Hey team it's Warwick from Account Manager Tips here now what do you do when your
client throws you under the bus
You know one minute they're all happy and best friends
and the next minute you know they're ready to pull the
and you know the whole things at risk and you're like where did
where did we go wrong?
Well as suppliers we're disposable you know we're outside
the organisation we're outside the internal politics so it's you know if
you're backed into a corner it's really easy for your client just to you know
point the finger at you you're not there to defend yourself
I was at a meeting once where we had a few challenges we were trying to agree on this whole
savings methodology and what we're going to accomplish but we're working
through it you know. There'd been one commitment made it sales and then
months later we're still trying to turn it into reality because it kind of
didn't work. Anyway I bring along my boss bring along my boss's boss - the General
Manager and we all go to an introductory meeting to meet the new procurement person
and it's like "Warwick you haven't done this. Warwick you haven't done that
and you promised us this you promised us that"
and my contact nods "mm-hmm I know yes" and I was like
"Are you kidding me?" I could have throttled her.
I was so upset. I felt betrayed actually because we had been working
really hard together trying to make this work and for her not to just forewarn me
to let me know this was going to be the agenda on the meeting and to not
support me and actually just say "Look we have been working through this together"
felt really really disappointing
If people are new to their jobs. If they don't necessarily have the skills yet perhaps that might be one reason or
maybe they're in way over their heads maybe it's well above - you know
they're punching above their weight - there's more required than they're
actually able to accomplish or have the skill level to do.
Do they have a micro-management culture?
You'll know that because their boss and
their boss's boss and their boss's boss and every time that person rings you or
calls you "Oh my Boss has asked me for this, my Boss has asked me for that"
So a micro management culture can lend itself to people
looking to point fingers when things go wrong
Is this a new division? Maybe they haven't got processes or procedures in
place to be able to manage the supply relationship and what you deliver for them
Are they being acquired or have they made acquisitions or are they in
financial trouble? You know all of these things put the fear of God into people
and have them ducking for cover and looking to save their jobs and
if that means pointing the finger at somebody else - people are prepared to do it
Deep breaths. Calm. Don't react instantly
because it's an instinct to try and defend yourself to confront your accuser
or to confront the person that's thrown you under the bus. Don't do it
Take the deep breaths let them speak let them have this say if they want to point
the finger let them point the finger. Go away
24 hours later compose yourself and then think about the next move
Try to remember it's business it's not personal they're not attacking you it's about
them and the challenges that they're having and their coping skills and the
way that they react when they're under stress and under pressure and if it's
fight or flight and they've chosen to fight and to put your business
relationship at risk and sacrifice that to say their own necks, well that's what
they've done and that's about them not you. So remember that.
Talk to your manager - they may have been in the meeting with you of course - but if they
haven't been talk to your manager let them know exactly what happened
The most important thing is that your company and your boss has your back
If you've got their support and they know that you've done the right thing and they can help
you work through this with your client, that is the most important thing so make
sure you don't keep this a secret and make sure you don't let it escalate and
that you actually keep the boss involved. Straight away
Do you actually need to defend yourself?
If it's a low-level issue you know what
it may be it's just one of those things you have to let slide chalk it up to
experience. It's disappointing but ultimately it's not going to jeopardise
the relationship and maybe you can just be the bigger person.
Get through it and move on.
Now sometimes it's your credibility, your reputation
and your honour at stake right and that is something that you need to protect
and you maybe do need to actually defend yourself
now when I say "defend" I mean respond and the best way to do that is to go in a
sympathetic conciliatory way. I usually start out saying "I apologise
if they may have been a misunderstanding but look here is what we've done to date
here is a summary of all the challenges that you shared in the recent meeting
and here's the next steps that I recommend and what we do moving forward
do you agree?" and instantly that's going to sort of douse that flame it's going to
shed some light on what you've done to date and it's also going to be firmly
focused on the future and try to put that past you know put that
incident past you
And finally prevent a repeat of the situation
So look back with a magnifying glass and really
analyse every interaction: think about the people that you're talking to, what
types of people they are, what led to this situation where you were actually
thrown under the bus and what can you do to make sure it doesn't happen again?
Now just because they maybe want to sacrifice our business relationship just
to save their own necks, that's their issue right and we're Account Managers
we're professionals and you know sometimes you have to take it on the chin.
Now getting over it is probably the most difficult thing and
it was for me it took me a little while. Now you may find your relationship is
not the same with your customer - your point of contact after this happens.
That's natural. It can take a bit of time to get over what happened
and that doesn't mean you can't be professional and you can't project an
air of confidence and professionalism and maintain a relationship. You will
over time (like they say time heals all wounds) you will get over it, you will
think about things differently and you know you may forgive but not forget.
That's okay. There's been situations in the past where somebody
threw me under the bus really badly I picked myself up dust myself off moved
on and we continued to work together for years. We had a good relationship. It was never
the same but it was still productive and we still managed to have a very
strong partnership and really it was about our two businesses it really
wasn't about us so we had to consider that in the bigger picture.
That's my advice. I hope you never get collected by a bus and if you
do I hope this video helps you get through it. If this has happened to you
in the past and you've got any advice feel free to comment below. If you have
any questions hit me up on the social media platform of your choice @warwickabrown
You can find me at my blog accountmanager.tips
and until next time, bye for now
you