You’ve worked your tail off and put in numerous hours on a project only to have the client contact you and express total disappointment in the finished project. There is no doubt in your mind that what you presented to the client is the absolute best for their needs but they highly disagree. Is there any way this situation can be turned around? What will it take to make the client happy?

Fear not, my freelancing friend, there IS hope for the situation.

You must remember, even though you are freelancing and may feel entitled to being a bit ‘haughty’ periodically, the bottom line is you are still providing a service to a paying customer. Clients are watching their finances very carefully and in an economy where more and more businesses are on the chopping block, they are watching their business practices even closer.

Hopefully in the beginning stages of the project, you and the client agreed on some sort of guideline for the task. Always have those guidelines, expectations and plans in writing to refer to should an unhappy client situation arise. If this is not standard practice for your freelancing business, please consider making it normal routine to establish the guideline before agreeing to accept any freelance work.

The most important tool in handling a dissatisfied client is ATTITUDE. Your first knee jerk reaction will be to go on the defensive as your abilities and work is challenged. Getting all bent out of shape and firing back defensive remarks will not help the situation.

Listen open mindedly to your clients grievances. Don’t apologize about their complaints, but be sure they know you are hearing what they have to say and you are committed to finding a resolution to the problem. Thank them for allowing you to take the time to turn the situation around.

Ask specific questions about the reasons they are unhappy. Explain the how’s and why’s of the process you applied when working on their task. Stay calm and keep the dialogue clear and focused. Communication is another very powerful asset in repairing the fragile relationship.

Don’t be flippant about your expertise. Make sure your client realizes the experiences you have had in similar situations and what you have learned from those past experiences. Explain to them the different outcomes of various paths that could have been taken. Help them to understand why you chose the path you did and how it will result in the best end results for them vs. other routes you could have taken. The secret is gently reminding them that your knowledge, experience and expertise are the reasons they hired you in the first place.

Be open to compromise. Often times a small concession on your end is all it takes to allow the client the feeling of control over the situation, resulting in satisfaction on their end.

After all communication efforts have failed and the client is still not on board with the outcome of the situation, many times a freelancers only option is to offer some sort of refund or additional services. Although not their first choice for a solution, it has worked for many freelancers when it came down to client retention or taking the risk of some negative word of mouth advertising.

With a calm approach and clear communication, most situations can be turned around and the client will be more confident in their choice of hiring you and the relationship can continue. As with life though, there are a few situations that just can’t be fixed. And as with life, all we can do is chalk it up to a learning experience and make the adjustments needed to avoid a similar situation in the future and move on.

photo credit: Carollainy