My salespeople complain about our clients. How should I approach this?

Let me share a story with you to help answer your question. I was once involved with a small but successful advertising agency. This agency had won a lucrative account with one of Australia’s big banks and received a lot of recognition. The agency was then purchased by a public communications company in a strategic sale designed to acquire the big bank as a client by default. The communications consortium paid top dollar (shareholders money of course) for control of the agency and the big account.

Having bitten off more than they could chew, the little agency more than tripled its headcount and went into overdrive to service the new account. Many of the existing accounts, the foundations the agency was built on over 20 years, were cast aside amid the excitement and challenges of satisfying the new big-paying client.

There is nothing wrong with ambition but when it comes time to deliver ? you better bring your A game. In this instance, the agency over-promised and under-delivered and the bank cut them loose, resulting in a massive cull of agency staff. I arrived at about this time.

In my first few meetings with the account management team, I was surprised and concerned to hear how negatively some of the team members talked about their client accounts. Numerous clients had not been called or followed-up because no one wanted to talk with them and be ‘accountable’ for problems or hearing client concerns. Client issues were en masse declared as ‘someone else’s problem’. Usually the newest employee was given the least desirable account, so the client got someone new to the business with minimal relevant knowledge and experience which perpetuated the problems.

In one instance a client was paying a $30,000 per month retainer and no one knew what the client was getting in return for it, and some of the team members even shared a joke about it. After a few months of damage control liaison with existing clients and not much selling, the parent company merged the agency with one of their existing companies. The agency has since changed name and is operating with only a handful of staff. The halcyon days of big accounts and a thriving culture are long gone. The directors got their money and got out and the public company got their big account, for a few months anyway.

If your salespeople are complaining about clients, this is a serious symptom of a larger problem: the negative conversations are being reciprocated on the client side. I encourage you to have a real and candid conversation with key people involved immediately. The first question should be, “How are we not meeting our client’s expectations?” The response, if honest, will provide valuable insight into the client’s real issues and values to allow you to address them and move forward together. I would also encourage having the same conversations with key clients to establish what’s really important to them.

You must demonstrate you genuinely care about your clients and their best interests. Unhappy clients are like fruit, if you leave them on the vine without care for too long they rot and fall off. Don’t be like the ad agency ? you now know how that story ends. Instead, identify why these team members feel the need to engage in disrespectful conversations regarding clients. Often a manager receives a deceptive or biased interpretation of the client problem. This is designed to protect the salesperson or account manager’s reputation. In serious cases, I recommend going direct to the client as a more effective course, but in a way that doesn’t disempowered the salesperson and promote an internal dissonance to the client.

The most powerful way to spread a message is via rumours. Negative rumours spread like wildfire through an organisation and into the clients. My motto is if you’re going to spread a rumour, particular about clients or team members, make sure it’s a positive one. Spread positive rumours! Be the catalyst for positive innuendo, you will be amazed at what happens and how often it comes back to you, though not your intention.

If a number of clients are genuinely problematic through no fault of your own company, I encourage you to consider if they are the right fit. Companies can be guilty of ‘taking what they can get’ and ‘any sale is a good sale’ and have no clear definition and understanding of what constitutes a valuable customer. This doesn’t advocate speaking ill of a client, yet it may explain why many aren’t happy and are coming across as difficult.

At the end of the day, without customers there is no business, so talking about any customer in a negative tone is only going to limit individual and team success. Even the really demanding clients if you dare to explore your relationship with them in a creative way will offer you great insights to do your job more effectively. Over the years some of my most valuable teachers have been my most difficult clients. If you can get past ego and needing to be right and defending yourself all the time, you will learn a lot from people who are prepared to get in your face and tell you how it is.

This is my last blog for the year. I would like to personally thank everyone for taking the time to read and offer their comments and opinions. I’ll be blogging again early January 2010. Until then, have a safe and merry Christmas and here’s to a BOOMING New Year!

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Trent Leyshan is the founder and CEO of BOOM Sales  ! a leading sales training  and sales development specialist. He is also the creator of The NAKED Salesman, BOOMOLOGY! RetroService, and the Empathy Selling Process.