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Toxic Client: Knowing and Avoiding Problem Customers
Not every client is a good client!
Learn how to avoid problem clients that are more trouble than they're worth...
To succeed in business you must learn how to recognize and avoid the Toxic Client. With useful stories everyone can relate to, Toxic Client will show you how to handle the problem customers.
In that first flush of life as business owners, we often say “Yes” to anyone who wants to hire us. We think the most important thing is establishing a client base. As long as we’re getting hired, that’s a good thing, and it’s all that matters.
But after a while, we learn an important Not every client is a good client. In fact, some of them are truly toxic — they contaminate our business environment and breed negativity about the work, they infect employees by lowering their morale, they exhaust and debilitate our energy reserves, and they drain our coffers.
Toxic Knowing and Avoiding Problem Customers will teach readers how
• Deal with Angry and Lying clients
• Engage in Active Listening to spot potential trouble
• Identify Freeloaders and Troublemakers
• Stay clear of clients with Alcohol, Drug Use and Entitlementia issues
• Dismiss and Avoid Toxic Clients
The book features a Bonus Section on using Collection Agencies, Mechanics’ Liens and Small Claims Court to get paid for your e orts.
Learn how to avoid problem clients that are more trouble than they're worth...
To succeed in business you must learn how to recognize and avoid the Toxic Client. With useful stories everyone can relate to, Toxic Client will show you how to handle the problem customers.
In that first flush of life as business owners, we often say “Yes” to anyone who wants to hire us. We think the most important thing is establishing a client base. As long as we’re getting hired, that’s a good thing, and it’s all that matters.
But after a while, we learn an important Not every client is a good client. In fact, some of them are truly toxic — they contaminate our business environment and breed negativity about the work, they infect employees by lowering their morale, they exhaust and debilitate our energy reserves, and they drain our coffers.
Toxic Knowing and Avoiding Problem Customers will teach readers how
• Deal with Angry and Lying clients
• Engage in Active Listening to spot potential trouble
• Identify Freeloaders and Troublemakers
• Stay clear of clients with Alcohol, Drug Use and Entitlementia issues
• Dismiss and Avoid Toxic Clients
The book features a Bonus Section on using Collection Agencies, Mechanics’ Liens and Small Claims Court to get paid for your e orts.
- GenresBusiness
208 pages, Paperback
First published May 17, 2016
5 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Garrett Sutton
59 books227 followersGarrett Sutton, Esq. is a Rich Dad Advisor, a nationally acclaimed corporate attorney and asset protection expert.
A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and Hastings College of the Law, the University of California’s law school in San Francisco, Garrett has written a number of books guiding entrepreneurs and investors. Garrett’s best sellers include: Start Your Own Corporation, Loopholes of Real Estate, Writing Winning Business Plans and Run Your Own Corporation in Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Advisor series. Garrett is also the author of How to Use Limited Liability Companies & Limited Partnerships and the co-author of Finance Your Own Business.
Garrett is the founder of Corporate Direct and Sutton Law Center, which since 1988 have provided affordable asset protection and corporate formation and maintenance services for investors around the world.
His articles and quotes have been published in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CBS.com, Time.com and Credit.com. More information is found at CorporateDirect.com and Sutlaw.com. Garrett serves on the boards of the Birmingham, Alabama-based American Baseball Foundation and the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, Nevada. He is married with three children and lives in Reno, Nevada.
A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and Hastings College of the Law, the University of California’s law school in San Francisco, Garrett has written a number of books guiding entrepreneurs and investors. Garrett’s best sellers include: Start Your Own Corporation, Loopholes of Real Estate, Writing Winning Business Plans and Run Your Own Corporation in Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Advisor series. Garrett is also the author of How to Use Limited Liability Companies & Limited Partnerships and the co-author of Finance Your Own Business.
Garrett is the founder of Corporate Direct and Sutton Law Center, which since 1988 have provided affordable asset protection and corporate formation and maintenance services for investors around the world.
His articles and quotes have been published in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CBS.com, Time.com and Credit.com. More information is found at CorporateDirect.com and Sutlaw.com. Garrett serves on the boards of the Birmingham, Alabama-based American Baseball Foundation and the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, Nevada. He is married with three children and lives in Reno, Nevada.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 4, 2017
Toxic Client by Garrett Sutton is a must have for those in business. Dealing with customers is not easy. Not every client that comes to a business man or woman will be a good client. This nonfiction book, guided on how to see,understand, and recognize a toxic client from the others. Toxic clients are good for anyone or any business. It's best to know how to avoid these kind of customers. Toxic clients can destroy what businesses have built. A good name for starters. All it takes is for one or a few bad clients to ruin a business and its employees. This book was well-organized and well-done. It was easy to navigate through and to comprehend. Garrett Sutton also gives ways on how to handle these kind of clients, if businesses run into them. The Toxic Client was very informative. I recommend this book for all businesses despite the size.
December 8, 2016
"A Toxic Client is a person that sets you back in a significant way. More than a mere nuisance, they are a distinct detriment to you, your team and your company’s morale." Over the course of twelve chapters, nationally acclaimed corporate attorney and asset protection expert Garrett Sutton supplies readers with detailed examples using cases. These cases via personal and shared stories coming from all forms of business—small to corporate, to help identify and avoid the ubiquitous Toxic Client. A pertinent how-to read, Sutton's latest tackles all the toxic personalities—"from the entitled and narcissist to the bully and manipulator."
Sutton presents the perfect guide for those in the business arena. While targeting business owners, his narrative also meets the needs of employees who are most often toxic clients' first contact. Sutton's relaxed writing style is inviting and warm, resembling a fireside chat. In addition, Sutton provides an attractive layout of chapter topics that include quote openers, instructions, cases, and lessons. Chapter topics either feature a skill business people need to attain when addressing toxic clients, or a list of common personality toxic client traits. Instructions cover chapter topics and vary in length. The best and bulkiest portion of the chapters is the cases, which keep to a storytelling format. These cases reflect human-interest tales—stories from individuals who come from the school of hard knocks. And to make sure his readers retain highlights from the cases, Sutton punctuates his chapters with catchy maxim-like lessons.
High on the chart of skill levels is active listening. Sutton opens his first chapter on this vital topic, which sets the tone for Sutton's book. A capsule summary of this vital topic is captured in lesson #1, "if you listen well, the Toxic Client will tell you everything you need to know." After covering cases focused on a personal trainer and a CPA, Sutton provides four essential points, which he constantly incorporates throughout the remaining cases:
1. Listen to what is said.
2. Interpret what is said.
3. Evaluate what is said.
4. Respond to what is said.
Beyond active listening skills, Sutton covers topics such as anger, lying, instincts, mental health, drugs and alcohol, freeloaders, and entitlement—just to name a few. Sutton addresses subject matter that is often uncomfortable to face, but because of toxic client's colorful array of attitudes, the best advice is to be aware of the signs so as not to be duped. And what better way to identify those signs than to examine work situations. Sutton's case collection covers sixteen scenarios that display the many facets of business life. Good examples include stories on dermatologists, a financial planner, a landscaper, a tourist shop owner, and a graphic designer.
Bringing his well-rounded book to a satisfying close, Sutton takes into account significant and handy resources for his business-minded readers. Placing them into three convenient appendices, appendix A covers Mechanics’ Liens, which is intended for contractors and tradesmen, appendix B explains small claims court, and appendix C deals with collection agencies.
Offering common themes set to human-interest stories, Toxic Client is insightful and highly educational, and has wide audience appeal.
Originally from Hollywood Book Reviews
Anita Lock, Book Reviewer
Sutton presents the perfect guide for those in the business arena. While targeting business owners, his narrative also meets the needs of employees who are most often toxic clients' first contact. Sutton's relaxed writing style is inviting and warm, resembling a fireside chat. In addition, Sutton provides an attractive layout of chapter topics that include quote openers, instructions, cases, and lessons. Chapter topics either feature a skill business people need to attain when addressing toxic clients, or a list of common personality toxic client traits. Instructions cover chapter topics and vary in length. The best and bulkiest portion of the chapters is the cases, which keep to a storytelling format. These cases reflect human-interest tales—stories from individuals who come from the school of hard knocks. And to make sure his readers retain highlights from the cases, Sutton punctuates his chapters with catchy maxim-like lessons.
High on the chart of skill levels is active listening. Sutton opens his first chapter on this vital topic, which sets the tone for Sutton's book. A capsule summary of this vital topic is captured in lesson #1, "if you listen well, the Toxic Client will tell you everything you need to know." After covering cases focused on a personal trainer and a CPA, Sutton provides four essential points, which he constantly incorporates throughout the remaining cases:
1. Listen to what is said.
2. Interpret what is said.
3. Evaluate what is said.
4. Respond to what is said.
Beyond active listening skills, Sutton covers topics such as anger, lying, instincts, mental health, drugs and alcohol, freeloaders, and entitlement—just to name a few. Sutton addresses subject matter that is often uncomfortable to face, but because of toxic client's colorful array of attitudes, the best advice is to be aware of the signs so as not to be duped. And what better way to identify those signs than to examine work situations. Sutton's case collection covers sixteen scenarios that display the many facets of business life. Good examples include stories on dermatologists, a financial planner, a landscaper, a tourist shop owner, and a graphic designer.
Bringing his well-rounded book to a satisfying close, Sutton takes into account significant and handy resources for his business-minded readers. Placing them into three convenient appendices, appendix A covers Mechanics’ Liens, which is intended for contractors and tradesmen, appendix B explains small claims court, and appendix C deals with collection agencies.
Offering common themes set to human-interest stories, Toxic Client is insightful and highly educational, and has wide audience appeal.
Originally from Hollywood Book Reviews
Anita Lock, Book Reviewer
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October 10, 2016Author Garrett Sutton tackles an unpleasant, but necessary, topic for small business owners in this how-to, self-help book. While most customer service books focus on improving client relations with tips for strengthening connections with clients, Sutton’s book takes a more realistic, and more helpful, tack and offers sound advice on dealing with impossible and unpleasant situations created by “toxic clients”.
What I especially liked about Sutton’s book is that It’s full of practical advice, not lofty theory. Let’s face it, as a small business owner all of us have faced the dilemma of having a customer we wished had shopped somewhere else. Yet, to “fire” a client means a real problem when looking at future prospects. Sutton gives advice on how to deal with the issue before it’s even a problem. Determining who clients are going to be rather than just accepting all the clients who come along was a real eye-opener for me. Sutton’s advice is something that can be taken to heart right away with immediate results. This focus on professionalism forces us to look at our business practices and value the work we do—and to put a fair price and boundaries on that work.
Sutton also has advice for situations involving dealing with difficult customers along the way, after the show is over, and damage control when all else fails. In all, the advice is sound and doable. It’s easy to see that Sutton has had these same experiences. Rather than ideas that might work, Sutton gives tips that have worked—as well as talk about several that just didn’t. The realistic nature of the stories completely won me over. While many small business owners and managers have the technical savvy and organizational skills to make their business work, one ugly encounter with a client can set all the hard work back for months, or longer. With this book, you’ll have a solid handle on how to deal with such toxicity.
What I especially liked about Sutton’s book is that It’s full of practical advice, not lofty theory. Let’s face it, as a small business owner all of us have faced the dilemma of having a customer we wished had shopped somewhere else. Yet, to “fire” a client means a real problem when looking at future prospects. Sutton gives advice on how to deal with the issue before it’s even a problem. Determining who clients are going to be rather than just accepting all the clients who come along was a real eye-opener for me. Sutton’s advice is something that can be taken to heart right away with immediate results. This focus on professionalism forces us to look at our business practices and value the work we do—and to put a fair price and boundaries on that work.
Sutton also has advice for situations involving dealing with difficult customers along the way, after the show is over, and damage control when all else fails. In all, the advice is sound and doable. It’s easy to see that Sutton has had these same experiences. Rather than ideas that might work, Sutton gives tips that have worked—as well as talk about several that just didn’t. The realistic nature of the stories completely won me over. While many small business owners and managers have the technical savvy and organizational skills to make their business work, one ugly encounter with a client can set all the hard work back for months, or longer. With this book, you’ll have a solid handle on how to deal with such toxicity.
Read
April 16, 2016Review available on Pacific Book Review.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews