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As an entrepreneur, it’s important to provide good products or services to your customers. Part of that includes making sure they are happy and satisfied with what you provide to them.
However, there will be times when you simply don’t see eye to eye with your clients. It can be difficult to hold your tongue or turn the other cheek in those situations.
Fortunately, there are ways to keep your cool when tempers heat up.
Take a Step Back
As with many other children, when I was small, I was taught to use my words when I am upset. But this lesson is a good one no matter what your age.
If you don’t see eye to eye with a customer, take a step back. This is one of the best things you can do. It might prevent you from saying something you’ll regret later. It could even keep you from dropping a good client.
Tell your customer you need to think about the best way to handle the situation to their satisfaction. Then tell them you will call them back later or meet again in a day or two.
That lets them know both they and their concerns are important to you. At the same time, it provides you with time to calm down and make rational decisions.
Try a Different Approach
When tempers heat up and you need to keep your cool, try a different approach with clients. For instance, ask how they are feeling and what their concerns are.
Listening and putting yourself in their shoes is a great way to get to the root of the problem. It might also deflate both your anger and theirs. Once that happens, you can begin fixing the issues at hand.
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In addition, taking the time to listen and let them vent might just open your eyes to new information. Or, it might help you to see things in a different perspective.
Be Respectful
No matter how the conversation, or situation, goes, keeping your cool is important. Be respectful of the customer you are talking and dealing with.
Even when you are angry you can stay calm and speak kindly. When you stay calm, you come out the winner and they look like a ranting jerk. Choose your words very carefully so you don’t escalate the problem.
It isn’t always easy, but it will pay off in the end. Staying respectful allows everyone to calm down and eventually work through whatever is causing the upset.
Find an Outlet
Obviously you want to keep your cool and manage your emotions because that’s important to keep your client’s business. Still, keep your cool when tempers heat up can be difficult without an outlet.
Try escaping your office and going for a short walk to cool down. Or, take up a sport, such as racquetball, where you can take out your frustrations on the ball.
Of course, creative outlets are sometimes just as good as physical ones at diffusing anger. You could draw, paint, craft, sew, do woodworking, or whatever else you are good at and enjoy.
In the end, no matter how good you are at your work or how kind you are, disagreements will happen. When they do, use these tips to keep your cool and handle the situation with professionalism.