How Tax Professionals Can Handle Difficult Clients

Tax professionals must provide a uniquely difficult kind of customer service, as both money and taxes are emotional topics for many people. If clients feel you’re not handling their finances well, they can become stressed, angry, and mean. Below, we discuss how tax professionals can handle difficult clients and diffuse tension in these professional relationships.

Listen Actively and Acknowledge the Client

The first step in managing difficult clients is active listening. Paying keen attention to the client’s concerns shows empathy and understanding, and it’s a part of exceptional customer service that helps you retain your tax clients. When clients feel heard, tension often dissipates.

Even statements as simple as “I understand why this is important to you” or “I see why this would be frustrating” can make clients feel more at ease.

Avoid Defensiveness at All Costs

When clients express dissatisfaction, your natural instinct might be to get defensive. After all, the odds are that your client is reacting out of emotion, not facts that you’re keenly aware of in your profession. However, defensiveness can escalate conflicts and erode trust.

This does not mean admitting fault when you’re not in the wrong (though that is an essential skill if you do commit a legitimate error). Instead, focus on understanding the root of the client’s issues. Approach every concern with an open mind and aim for resolution rather than argument.

Workshop Solutions With the Client

Engage clients in creating solutions tailored to their unique situations. Schedule a meeting to discuss potential avenues once you understand their issues. Suggest several options and allow clients to weigh in.

If they sign off on a fix, they’re much less likely to fight you on it. Plus, collaborative problem-solving empowers clients and fosters partnership in the process.

Provide the Client With Resources

Educating clients can prevent future misunderstandings. Though this must be done tactfully, you can gently equip clients with resources that help clarify complex tax issues. For example, you can provide informational brochures or direct them to reliable online sources. By providing these tools, you empower clients to trust your work and make informed complaints you can practically address, rather than emotional ones you can’t fix. Additionally, you can take the opportunity to reinforce your own knowledge, which is key to improving yourself as a business owner.

Difficult clients are inevitable in any service-based profession, but especially ones that deal with money. Now that you know how to handle these people as a tax professional, you can improve your client retention and boost your practice’s reputation and success.