a client that you’d like to keep, and equally as true for a client you’d desperately like to ‘fire’. Ending a client relationship on a sour note, no matter the intentions or reasons, can cause a reciprocal bad opinion of you and your group mates and word gets around quickly!

Whether the issue arose because of a mistake your team made or a client faux pas, deal with the problem straightaway once you discover it. Problems typically don’t resolve themselves and it’ll be your responsibility as professional consultants to address the issues head-on and make attempts to smooth things over.

Before you take things up with your client, have a general understanding of what caused the issue. If it’s something that requires some digging, start by discussing it amongst your team to come up with possible triggers. You can also try connecting with other stakeholders (ex- secondary contact) who aren’t part of the issue but may know what caused it. It might also just require that you speak directly with the ‘culprit’ to get some answers.

Then, request a meeting with your client and tell them you’ve noticed things have been a bit off and your team hopes to talk it through with them in person. It takes a lot of guts to request this sort of meeting and knowing that it’ll be done face-to-face is especially scary since you can’t hide behind a screen, but it’ll be so worth it. Be flexible, but insistent. You may get initial pushback with a barrage of excuses like, “Oh, my calendar’s full” or “I didn’t even know there was an issue”, but sweeping the problem under the carpet won’t do anyone any favours. If you’re met with excuses to not meet or discuss, let your client know that it’ll be really important to you to chat and that your team is willing swing by whenever there’s a small pocket of time (over the next week) to work things out.

When the discussion does finally happen, it should give your client just as much opportunity to share thoughts as it does for your team. This meeting isn’t just about you. It’s about both sides coming to an amicable solution so that you can move forward. This meeting is not a platform for your team to round off a bunch of issues you’re having. It should be a discussion with things like, “We’ve noticed that you do xyz when we try to abc” and “We think a better way to navigate through things like that might be pqr.” In other words, don’t just bring the issues, bring up possible solutions as well. If it’s something you or a teammate has done wrong, own it, apologize, and explain how things will be done better next time.

Freelancing for Dummies^[1] has an excellent 6-point list for turning client complaints into compliments:

1. Don’t be defensive. Listen. Keep your focus on the client’s need
2. Apologize. [Do the very Canadian thing of] apologizing even if you didn’t do anything wrong. Actually say the words, “We’re sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you.”
3. Look for solutions. Collaborate with the client on finding suitable solutions.
4. Take action right away. The sooner the issue is resolved, the sooner that awkward tension can be avoided and the sooner everyone can move forward.
5. Follow up. Ask the client if they are happy with the solution and how things have been going.
6. Send a note of appreciation. Let your client know how much you appreciate their business.

Other Things to Consider

What about when your client is suggesting something or pushing you in a direction that isn’t quite right? How do you professionally tell your client they’re wrong? Before you lash out with a resounding ‘no’, take some time to consider if the client is actually wrong. Just because you might not agree with the client’s suggestion, doesn’t necessarily mean that what’s being proposed isn’t right for the project.

Start by determining what the reason or business case for the request is. This may help to give you information that you weren’t already aware of. Knowing the reason behind the ask will also give you better context and will hopefully allow you to be better positioned to offer beneficial alternative solutions for the project’s end goal.

When it comes down to it, if the client is giving you a nonsensical request that makes you want to bang your head against the wall and should “why?” repeatedly, there is a right way to tell your client that they are wrong:

• Understand the reason behind the request. Blurting out, “It won’t work!” will get you nowhere fast. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and telling someone that they’re flat out wrong is offensive. Instead, ask how they think the suggestion will benefit their business and always bring it back to the previously defined project key process indicators.
• Suggest alternatives. Your client wants to feel like they’re in control. When you shut down their suggestion, pride can get the better of them and they may feel they’ve lost control in a way. Offer a few alternatives that will benefit both your team and the client and ask your stakeholder to choose one. Giving your client the opportunity to choose will allow them to feel like they still have a say in how the project goes.
• Don’t make rash decisions. It might be tempting to do so especially when you feel you are under pressure. To make sure that whatever decision you are going to make won’t negatively affect your Capstone project, tell your client that you need to consult with your course instructor about the request and let them know when they can expect a response.
• Don’t send a long email. People are already inundated with emails as it is and when they receive a long (and probably heartfelt) one, it becomes a daunting, unapproachable task to respond. Talk things out in person or via messaging channels (ex- Slack, Campfire, etc.) to sort things out quickly.
• Give honest, constructive feedback.
• After you have consulted with your course instructor and group members, work internally to  come up with the response that you all are confident in and comfortable with. Then convey that response to your client professionally. There’s no sense skirting the issue or letting your client think that you’re giving serious consideration to irrelevant or even detrimental requests. Let your client know why what they’re asking for won’t work and what the implications could be if their suggestion is implemented.
• Back your advice up with evidence. Who can argue with hard evidence? Showing your client the right analytics or research can help to change their mind.
• Offer alternatives. Your client wants to feel like they’re in control. When you shut down their suggestion, pride can get the better of them and they may feel they’ve lost control in a way. Offer a few alternatives that will benefit both your team and the client and ask your stakeholder to choose one. Giving your client the opportunity to choose will allow them to feel like they still have a say in how the project goes.

Some Examples

Client Engagement Wanes

Quite a bit of time was spent in Chapter 14 on the importance of maintaining client engagement. Yes indeed, you need to remain proactive about upkeeping client engagement, but what do you when, in spite of your best efforts, the client doesn’t … well … seem to be that interested any more? There are a few things you can do:

1) First, have a chat with the main stakeholder. Don’t delay any issues. If you feel the client has become non-responsive, indifferent, or dissatisfied, take action. You can connect with your client directly to follow the suggestions in this point, or if your team is feeling uneasy about it, loop in your instructor to get their assistance.

You don’t want to be perceived as a pest, but if you haven’t heard back within 2-3 days, then follow-up. If you’re not getting enough traction, pick up the phone and say, “Just want to make sure you saw our last email. Is there a time we can chat about this?”. Of course, you want to be courteous and professional, but let them know the risks/impacts of not getting a response by saying things like, “this is why I need to hear back from you by Friday.”

What do you do if your client is constantly late or canceling last-minute? Have a conversation with the stakeholder to talk about why the meetings are important. Ask if there is another channel that can be used and come up with something together. Also, explain to your client that your team is earnestly trying to meet their business objectives. Tell them that in order to do that effectively, you need their time and the opportunity to work together.

If your client is suddenly being unresponsive, meet with them. Determine if anything has changed and if it has, tell your client that you’d like to get back to that good place. If client isn’t responsive and it’s impacting your ability to deliver, lay out the risks and impacts in terms of not being able to complete your deliverables and how that will affect their business objectives. Then, have an open and honest conversation about how you might work differently together to get the traction that’s needed. It may seem like a tough and uncomfortable conversation, but use this opportunity within the context of your school project to develop communication and negotiation skills that you’ll need throughout your career.

2) Consult with your instructor. During this consultation you and the instructor can come up with a course of action for your team to pursue. There have been countless occasions when the client becoming more responsive once the instructor has gotten involved.

3) Ask your instructor to take the lead. If your team feels that the issue is far beyond your reach and you’re in need of a life raft, you can always approach your instructor to ask them to have the necessary conversations with the client on your behalf. Your instructor is there to support and guide you, so it’ll be important to notify them right when the problem occurs and keep them updated on your progress.

Losing Your Client

Losing your client is probably the most unfortunate situation that can happen during your Capstone project. Your client can drop out of the race for a number of different reasons, including:

• Organizational problems (restructuring, role changes,  etc.)
• Budget problems (departmental cuts, can no longer dedicate human resources to your project)
• Political problems (conflict of interest, priority shift due to company changes, etc.)
• Performance problems in very rare cases (not delivering to client’s expectations, making a very costly error, etc.)
• Personal issues. Recently, one member dropped out of the course, and since he found the client, the client withdrew from the project.

When stuff like this happens, it’s a disappointment for everyone involved and, understandably, a cause for crocodile tears. If it ever does happen, don’t be discouraged – there’s still hope. If you’re ever faced with this situation, loop in your course instructor right away. Let that support person know what’s happened with a concise summary. Next, come up with an action plan together. This action plan will most certainly involve you all meeting with the client to chat about the issues (or what brought you to this point) and possible solutions. If your client is still insistent on dropping out for whatever reason, your professor will be responsible for determining a final solution for your team to move forward.

During this process, it’ll be important to keep in mind the following Do’s and Don’ts as suggested by Freelancing for Dummies: