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I’ve had success in the past having a one on one conversation with clients like this. Next time you are going to see them in person try to grab a cup of coffee with them. Get a sense of what their expectations are from a working style, what things you can improve to collaborate with them and just generally probe into the challenges. It’s a crap shoot on how a person like that reacts but you are always better addressing head on and being direct
Try and get off the account. Honestly. I could throw sunshine and half optimism but I’ve found clients that act like this never change. It’s how they work and who they are. It’s honestly not worth the stress and frustration. You can document the behavior but if you’re AD or management won’t do anything about it, it’s a lost cause. I have been there. If you can, wash your hands of it and tell HR/your boss that you need to move elsewhere if no one is going to call the client out on it.
I would document everything, keep a cool tone of voice and bring in your mgt to difficult conversations. All else fails look for another job
Agree with GAD. Getting to know people as people goes a long way.
It helps if you have some pre-alignments before getting on the phone as a larger team. Also just recap all meetings so everyone is clear what what aligned to.
Also realize that sometimes people are angry about other things in life. Sometimes, they are angry and it’s not because of you.
I’ve had a similar experience myself. At one point during a phone call I was getting yelled at by the client, and I took a deep breath and told her that I didn’t appreciate the tone she was taking and didn’t want to proceed in a conversation like that. I was terrified to stand up to her, but I think that by pointing out the unprofessionalism that was happening, I sort of embarrassed her.
Ultimately things never got quite so bad again, which made things a bit more bearable, but I do agree that in the long run these types of abusive clients don’t really change much.
Request a private meeting. Preferably over lunch or dinner. Explain that you sense she’s been very frustrated lately and you only want to help her sort this by being her fixer at the agency. Come prepared with questions and be ready to take a ton of notes. Ask her: what is the most frustrating thing on your plate right now? How can we make it better? What keeps you up at night? Is there anything we can be doing better as your agency partner? Can we work together to help relieve some of the pressure you’re feeling? Can we do a collab workshop around your brand’s biggest challenges?
Ultimately, if you show a genuine interest in listening to her fears, concerns, and issues and then positioning yourself as the problem solver, the relationship should get better. Encourage her to reach out to you directly 1:1 anytime she needs to vent or troubleshoot. You need to establish yourself as her partner, not just a vendor she gets to abuse.
Of losing said client and just want to keep them happy.
Humanize them and ingratiate yourself. Need to bridge the professional relationship and establish a social rapport