𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟒 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬

I have run a law firm for more than 12 years, and I have learned many things the hard way. Taming the chaos is often a good summary of your workday: chaos unleashed on you by internal and external factors, like an employee on sick leave with no notice, or some clients’ unrealistic expectations.

We are very proud of the relationships we have with our recurring customers. But it has not always been like this. It took years to build healthy relationships and reasonable workflows.

I was re-reading some chapters of 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene, and in particular one, regarding money and power, illuminated me about kinds of 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 (and indeed we tried to).

🦈 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐡: take the human side out of money. Cold and ruthless, he sees only the lifeless balance sheet and not any added value from a service, viewing others solely as either pawns or obstructions in the pursuit of personal wealth.

That is the only one you can handle, but it’s better to be clear on the terms from the beginning. You know what he is; you can spot it from nonverbal clues in the negotiation, and in how much pressure is put on you on discounts. The only thing he cares about is to show upper management he saved money, not that he got on board a talented consultant.

👹 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧: he judges everything by what it costs, not factoring in time, dignity, and peace of mind. He wastes valuable time digging for a better price, rushes you in extenuating negotiations, often to finally land on shabby services to save a few bucks. Unlike the greedy fish, he does it for his own personal pleasure.

Solid bargaining can be fun, but this goes beyond. But this is not legitimate price-sensitivity; it is price-sensitivity on a bad cocktail of steroids and methamphetamine.

⛓️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭: he plays vicious games with money as a way of asserting his power and control. He makes you wait for overdue invoices, promising that the wire transfer is on its way, or he meddles in every aspect of your job, haggling and giving you ulcers with pointless criticism and endless discussions and modifications to the pre-agreed terms.

The sadist seems to think that paying gives him the right to torture and abuse the seller. Disrespect is never negotiable; all the rest can be agreed up front.

🌞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 O𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐬t O𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭: he promises unicorn and rainbows, deals and riches, to get a better price on the first task and then drop you.

This is the more insidious type, since you can get fooled in the beginning by his kindness and enthusiasm: agree on everything in advance, and if it looks too good to be true, probably it is. Add a penalty clause in the contract, in case he does not meet his end, and you will see him vanish like the morning mist.

To run a top-notch consulting/service business, you have to bring order into the chaos.

With some clients, this is possible, and it is the key to your success and winning their loyalty.

Some others will only jeopardize your schedule, reducing your efficiency and compromising timely delivery and quality for all your other clients.

This should never happen.