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3 Ways to Deal With Narcissistic Clients

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Being an entrepreneur and running a business can feel like a rollercoaster. Ups and downs, but you learn throughout the entire process if you allow yourself to peek between your fingers as your hands cover your eyes! I found that the most successful business owners are good at dealing with people. They understand how to communicate with their clientele and make sure they’re satisfied with the provided service or product. This can be challenging for most entrepreneurs, considering you’re dealing with individuals’ different personalities and characteristics.

Want to know one of the worst kinds of clients to deal with? A narcissistic client! Throughout my entrepreneurial journey, I’ve dealt with a handful of clients who displayed these characteristics.

They were clients who contributed a lot of revenue to my marketing agency, so I didn’t want to cut them loose solely because they were hard to deal with So, how do you deal with this? I’ve compiled a list of x things that I recommend that you do when dealing with narcissistic clients.

1. Set Boundaries

When dealing with clients, most entrepreneurs, especially younger ones, attempt to avoid conflict like the plague. Because of this, they don’t address issues with clients in some cases and simply sweep it under the rug. However, if your client is displaying narcissistic characteristics and it’s ruining your work relationship, it’s best to attack this issue head on. Approach them and set boundaries on your business relationship.

I once dealt with a client who was a textbook narcissist. Whenever we would have meetings, most of the time this client would simply boast about things that weren’t relevant at all to the meeting. He expected me to drop any and everything my team and I were working on, just to cater to his every whim. Whenever situations would arise due to this client not working well with my team, the blame was always on us, never him. It became exhausting and we soon started to dread conversations with him.

We finally got to a point where I had to express to this client that his behavior was unfair and uncomfortable for my team. We established better communication habits and made sure that he understood we had his best interest at heart. Did he completely change for the better? Of course not, most narcissist won’t! But we made progress and were able to tolerate client meetings with him.

It all starts with setting boundaries.

“Ego is born of the need to ‘prove’ oneself instead of making the choice to ‘be’ oneself.” ― Craig D. Lounsbrough

2. Try a Different Approach

If communicating doesn’t work with your client, it’s time to try something new. Sometimes a conversation doesn’t have much effect on a person’s actions as you’d hoped or that it should have. What to do now that setting boundaries didn’t work or change the behavior?

One option for entrepreneurs who have support, is to bring in a friend or business associate who’s able to mesh with your client better and help to move them forward. This protects your tension level while also ensuring your relationship is rock solid with both parties. When your business grows and you bring in help in the form of contractors or managerial employees, it becomes easier to delegate tasks and assign clients to certain associates. You never know, they may be best fit to handle the job, more than you are able to, and for various good reasons.

3. End the Relationship

This should be the last resort when dealing with a narcissistic client. Why? Well, when it comes to business, I purposely place myself in uncomfortable situations. This is a habit I formed when I was first starting out to ensure I never stuck in my comfort zone. The most successful people in business know how to deal with people. Sadly, this even include the dreaded “Clients from Hell”. I would challenge everyone to find a different solution to problem, than avoiding it, which is why I have this option as the last resort.

If you can learn to figure out solutions for the most uncomfortable and bothersome situations in your business, you are training yourself to push past any obstacle in your way. This is how you become a winner in life! But, on the other end, one of the best things about being your own boss is that you can choose who you want to work with!

Overall, your business growth depends on how many people you touch, and when you learn how to help them solve their problems your success will be the ultimate, almost inevitable result.

In business, you never know what to expect. This is also inevitable, especially when dealing with people from different backgrounds. While some clients may be “better” than others, it’s important to know your limits and be aware of the kinds of clients you’re dealing with so that you can decide how best to approach them, or not. This will create prosperous business relationships, the best kind to have, which will pave your roadway to success. 

Brianna Bussell is the CEO of WebInsightCo.com, a marketing and web development company. She started her business in college, and began writing for many reputable entrepreneurs after publishing her own E-book "Creating Value in The Workplace". She also enjoys coaching millennials on how to become successful.

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Success Advice

How to Ignite the Spark Within for Future Success

All of us come to this world with our own reserve of magic unfortunately, not everyone can unleash it

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Your life is dictated by beliefs and biases that drive your thinking, behaviors, and decisions

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How to Break the Cycles of Mediocrity and Manifest Your Greatness

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity

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Image Credit: Midjourney

In just a few weeks, we will be wrapping up 2023. Can you believe it? This year has been absolutely incredible for me.

I have seen amazing doors opened, new relationships formed and I am seeing dreams realized in my life. While this seems like the hallmarks of a great year, this has also been the most challenging year of my life. With all of the change happening in my life, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and challenged to grow in every area of my life.

I can truly say that I have made the most of my moments this year and I have used everything as a catalyst for maximizing my greatest potential.

As a revolutionary leader, I have the pleasure of consulting and advising leaders around the world to fulfill purpose, realize their greatest potential and make an impact.

I want to share some insights with you that will help you to break cycles of mediocrity and manifest your greatness

Everything legal must come through the matrix

I am sure that some of you are wondering why I am using the term matrix. However, what you have to understand is that I am trying to make a highly complex spiritual principle practical to understand.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, every life has an origin and I believe that origin is divine and begins with eternity. You are birthed from eternity and into time to fulfill a unique purpose and assignment in your lifetime and generation.

The matrix is simply the portal or vehicle that brings something out of the invisible realm and into tangible form. The problem with much of the teaching today is that it excludes the matrix. We are told to believe that success is instantaneous and overnight.

Nobody talks about how a dream progresses through stages beginning with visualization and ultimately culminating in manifestation. Without a matrix or portal then everything that you attempt to birth and build will be illegal.

The matrix not only makes you legal but it gives you the authority and power to function as the greatest expression of who you were created to be. 

Every matrix has an incubation process

While many people admire and respect me today, I remember a time when nobody knew who I was or the significance of my message. How did I get to where I am today? I got here through an incubation process.

In other words, everything that has been destined for your life is incubating and awaiting a set time of manifestation. The problem is that most people live their entire lives idle and never initiate the incubation process.

What do I meany by that? Most people are living reckless and very few people are living intentionally. I am amazed at the number of people I have conversations with that have no vision, goals or strategies for their lives. They show great promise and they have undeniable potential.

However, without development they will die with their dreams still in them.

Everything that has been destined for your life must be incubated and converted to become realities born to time. 

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin to build.” – Robert Collier

You must give expression to that which is not yet born to time

When you think about a matrix or a prophetic incubation process, you have to understand that potential is often unrealized and untapped. In other words, your potential is in raw form and your potential cannot serve you as long as it is untapped.

The thing that makes me valuable is that I have the ability to convert potential into power. I have done it in my own life and I have empowered leaders around the world to do the same. How do you convert potential into power?

First, it is important to note that you have to perceive potential. If you cannot perceive your potential then you can never cultivate your potential. In addition, you must take the time to cultivate your potential. We often get excited about our capabilities; however, we never expand our capacity in order to realize our greatest potential.

In other words, the strength of your potential is only discovered through your willingness to stretch. The more we are challenged the more we are empowered to expand our capacity for greatness. Most of all, you must begin to express your potential. The expression of potential is different for every person.

For example, the expression of my potential is best demonstrated through the thoughts, ideas, products, services, books, etc.

For another person the expression of potential may look like a screenplay, artwork, sports, scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, etc.

Regardless of the form of expression, I know that you will live empty and unfulfilled until you make the decision to express your potential. The expression of your potential gives voice to your dreams, life to your vision, significance to your moments and activates your true power.

You must manifest your greatness

As a revolutionary thinker and leader, my work has impacted people around the world. I am grateful that my life is a source of empowerment to so many people. However, before anyone could ever benefit from my life, I had to make a non-negotiable decision to become who I was born to be.

I wish I could tell you that this journey is easy and that you will get there overnight. However, in a world that celebrates us for doing we are often criticized for being. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to be who other people wanted me to be instead of being who I was born to be.

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity. It is through our bravery to be vulnerable that we ultimately manifest our greatness. We do not bless the world by being a duplicate. We bless the world when we honor our difference. When you honor your difference you honor your potential.

Ultimately, your difference is how you manifest your greatness.

When you present anything but your authentic self to the world, you are playing small and you are robbing the world of your significance. Manifesting your greatness requires you to master your gifts.

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