Conflicts rarely occur when there’s mutual respect and consideration between two parties in a business (or even personal) relationship. You may have heard an entrepreneur complain that a client refused to pay up for work done or product delivered. This could happen with a a new client. At other times it’s an old client.

Sometimes conflicts can arise because the entrepreneur himself fails to deliver a product or service to the client’s satisfaction.

Here’s an example of how that can happen:

A prospect makes lots of demands, while offering to pay little. The entrepreneur knows the work to be done cannot be covered by the money offered. But business has been tough. So he decides to take on the project as a bread-and-butter-job to tide him over till something better comes along to complement it.

Now here’s the clumsy part: Accepting to do that much work, for inadequate remuneration makes him unable to take on (or go in search of) other projects to earn additional income. This is because doing so would jeopardize his commitment to delivering the first (poor paying) project to specification and/or the agreed deadline.

And yet, he knows he’ll run out of money before he can finish that job. And once that happens it would be even more difficult, if not impossible to finish it: What a trap!

Maybe something similar to the above has happened to you before…? It’s happened to me. Several times too – especially as I started out 10 years ago. I’ve since learnt a lot.

Clients Will Treat You The Way You Treat/Present Yourself

The truth of the matter is that as an entrepreneur, you owe yourself a duty to always get those you do business with to treat you as an equal – with respect and consideration.

Now if you take on a large demanding project and accept poor fees offered by a client, do you think she’ll accept a poorly finished job from you? Not likely.

In fact, the irony is that most clients who offer poor remuneration to those they do business with are often notorious for being the most demanding. They typically want everything, for as little payment as possible. Figures.

By implication therefore, when you accept to work under such unflattering terms, you make it possible for such a client to treat you as she pleases!

As far as she’ll be concerned, you must have accepted the project because you thought it was good enough for you to do the job to her satisfaction. And she would feel entitled to demand that you fulfill that obligation. Plus a little more if she can get it

A Smarter Way To Operate

There is a better way. You need to let those you do business with see that you know the value of what you offer – in terms of how it can help them.

Tell them what that value you offer reasonably translates to in monetary terms.

To do this you have to get information from them, and from their industry/markets (and other relevant sources).

The use what you learn to come up with real world relevant estimates of practical savings in cost, time, effort they get. In addition, point out the various ways your solution delivers convenience to – and confers prestige on – them.

You must also always remember to impress upon clients (and prospects) the fact that you have standards you work to. That there are (what I like to call) “lower control limits” for your fees, meant to protect not just you, the provider, but also him, the client.

The above are basic requirements you need to have clear in your mind. At all stages of your business interactions with others, you should be able to effortlessly apply them, to ensure no unhealthy developments are initiated. Or to nip any that do occur in the bud!

Final Words

I’m sure there are many other strategies that can also be used. The approach I have however described here is based on what has worked for me over the years.

I like it because it almost always helps me win the respect of a client, and also ensures future dealings with her are profitable for both parties. A win-win relationship.

Only when the other person has had ulterior motives (with the intent of cheating or exploiting) has this strategy ever failed. And under such circumstances it’s helped me stay safe, and move on to better things.

And that’s why I highly recommend it.