Everyone needs strategies for how to handle tough customers. With persuasion techniques by Michael Lee, author of “How to be an Expert Persuader you get the chance to turn that “less than cooperative: client who may be already escalating his or her anger, into a warm, friendly, happy client again. How? You are wondering. It’ s not as hard as you think to know how to handle tough customers with persuasion techniques.
Turn those tough customers into happy ones with persuasion techniques
“Persuasion techniques are essential to apply in the field of sales and marketing, as dealingwith an irrational customer is one of the toughest situations you can tackle. How do youexactly alleviate the fury of a buyer who is livid because of something you, the service or product, or your company failed to perform? This is where influence and persuasiontechniques may come in handy.Because the field of sales is not a walk in the park, there will be times when you will beshouted at, and even hurled harsh words by clients who are not satisfied.”
“Don’t bealarmed. This is a normal situation. And being so, there are ways to rise above them sothat you don’t break down, too.First, find out what the client is angry about. Is he complaining about your service? Is heunclear about certain points in the agreement or the product? Did the problem come fromyou or did it spring out of his frustration over something he misunderstood? What are his sentiments exactly?”
“You can find this out by being calm with the client, no matter how irritable he is. Askpolitely what the problem is and request that he explain it to you. Don’t interrupt and try todefend yourself or correct him while he explains. Wait for him to finish and then enumerateall your responses to his problems.Often, the customer does not really want to know exactly what you are doing to rectify thesituation, only that you tell him that steps are being undertaken to correct it, and when precisely this is expected to be solved.”
“One thing clients hate most is continuously waiting for solutions that are not certain to happen.When you have figured out what he needs, level with him. Building rapport with your clientis one of the best ways to get into a straight conversation with him without the flare-ups.This means adopting his current mood. If he is angry, let him know that you understand hisfeelings. If he is frustrated, empathize. Clients appreciate people who they know feel their pain. When you have succeeded in this, you can expect to have a much calmer discussion right after.”
I just had this exact thing happen to me recently and it actually took place through emails so I was simply using written words to communicate which made the whole situation more challenging or easier I’m not sure. In the end my calm reactions to his outbursts kept us moving forward and I was able to persuade him to see things differently and he apologized for reacting so rudely. Knowing how to handle tough customers with persuasion techniques can be very useful.
