Being Disrespectful To Clients Gets You More Business
I read an interesting post on Wickedfire yesterday titled How I make £50K+ every month. He claims that by treating his clients like crap, he can command more money and close sales more easily. Chances are, the guy who wrote it is just a troll but I found the post intriguing. Here’s why:
Common sense dictates that you should kiss your clients’ ass, make sure their happy and offer excellent service. What if common sense is wrong? What if being so helpful and accommodating actually resulted in you making LESS money?
I obviously take care of my clients. However, i’ve seen a lot of situations where the more accommodating you are to a client, the more they take advantage of you and the less they seem to respect you or want to pay for anything. Maybe it’s because you seem desperate to them. Maybe, by being LESS accommodating you’d lose that client, but on the flip side pick up another one that’s a lot less needy.
I’d love to see a real case study on this. One salesperson goes in and treats 5 clients like gold and 5 clients like crap and then compares how the manageability of each account changes.
Who’s up for this? What are you’re thoughts on it?
I disagree. What wins me more loyalty from clients and more clients overall is the truth, especially when it hurts. Your site sucks. Here’s how to fix it = trust.
I can’t work for you because its a conflict of interest = respect and word of mouth.
Disrespect is a one way ticket for my clients to find a competitor or give up entirely.
I’m not claiming that disrespect is the way to go but i’m wondering what happens. If you lose a client because they don’t like your style, do you pick up 2 more because they think they need you? I have no idea…but it’s an interesting concept.
I wouldn’t say being a dick is the answer but holding your own and not giving in when they try to be all buddy buddy with you would probably be a smart move.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to disrespect anyone. It can come back to bit you. However you do need to be firm, set your policies (this is what to expect from me and this is what I expect from you) and be ready to move on if your client becomes a pain in the butt, or disrespects your time.
Crazy one there!!!
That tactic does work. It signals scarcity. Ask any friendly PUA (pick up artist) or con-man – they use this one all the time.
I work with freelancers alot and work with one guy that has a personal assistant. When i first started working with him i felt i had to pay him more compared to the other workers because he was obviously more “in-demand”.
Also if you are overly nice, people feel like they can ask you for favors, even if they should be paying.