Many Executive Directors and their staff have to deal with Property and Business Owners  who are not always pleasant (this might be putting it gently)

If you have not already run across upset or disgruntled owners, you live in a perfect Improvement District!   You can stop reading now.  For those Improvement Districts who may have some challenges with difficult owners, read on!

There are owners who are part of an Improvement District who feel like you – or your staff – are not doing your job if you don’t cater to their immediate needs.  These same owners call you at all hours of the day.   They want you to do everything for them  -except mop their floors.  Don’t misunderstand, as an ED or a staffer, part of the job is to help out these owners.  However, that shouldn’t translate to losing peace or sleep at the end of your day.

There are some very valid concerns that property and business owners bring up.   Many times they aren’t always heard because of their delivery.   In order to become even better at what you do, you need to be able to figure out what are the non-legitimate issues and what falls into your scope of work.   In addition to setting some ground rules ahead of meeting with owners, below are 5 tips to keeping your cool when owners are hot!

1. Hear them out.

It shouldn’t take you very long to get to the root of their real issue,  but allot the time to just hear them out.  It doesn’t have to be all day.  People just want to know that someone has really heard them.  Once they realize you are really listening, they will tend to not drag the issue out.  Additionally, be sure to set up an appointment for your conversation so that you are in control of the length of your meeting and managing your time.

2. Acknowledge that you understand.

Once you have heard them out, simply let them know that you understand the issue. Repeat it to to them so that you are both clear on the issue.  “So that we are clear, what I am understanding is your office wants help with the permit process at the county, is that correct?”

3. Stay out of judgment.

However menial you may think an issue is, to an owner of a property or business, whatever they bring to you is BIG.   Always remember that their life evolves around their business or property.  They have invested their time, money and  resources into ownership.   The issues they bring to your attention in their thinking affect their bottom line. Don’t judge it, just help them if you can, and be clear if you cannot help them. As a bonus, practicing staying out of judgement will help you in your business and personal life too.

4. Write it down

This most likely, sounds too simple, but you should really do this.  Don’t make your meeting just a gripe session. The goal in meeting with them is to help them. Make a list of what you can do and show it to them. Set the expectation at this point that these are the issue(s) you will address as a result of hearing them out.  Again, be clear about the things that are out of your control or out of your scope.

5. Follow Up

A phone call or an email after you are done speaking to an owner about an issue is worth it’s weight in gold.  Send them some type of communication that tells them you are either working on the issue or you have resolution.  This will tell them that you do care about what’s happening.  Consequently, this communicates that you value them for being a part of your district and that they matter.

 

It’s totally possible.

Obviously this is not a cookie cutter plan for every situation.   You can use some or all of these tips, and then tailor make your own list to refer to in the future.  The goal is that you would have some type of plan to turn to when you are faced with difficult situations.   Having an action plan in place will help you respond kindly to these owners. Now you are responding instead of just reacting to them.  Doing this will help you keep doors open for when you need their assistance for some future project for your Improvement District.  You got this!