Best Ways To Follow Up After A Client Dispute

If you’ve been an accounting firm owner long enough, you’ve probably received a threatening email from a client or former client to be.  I know I have- sometimes for something we did (or didn’t do) and sometimes for something completely the fault of the client.  Regardless of who did or didn’t do what, how you respond will greatly dictate the results of the issue and how painful it becomes.  I had all ends of the spectrum from a client acknowledging their mistake to litigation. To start with, you don’t win a client crisis in the inbox. You win it with speed, structure, and calm conversation(s).  I’ve had the unfortunate experience of learning and watching a 14 reply email thread make things worse.  Ignoring or procrastinating the issue will generally make things worse as well although there can sometimes be benefits to giving those involved time to cool down.     This is what I’ve found worked best over the years if you find yourself in this situation, do this as soon as you can:: -If error and omission exposure is possible, notify your carrier and get guidance.  -Acknowledge the issue and schedule a live call as soon as you can that week.. -Stop the back-and-forth emails until that meeting. -Pull the timeline, scope, deliverables, and messages. You need to understand the facts as well as feelings. -If it appears potential for litigation, start an incident log documenting all communications and preserve every record.  Stop communicating internally electronically on the matter. As soon as you can: -Meet live. Clarify expectations vs scope. Define what acceptable resolution means. -Offer a narrow make right approach if warranted. Keep it specific and time bound. -Document and confirm next steps in an email after the call.   Within 5 days: -Diagnose, identify, and fix the root cause of the issue, not just the symptom. Examples would be tightening a checklist, review step, or handoff. -Review similar clients for the same failure point. -Decide your fee stance. Only discount if it buys closure and learning. -Close the loop with a short lessons learned note to the client and your team. In short, meet fast, map facts, make it right, then make it better. Often, top-notch handling of issues can result in stronger client / firm relationships.  What would you add from your playbook and/or experience?

“Just following up…” isn’t a strategy. It’s a stall. And I get it...follow-up can feel awkward. You don’t want to be annoying. You don’t want to seem desperate. You just want to re-open the convo without sounding like a robot. So let me show you 3 better ways to follow up...and when to use them: 🔹 1. The Callback This one’s personal. You reference something they said on the call. “You mentioned wanting to raise your rates without losing clients...still thinking about that? I am here to dig deeper when you’re ready.” ✅ Use it when: They were warm, the convo was real, and you just need a re-entry point. 🔹 2. The Disruptor Humor. A GIF. A voice note. Something unexpected. This one’s a pattern interrupt. I've sent a GIF of a guy standing in the rain...soaked, waiting. No words. No pressure. Just a quiet nudge. The person replied within minutes. ✅ Use it when: You’ve been ghosted or left on read and want to show up without pushing. 🔹 3. The Shift Sometimes the original thread is dead. So… pivot. Change the energy. Bring something new to the table. “Just saw this article and thought of our convo. Curious if you’ve been seeing this trend too?” ✅ Use it when: The trail is cold, but the relationship is worth keeping warm. Bottom line? 📌 People don’t ignore you because you followed up. They ignore you because you didn’t give them a reason to care. So stop “checking in.” Start reconnecting...with strategy, creativity, and a little heart. 💬 Curious: Which one do you tend to use? And which one do you want to try next? Yaacov 🎙🙏🏻 --- 👉 Struggling to sell your creative work? Hi, I’m Yaacov 👋🏻—I help agency owners & solopreneurs land more clients without feeling like a salesperson. 💡 My clients have hit 200% growth in 60 days and closed $50K in 3 weeks. Let’s fix your sales process.

Had an interesting conversation last week with a founder who was ready to walk away from a client a few months ago. The issue? A massive misunderstanding on project scope that spiraled into a heated argument. Instead of calling it quits, he did something simple but worked- He called the client and started with, “I think we’re misaligned. Help me understand where things went off track.” No defensiveness. No excuses. Just a question. It defused the tension immediately. They laid out all the frustrations, and he just listened. Next question - “What does success look like from here?” That one shifted the conversation from blame to solution. They ended up not only saving the relationship but also closing a bigger deal with them the following month. It made me realize this: Most client conflicts aren’t about the actual problem. They’re about feeling unheard and misunderstood.. Similar to personal relationships outside of work. I’ve seen this happen and workout by doing the following- Acknowledge the frustration. Even if you disagree. Ask what success looks like. It shifts the focus from the past to the future. Make a commitment—and follow through. Even if it’s just a small step, action rebuilds trust. Conflicts are going to happen. But if you lean into them with curiosity instead of combativeness, you’ll not only solve the issue but also strengthen the relationship. What do you do when you're lost in the woods ? Start with one step.

Yesterday I was on a call and a dispute over a SOC 2 audit finding got borderline unprofessional. The crux of the issue wasn't the audit finding itself (both parties actually agreed with the basic facts), but rather how the conversation went down. And after 2000+ engagements here are a few tools to handle conflicts like these. 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Consultant: Explains audit finding. Client: I agree, but it is so low risk we should just call it an opportunity for improvement (OFI) and not include it in the formal report. Consultant: I agree it's low risk, but it is an exception from the control, so I have to include it in the report. Client: Further defends why it's low risk. Consultant: Goes on to explain 5 ways client could have avoided the issue. Client (Voice Raised): Are you willing to fight me on this? Consultant (Intensity matched): Yes. 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗜𝗧 𝗪𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗕𝗔𝗗 1. Because a challenge was issued (and accepted) it didn't leave either party much room to save face. That never turns out well. 2. In fairness to the auditor, this was a pretty cut and dry finding. In fairness to the client, it was not socialized in advance and caught a lot of people off guard. 3. This was a routine meeting for the auditor, but the client felt like it was career ending. 𝗖𝗢𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 It is worth saying that this conversation was between two decent and competent people who would otherwise get along great. Yet, this is a situation that happens all the time with security, audit, and GRC pros. There's just a lot of conflict to navigate in this career and we have to learn to do it. So, here are a few tools I've seen work to find resolution and avoid escalating: 𝟭. 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 - Do both parties agree on the facts? - Do both parties understand the options (eg. Change control language, add a management response)? - Are there hidden factors (eg someone's job or reputation on the line)? Seek first to understand. Always. 𝟮. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱 Sometimes a trusted third party will see things more clearly, or at least have a voice both parties respect. Try saying something like: "I can see this is important to both of us, let's pull in Christian and see if he can add some perspective that helps. Is that ok with you?" 𝟯. 𝗦𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘁 Create some space to cool off. Try saying: "This is too important for me to answer on the fly. I really need some time to think on this one. Would it be okay if I sleep on it and give you a detailed response tomorrow?" 𝟰. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 If someone starts to get emotional or lobs a verbal punch your way - just remind yourself there's probably something going on in their life you don't see. A bad day. A personal issue. Who knows. I often use that as a mental trick to summon a little more patience. --- Good luck out there!