Achieving Success Through Clear Client Boundaries: So, Could Jerry Handle Newman Better?

Last week, we talked about what good customer service looks like, finding your boundaries and recognizing The Client We All Dread. Today I want to tell you how to set up boundaries with your client, and how to maintain them throughout your relationship.

While Newman on The Seinfeld Show wasn’t Jerry’s client, he serves as a terrific example of how a relationship can be improved if you respect your boundaries and expect your clients to do the same.

That clip was taken from the final episode of The Seinfeld Show, but the sour relationship between Jerry and Newman was a running gag throughout the show. They started out off on the wrong foot, and they stayed that way!

You don’t want a combative relationship with your client, even if she is a Newman or an Elaine. What can you do at the beginning of the relationship to start off on a positive, high-energy note?

• For your eyes only, write out your boundaries. What are you willing to do? How far are you willing to go? How and how often to do you expect to communicate with your client? What do you expect from her?

• Communicate your boundaries and expectations in a positive, upbeat way (not showing her your list).

• Before an issue has a chance to come up, ask your client for permission to point out to her when she’s resisting change. This is an opportunity to not only educate her about your boundaries, but about how to intuit and respect boundaries generally, moving her toward achieving success. When you teach her to respect your boundaries, you’ve begun to coach her on the energetical ways for her to serve her own clients.

As the relationship goes on:

• Your internal “thermostat” will tell you when the relationship with the client starts to fall out of balance. It may be that sinking stomach in your feeling, that clogged throat feeling of anger, or the desire to snap ill-chosen words.

• When the client starts to cross boundaries, call her on it immediately in a positive, coaching fashion. Don’t wait until things go farther out of balance.

• If you feel uncomfortable “standing up for yourself,” remember that in this context, you’re actually standing up for the client. Every boundary issue is a learning opportunity. She isn’t paying you so she can continuing being what she has always been, but so she can move forward into high-level energy and connectedness.

Respect your boundaries, and expect the same respect from your clients, and, in fact, everyone in your business and your life. As a coach, healer or heart-based entrepreneur, you already know the value of the service you have to offer. Treat them as the precious gifts from the universe they are, and your clients will intuitively do the same.

Do you know what successful entrepreneurs are doing right now? Find out now. Join me for the FREE Ultimate Marketing interactive teleclass on October 26 at 8:00 p.m. eastern.