Smart Emmanuel: The Secret Sauce to Winning Over Hard-to-Please Clients

Entrepreneurs and salespeople often come across clients who are easy to convince, while some are difficult. It’s tempting to focus only on the easy ones and forget about the tough clients, but doing so can lead to underachievement. To achieve your goals and maximise your profits, learning how to win seemingly tough clients is important. Some clients may have great purchasing power and business potential, but they may be initially hard to win. However, the reward of winning them is often worth the effort. Keep in mind that not every potential client will say yes, even if you have the best offer. Sometimes they may prefer to maintain their current relationships with other brands. Nevertheless, most tough potential clients can be won over if you apply the right strategy.

Look the Part

It’s important to understand that appearances are not everything when it comes to running a successful business. While it’s important to dress well and appealingly present your product, you also need to have the right certifications to show that you and your product are qualified and trustworthy. You need to make sure that your product meets all regulatory requirements and has the necessary certifications to instil confidence in potential clients. It’s like opening a bank – you can’t expect people to trust you with their money if you don’t have the proper license. Looking professional is just the first step in building a reputable business.

Win/Win Scenario

It’s worth noting that although many people and businesses may not appear to be so, your biggest competitors have already overcome the hurdle of looking professional. They have well-designed websites, numerous certifications, eye-catching product packaging, and competitive pricing structures. Therefore, it’s not enough to just look the part, you must exceed their standards. Creating a win/win scenario for clients is crucial. This means that the client will not lose in any way. A well-structured money-back guarantee policy is a good example of this. Another example could be providing insurance coverage in case of loss or damage to the product or service provided. Taking this step will help you move from stage one where you just look the part, to stage two where you create win/win scenarios for your clients. This will further assure clients that their money and time are valued and that they are not being taken for granted. Clients do not want to feel that doing business with you is a risky proposition.

Ask the Client What They Want

This step is important. Although you look the part and it’s less risky to do business with you, the client may be faced with others who have the same qualifications as you. They have options and options make it hard to choose. While you’re rare, there are other rare options too. So, at the talking stage with the client, instead of giving a pitch to a tough potential client, simply ask the client what they want. This shifts the conversation from you to the client and gives the client the room to give you free information. Usually, entrepreneurs and salespeople desperate to win these kinds of clients come with juicy offers that cut their profitability deep and don’t appeal to the client’s needs. For example, you offer a client 70% off for a product, and then the client accepts that and says he also wants post-sale service. If we switch this and you start by asking the client what they want, in many cases, they would say all they want is post-sale service. You overgive and even give the wrong thing when you don’t ask the client what they want. Assumptions can be dangerous. You might end up giving a lot and yet giving more because much you assumed and gave isn’t what the client truly wants.

History of Exceeding Expectations

Beyond all the offers, good looks, and win/win scenarios, the client will be convinced when he or she can see that you have a history of exceeding expectations, and what’s the proof? True testimonies from other clients. While the first three points properly applied will get you the tough potential client to soften up and say yes, a rich history of exceeding client expectations will get you a signed contract and check. Creating this is important and very easy. Focus on offering your service to others in the industry in exchange for honest feedback. This way, you will build real-life testimonies if you truly exceed their expectations, and these testimonies will in turn help you convince the toughest potential client.

***
Featured Image by Artem Podrez for Pexels