I'm going to tell you something that will save you a lot of grief, keep you
from losing hair, reduce your wrinkles, and likely increase how long you'll live:
If you're dealing with a difficult client, drop him/her immediately.
It doesn't matter if the client is having a bad day. I don't care if their lover left them, their dog died, or their favourite sports team is on a killer losing streak.
Once that line has been crossed, it's too late. Clients who don't respect you can't be allowed to remain in your world.
I know some people will disagree with me on this. They'll say that you should hear the client out and not do anything rash (this is where you'll hear: "Maybe they're just having a bad day ...")
But if you keep them around, you have nobody to blame but yourself when they act out again. And trust me, they will act out again.
Why would you want to take the chance continuing to work with someone who's already shown they're difficult to deal with?
This lesson was drilled into my head many years ago, back in my real estate days.
I was golfing with a group of fellow real estate agents, and one of them (a very successful agent) got a call from his assistant telling him that a client was being an idiot, giving her a hard time, and demanding that he call him back immediately.
The agent did call the client right back. But it wasn't the call that the client was expecting.
Agent: Hi Mr X, my office told me that you wanted me to call you immediately.
Client: Yes. I -
Agent (interrupting before the client could say another word): Look, I don't want to work with you anymore, so I'm going to cancel our agreement. You're free to list your house elsewhere.
Client (stunned): Well, wait ...
Agent: Have a nice day.
He hung up, then walked up to the tee and took his swing.
I wish I could say that the agent hit a perfect 300 yard drive that cut the fairway in two, but I can't remember what his drive was like. All I can remember is how he handled that problem client.
I think he handled it perfectly.
The reason the agent could swat that difficult client away is he had plenty of prospects waiting to take his place.
When you have lots of leads coming into your business, you're granted the power to not deal with people who aren't giving you the respect you deserve.
If you'd like to gain that power, hop in your golf cart and race over to check out this automated training here:
Marc Mawhinney