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difficulty managing expectations with unreasonable clients
Let me preface this by saying that I LOVE what I do. I really do. I have a very fulfulling job 3 days per week and do the same thing on a consulting basis outside of work for private clients. I really find meaning in my work and I know that I am making a difference in lives, plus it pays very well and has flexibility. I do not want to leave this field and 99% of the time it makes me very happy. I have had my share of jobs that I have hated, so I am well aware of how fortunate I am.
However, I am finding it more and more difficult to deal with some of my private clients who are simply unreasonable in their expectations. I don't want to say exactly what line of work this is, but an almost perfect comparison is a real estate agent. They want to sell their home that they believe is worth $500k, but it's really worth $250k. Any attempts, no matter how gently, to suggest that the home is not worth $500k are met with an aggressive and defensive "you're wrong" attitude. I can show data until I am blue in the face that would make it very clear to any reasonable person that there is no way in h*** the home is worth $500k... but "their home is special.." so I'm "wrong."
Also, the only main difference between my work and this real estate agent scenario is that I do not work on commission. So, I truly have NOTHING to gain by lowballing them, or anything like that. It's not like I am sitting here saying, oh, let's sell the house for less than it is worth so I can finish my job quicker and do less work (the Freakonomics real estate agent theory). I will be doing the exact same amount of work because they won't find out if my job was successful or not until a few months after the work was completed, and I will be paid the same. However, unrealistic expectations could cause a major problem for these clients down the line, and I'm sure I will somehow get blamed for that. Plus, this work is often referral based and if the end result is poor, that could really hurt my business.
So.. what do I do? Do I not take these unrealistic people on as clients, even though I need the money and believe I could really help them if they just followed my advice? If I did that, my business would grow so much more slowly because SO many of my clients are like this! Do I lie to them and keep my mouth shut when I know they are making a big mistake (this seems totally unethical considering I am being paid to give them advice)? Does anyone have any better way to handle this situation?
Started TTC, 11/10
Excision via Lap (60% of ovary removed), 5/11
IVF #1, 8/11 C/P
Surprise BFP, 9/6/11!
Betas, 179/307/1160
Heartbeat of 111, 9/26/11
Heartbeat of 176, 10/12/11
Confirmed GIRL!!!! 11/25/11
Re: difficulty managing expectations with unreasonable clients
Have you told them that you don't work on commission, so you have nothing to gain by lowballing?
Is there a 3rd party involved to give objective data?
Our little Irish rose came to us on March 5, 2010
Don't drink the water.
Disclaimer: I am not an MD. Please don't PM me with pregnancy-related questions. Ask your doctor.
I hate to say it, but yes.
If you explain to them the scenario (e.g., your house will not sell for more than $250K), they complain, then tell them perhaps you're not the right consultant for them.
They'll probably balk at that - but then they might see it your way, or not -- which means they won't take your advice and it might not be bad to see them go.
Not all clients are clients worth having. And really - are these difficult ones the ones that are going to grow your business with word of mouth? I would wager to say they'll do the opposite. Whereas if you decline the job, they can't say anything except scoff that you dared say you weren't the right person to help them. Which I don't think is at all terrible.
(FWIW I work for a consulting firm and deal with unreasonable clients all the time.)
74 books read in 2011
Thanks for the input
They know that I do not work on commission - again, kind of a hard thing to explain here but it is very evident in the actual situation. They also know that I have nothing to lose. (I just pointed that out so you guys would have a better understanding of the situation - the clients definitely understand that and have never suggested otherwise). They simply think that I am underestimating the value of their "house" and am just plain misguided/wrong. Sort of a situation where there is so much personal involvement, they think "how dare you underestimate how great our precious.. 'house' is". The only third party involved in these situations is generally involved before I come along, and almost always have given the clients similar feedback. Part of the reason they come to me is because I can do things that person cannot, but changing reality is not one of those things. Sorry to be so vague.
I think katarcyzna may be right that all clients are not worth taking. The problem is just that in my field, by nature of having hired me, these people are not going to be your mainstream average easygoing people. 90% of them are going to behave degree of this, but many are better than others. I just wish I could deal with the difficulty better, like if there was some magic action I could take,but that is not a reality
Started TTC, 11/10
Excision via Lap (60% of ovary removed), 5/11
IVF #1, 8/11 C/P
Surprise BFP, 9/6/11!
Betas, 179/307/1160
Heartbeat of 111, 9/26/11
Heartbeat of 176, 10/12/11
Confirmed GIRL!!!! 11/25/11
I know where you're coming from to some degree -- I also have my share of difficult clients. Our situation is different and not related to money, but generally have totally unrealistic expectations and demands.
I really do sympathize. Maybe someone else can give suggestions how to better deal with them -- but I've never been successful with the real sticklers.
Part of it is communicating difficult messages - maybe brushing up on that would help? But it's not a cure-all.
74 books read in 2011
My company deals with this on a regular basis, except they're dealing with large companies and you never know who you're going to get on their team that you'll have to deal with on a regular basis. We've had everything from a guy who's so anal he wouldn't let us get anything done, to a group that wanted to proof every step in our process (but wanted all projects turned around within hours), to people so disorganized that we had to be their keeper.
Fortunately I worked on a great team and we just knew it was the nature of the beast. We tried our best to manage expectations up front so no one got burned. It's hard, and I never got the hang of it.
Our little Irish rose came to us on March 5, 2010
Don't drink the water.
Disclaimer: I am not an MD. Please don't PM me with pregnancy-related questions. Ask your doctor.
YES YES and YES from another consultant.
One client in particular comes to mind. He stated that he called me because he wanted someone with specialized knowledge and expertise. Turns out I was the third person he called, but the first two had no specialized expertise and therefore couldn't help him, but he had to pay them anyway and now he was crunched for time and low on money. Not my fault he tried to save $ and hired underqualified people. He kept trying to talk me down in price while insisting I do more work for him, and balked at my contract. Sorry, no contract, no service.
While I'm not in the consulting business, I deal with my share of unreasonable clients and I've just learned that it comes with the territory when you work with the public. From people who are DEMANDING and expect what they want at the drop of the hat, to those who don't understand why they owe $10,000 in taxes instead of getting a $3,000 refund...it can be very frustrating. Sometimes people fail to realize that they're not your only client or that a quality product (i.e. accurate financial statements & tax returns) take time. Believe it or not, people shop for tax advice and once the realize a CPA won't "make the numbers work" (after wasting days of their time) they'll move on to find someone who will.
I think it is just the nature of the beast and something that professional people have to deal with. My boss always says "smile to their face, be kind on the phone, and speak your mind when you're alone." In the fees we charge, we add in what we refer to as the "aggravation factor" and if the difficult person shells out the extra dough we unknowingly charge them for being annoying, we'll gladly still deal with them. If not, the problem takes care of itself.
Part of being a consultant is to NOT make the final decision. It's your job to not get emotionally attached to the success of the project but to provide an unbiased opinion. It's not your decision to make, and it's not your repercussions to deal with. There are probably other motivating factors besides your insight and advice. Give them the advice that they're looking for, tell them they're about to make a mistake, and then let them make the mistake if they choose not to accept the advice that they're paying for. Your protection is your contract with your client-make sure you don't take on the decision-making responsibility.