Scripts and advice for speaking with clients
January 30, 2018 10:45 AM Subscribe
My standard style tends to be blunt and informational, and I can tell it's just not going to fly with some of my clients. I'm the rare female that dodged being socialized for people pleasing AND I'm currently in a very stereotypically maternal field so I'm getting double the side-eye.
I'm looking for scripts when speaking with clients in a variety of situations, especially when they have asked for services that are wildly inappropriate (of the "I am paying for a teapot to be picked up, but I expect a Mercedes to be hand delivered" variety), people who pointedly comment that it is "so expensive" and then stiffly wait for a reply and are clearly angling for the price to be dropped (it's not expensive at all, I've done price checking with competition. Pointing that out does not create desired results), and just general wording that is more friendly and polite, but also strictly professional (I've had a few clients try to twist our interactions into a therapy session, it's common enough that it drove a peer out of the business).
Both for e-mail and for in person. I can usually handle things smoothly if I have a few moments to prepare, but I tend to freeze when sudden demands are made and revert to being blunt in a "I'm sorry, that won't be possible." way that noticeably annoys clients. Articles and podcasts about customer service in this vein would be great too.
The advice in this post: https://ask.metafilter.com/318422/Am-I-rude-on-the-phone
was very helpful.
I'm looking for scripts when speaking with clients in a variety of situations, especially when they have asked for services that are wildly inappropriate (of the "I am paying for a teapot to be picked up, but I expect a Mercedes to be hand delivered" variety), people who pointedly comment that it is "so expensive" and then stiffly wait for a reply and are clearly angling for the price to be dropped (it's not expensive at all, I've done price checking with competition. Pointing that out does not create desired results), and just general wording that is more friendly and polite, but also strictly professional (I've had a few clients try to twist our interactions into a therapy session, it's common enough that it drove a peer out of the business).
Both for e-mail and for in person. I can usually handle things smoothly if I have a few moments to prepare, but I tend to freeze when sudden demands are made and revert to being blunt in a "I'm sorry, that won't be possible." way that noticeably annoys clients. Articles and podcasts about customer service in this vein would be great too.
The advice in this post: https://ask.metafilter.com/318422/Am-I-rude-on-the-phone
was very helpful.
people who pointedly comment that it is "so expensive" and then stiffly wait for a reply and are clearly angling for the price to be dropped (it's not expensive at all, I've done price checking with competition. Pointing that out does not create desired results)
"Company's teapots are hand-made with local clay. Our crafts people then hand paint and glaze them using traditional methods. And with our lifetime guarantee, our teapots are definitely worth the price."
Which is to say, tell them the benefits of your product, not that they're priced like the rest of the market. Give them a story (not a fiction--just play up the truth) as to why your teapots are worth the cost. Sure, they're fishing for a discount, but you're convincing them to pay the full cost and have them at least accept it if not go away happy about it.
With sudden in person demands, it's best to come up with a delaying tactic, like 'Let me run that by Lois in account/the team/the boss and I'll get back to you on that.' Or, "I/We'll have to run the number for that/check with our designers/look into the availability of that paint.'
posted by carrioncomfort at 1:11 PM on January 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
"Company's teapots are hand-made with local clay. Our crafts people then hand paint and glaze them using traditional methods. And with our lifetime guarantee, our teapots are definitely worth the price."
Which is to say, tell them the benefits of your product, not that they're priced like the rest of the market. Give them a story (not a fiction--just play up the truth) as to why your teapots are worth the cost. Sure, they're fishing for a discount, but you're convincing them to pay the full cost and have them at least accept it if not go away happy about it.
With sudden in person demands, it's best to come up with a delaying tactic, like 'Let me run that by Lois in account/the team/the boss and I'll get back to you on that.' Or, "I/We'll have to run the number for that/check with our designers/look into the availability of that paint.'
posted by carrioncomfort at 1:11 PM on January 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
I work as a consultant and am regularly complimented on my communication with clients, though I am definitely a people pleaser so some of this comes naturally to me. My experience is also with delivering a service, not physical items, so some of this may not apply.
Specific scripts:
For situations similar to your first example, I would say something like "Yes, we can definitely deliver that Mercedes, but it will require XYZ more hours/dollars. The alternate option is to have the teapot picked up as we talked about originally. My recommendation would be the teapot, because of [prior experience with companies like yours/additional constraints/user experience changes required/etc]."
- Answering yes rather than saying no feels less antagonistic, even though your actual point is that you'll end up saying no.
- Offering it as an option helps them feel like they get the "last word" and gives them more control over the situation.
- Giving a suggestion using your expertise can give them reasoning to choose the option if they need to justify it to a higher up.
- I'll also sometimes add a line like "I can get started on option 2 right away, but if you decide to go with option 1 we'll need to discuss the specifications further." I figure that sometimes sways them towards the quicker deadline.
That all applies only if you would rather pick up the teapot than deliver the mercedes - if you want to upsell them, then you'll want to swap the recommendation section to be about the first option instead. Most of the time I am recommending the teapot because delivering the mercedes will be overly complex/use up a lot of my time just to add one small feature that most clients don't care about in the end, but YMMV.
For someone who thinks they can get a lower price, I would say something like: "I apologize if I wasn't clear earlier! For the package you are interested in, our price is $XYZ, which is in line with our competitors." You said they didn't respond positively to that, so supposing their response is just more of "that price is way too expensive, you can't get it any lower?"
Then I might say something like "I'm sorry to hear it's higher than you were expecting! We can offer you a package for $100 less if you are willing to forgo feature A and B, does that interest you? Or, if you can let me know a ballpark budget for your project I can put together the best package for that price."
- Overly apologetic, even though it's not your fault, so they don't feel like you're blaming them.
- Again, offering options so they have agency/choice in the outcome.
- If you can get them to name a number, you can give them more options within that price range and point out that any additional features are going to require more money because you'll need more time/materials/etc to produce them.
More general advice:
I use a lot of language that women are "supposed" to eliminate to sound more confident when I'm dealing with a tense situation. So lots of apologizing, "just" asking for things, a few exclamation points, thanking them for their time. I end almost every e-mail I send with a "I hope that makes sense, let me know if you have any questions!"
Since you said that doesn't come naturally to you, maybe try to imagine you have a bubbly alter-ego who is overly friendly? Like was mentioned in the askme you referenced, speaking with a smile helps a lot in coming across as friendly on the phone. I also tend to write an email and then wait to send it (I clear out the to: field until the very end) - coming back with a fresh mind helps me with conciseness (which is what I struggle with, as is obvious from the length of this answer haha). If you are frustrated with a client it might help to come back after taking a break/watching a cute puppy video/etc and edit the e-mail to add in friendliness.
Are you a freelancer or someone who works for a company? I ask because some of these scenarios you're describing just sound like terrible clients to work with, even if they weren't unhappy with your tone. A client who expects you to drop the price with no negotiating, or who expects a $1 million dollar project delivered for $100 is not going to be good to work with even if you do land their business - they're going to continue being stingy and having unrealistic expectations all the way through, and may try to not pay a bill or generally take up a lot of time while paying very little. If you have the authority, I would suggest seeing some of these client interactions as a feature rather than a bug - if they are bothered by you pointing out your prices are reasonable, perhaps you don't want them as a client anyway?
If you don't have the authority to turn down a client, then you might go to your higher ups and ask how they want you to handle it if a client refuses to sign on without a discount or is asking for much more than they paid for. Maybe your bosses will tell you that you should offer discounts for certain clients because they don't want to lose them, or maybe they'll tell you that you should push back. Either way, having your boss to back you up can be a helpful tool as well, like to say "I know that you are interested in a discount on our services, but unfortunately I've spoken to my boss and we're not able to offer that at this time." Deferring to a higher authority figure can help it seem less like a rejection directly from you (they may ask to speak to your boss then, but... again, I think your bosses should have to deal with it if they are insisting you deal with such bad clients).
Final general question - how transparent are you about your pricing/deliverables, and do you have any flexibility in how what you sell is configured? Since you're getting a fair amount of pushback on these things, if you don't already it might be good to have some documentation as to why your prices are what they are (e.g. $100/hour for project management, $50 per pound of material, whatever is relevant). That way you have a "neutral" source to refer to in your reasoning for why you can't lower the price/give them more than they paid for. So rather than saying just "No, our price is $X" you can say "Unfortunately, because of the features you requested, our price can't go any lower than $X. You can see the attached document for information about how that price is calculated, so if there any features you think you could skip for now we can adjust our price accordingly!" (Assuming you do have that flexiblity)
posted by jouir at 1:20 PM on January 30, 2018 [5 favorites]
Specific scripts:
For situations similar to your first example, I would say something like "Yes, we can definitely deliver that Mercedes, but it will require XYZ more hours/dollars. The alternate option is to have the teapot picked up as we talked about originally. My recommendation would be the teapot, because of [prior experience with companies like yours/additional constraints/user experience changes required/etc]."
- Answering yes rather than saying no feels less antagonistic, even though your actual point is that you'll end up saying no.
- Offering it as an option helps them feel like they get the "last word" and gives them more control over the situation.
- Giving a suggestion using your expertise can give them reasoning to choose the option if they need to justify it to a higher up.
- I'll also sometimes add a line like "I can get started on option 2 right away, but if you decide to go with option 1 we'll need to discuss the specifications further." I figure that sometimes sways them towards the quicker deadline.
That all applies only if you would rather pick up the teapot than deliver the mercedes - if you want to upsell them, then you'll want to swap the recommendation section to be about the first option instead. Most of the time I am recommending the teapot because delivering the mercedes will be overly complex/use up a lot of my time just to add one small feature that most clients don't care about in the end, but YMMV.
For someone who thinks they can get a lower price, I would say something like: "I apologize if I wasn't clear earlier! For the package you are interested in, our price is $XYZ, which is in line with our competitors." You said they didn't respond positively to that, so supposing their response is just more of "that price is way too expensive, you can't get it any lower?"
Then I might say something like "I'm sorry to hear it's higher than you were expecting! We can offer you a package for $100 less if you are willing to forgo feature A and B, does that interest you? Or, if you can let me know a ballpark budget for your project I can put together the best package for that price."
- Overly apologetic, even though it's not your fault, so they don't feel like you're blaming them.
- Again, offering options so they have agency/choice in the outcome.
- If you can get them to name a number, you can give them more options within that price range and point out that any additional features are going to require more money because you'll need more time/materials/etc to produce them.
More general advice:
I use a lot of language that women are "supposed" to eliminate to sound more confident when I'm dealing with a tense situation. So lots of apologizing, "just" asking for things, a few exclamation points, thanking them for their time. I end almost every e-mail I send with a "I hope that makes sense, let me know if you have any questions!"
Since you said that doesn't come naturally to you, maybe try to imagine you have a bubbly alter-ego who is overly friendly? Like was mentioned in the askme you referenced, speaking with a smile helps a lot in coming across as friendly on the phone. I also tend to write an email and then wait to send it (I clear out the to: field until the very end) - coming back with a fresh mind helps me with conciseness (which is what I struggle with, as is obvious from the length of this answer haha). If you are frustrated with a client it might help to come back after taking a break/watching a cute puppy video/etc and edit the e-mail to add in friendliness.
Are you a freelancer or someone who works for a company? I ask because some of these scenarios you're describing just sound like terrible clients to work with, even if they weren't unhappy with your tone. A client who expects you to drop the price with no negotiating, or who expects a $1 million dollar project delivered for $100 is not going to be good to work with even if you do land their business - they're going to continue being stingy and having unrealistic expectations all the way through, and may try to not pay a bill or generally take up a lot of time while paying very little. If you have the authority, I would suggest seeing some of these client interactions as a feature rather than a bug - if they are bothered by you pointing out your prices are reasonable, perhaps you don't want them as a client anyway?
If you don't have the authority to turn down a client, then you might go to your higher ups and ask how they want you to handle it if a client refuses to sign on without a discount or is asking for much more than they paid for. Maybe your bosses will tell you that you should offer discounts for certain clients because they don't want to lose them, or maybe they'll tell you that you should push back. Either way, having your boss to back you up can be a helpful tool as well, like to say "I know that you are interested in a discount on our services, but unfortunately I've spoken to my boss and we're not able to offer that at this time." Deferring to a higher authority figure can help it seem less like a rejection directly from you (they may ask to speak to your boss then, but... again, I think your bosses should have to deal with it if they are insisting you deal with such bad clients).
Final general question - how transparent are you about your pricing/deliverables, and do you have any flexibility in how what you sell is configured? Since you're getting a fair amount of pushback on these things, if you don't already it might be good to have some documentation as to why your prices are what they are (e.g. $100/hour for project management, $50 per pound of material, whatever is relevant). That way you have a "neutral" source to refer to in your reasoning for why you can't lower the price/give them more than they paid for. So rather than saying just "No, our price is $X" you can say "Unfortunately, because of the features you requested, our price can't go any lower than $X. You can see the attached document for information about how that price is calculated, so if there any features you think you could skip for now we can adjust our price accordingly!" (Assuming you do have that flexiblity)
posted by jouir at 1:20 PM on January 30, 2018 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: Thank you for the replies so far, some great ideas to keep in mind.
It's actually a more service than product industry and our prices are very much posted, it's not a commission based or haggling style work at all. We don't put together packages, wysiwyg, which is why the odd attempt at a discount derails me.
Usually the mercedes was never an option, and is not something I can deliver even with more money.
As with most customer service oriented jobs, 90% of our clients are lovely, the rest are the ones I need some assistance with.
posted by Dynex at 2:14 PM on January 30, 2018
It's actually a more service than product industry and our prices are very much posted, it's not a commission based or haggling style work at all. We don't put together packages, wysiwyg, which is why the odd attempt at a discount derails me.
Usually the mercedes was never an option, and is not something I can deliver even with more money.
As with most customer service oriented jobs, 90% of our clients are lovely, the rest are the ones I need some assistance with.
posted by Dynex at 2:14 PM on January 30, 2018
people who pointedly comment that it is "so expensive" and then stiffly wait for a reply and are clearly angling for the price to be dropped (it's not expensive at all, I've done price checking with competition. Pointing that out does not create desired results)
This isn't very positive, cheerful or honest but for both pricing and Mercedes questions, I just blame some unmovable authority and act like that (imaginary) authority is effing us both over. If you are working for a company it is easy to blame your management or supervisor. If you are working for yourself, blame your insurance. "I wish I could do that for you, but I'm only approved to offer you X." "I have asked so many times about that, and I just can't get any traction on it either." "Oh gosh, wouldn't that be a great service? Unfortunately my insurance only covers me for X and it's just too great a risk."
posted by Snarl Furillo at 3:53 PM on January 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
This isn't very positive, cheerful or honest but for both pricing and Mercedes questions, I just blame some unmovable authority and act like that (imaginary) authority is effing us both over. If you are working for a company it is easy to blame your management or supervisor. If you are working for yourself, blame your insurance. "I wish I could do that for you, but I'm only approved to offer you X." "I have asked so many times about that, and I just can't get any traction on it either." "Oh gosh, wouldn't that be a great service? Unfortunately my insurance only covers me for X and it's just too great a risk."
posted by Snarl Furillo at 3:53 PM on January 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
If you can't upsell a Mercedes package at all, you could say something like "Oh, I'm afraid we don't offer X service. If you're looking at that kind of budget I could recommend such-a-firm who do custom gold plated teapot work. But if you're wanting a fixed package that you can buy off the shelf at the $Y price point then I believe our Z offering is a very good deal. ".
That's especially useful if the other firm will refer clients to you when it's clear their budget is too small for gold plated teapots.
Similarly "This is our cheapest service. If that's not in your budget then you could try [ doing some cheaper thing ] but we find that often [ doesn't work as well ] and ends up costing people more in the end. With [ our service ] our customers find that [ the benefits to their business make it worth it ]."
If you have a small number of unusually difficult potential clients who take a disproportionate amount of your time and are unlikely to buy at the end of it, then it's not necessarily the end of the world if some of them feel annoyed, or go find some competitor better suited to their needs.
posted by quacks like a duck at 3:53 PM on January 30, 2018
That's especially useful if the other firm will refer clients to you when it's clear their budget is too small for gold plated teapots.
Similarly "This is our cheapest service. If that's not in your budget then you could try [ doing some cheaper thing ] but we find that often [ doesn't work as well ] and ends up costing people more in the end. With [ our service ] our customers find that [ the benefits to their business make it worth it ]."
If you have a small number of unusually difficult potential clients who take a disproportionate amount of your time and are unlikely to buy at the end of it, then it's not necessarily the end of the world if some of them feel annoyed, or go find some competitor better suited to their needs.
posted by quacks like a duck at 3:53 PM on January 30, 2018
Sometimes people just like to feel heard, from toddlers to teens to partners to parents to annoying clients. You shouldn’t have to turn yourself into a different person to deal with these folks effectively; nor do you need to take it personally. May I suggest something like validating the clent’s desire by noting it out loud without getting defensive (not that you are necessarily) and without changing the terms? Something you can have ready so you don’t freeze when it happens. Perhaps one or more varations on, “Hmm. I can understand why you would like to pay less. Don’t we all? I wish that were possible, but our fee structure is necessary to support the BENEFITS (keep vague or mention one that seems applicable) that our repeat clients rely on.” Or some version that sounds right to you. If freezing is the main problem, is there any little business you can do like drop your pen or say, “just a moment” and pretend to check something on your computer? It’s human to get upset at other humans saying and doing stuff that seems stupid. But it is not stupid to them, and I try to remember that because otherwise I would be shouting all the time and unemployable. Because this stuff is annoying as hell if you let it be. Good luck!
posted by Bella Donna at 11:48 PM on January 30, 2018
posted by Bella Donna at 11:48 PM on January 30, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
Look for a way to help the customer, rather than just saying no. When you're helping them, they feel taken care of. Even if they don't want to pay the price for the Mercedes, at least you've offered it to them and it shows that you're listening to them.
posted by hydra77 at 10:58 AM on January 30, 2018 [8 favorites]