How should I handle a client who thinks I’m too posh?

[DickvanDyck]

I've recently been asked to work with a client and had the first meeting.

I thought it went well. He seemed nice, it was pretty unremarkable.

I've now heard via a colleague that he's a bit unsure of working with me. Because I'm "posh". He's not sure I'll be on the same page as him for the planned work.

I really don't know what to do. I need to build a rapport with this man and I want to. This has happened before but the context was different and I was able to handle it in a different way that is not possible in this situation.

My manager is aware and I can't swap account managers (marketing)

I really don't know how to approach this.

I think to be able to give advice we need to know more context:
what kind of industry are you in?
why might people think you are posh, is it accent or what?
are you in fact posh?
might this be remotely relevant to the client’s business/ project?

Sorry I reread and note you said marketing. What is his business though?
Is he vey unposh?

I’m not sure there is much you can do. It’s his problem not yours. The worst thing you could do is try to de-posh yourself, it would be obvious and cringey.

He shouldn’t stereotype or talk about you behind your back, that sounds unprofessional on his part but I guess you are reluctant to call him out on it and risk losing the business.

Maybe at the next meeting, acknowledge you’re both aware of your different backgrounds and indicate how it could be a strength to the working relationship to have different perspectives.

Either that or just ignore it completely, crack on as you normally would and find some common ground to break the ice.

Surrey, just edited to add I work in marketing.

Am I posh? Not in the scheme of things, no, but my accent is. There's nothing else he would know about me that would otherwise tip him off.

No, I don't think it is relevant.

Well, I’d see it as useful information if something about me was giving a client pause.

Thanks @SixAndJuliet . I was thinking along those lines too without acknowledging it directly, maybe asking if he had any concerns. He's an older gentleman, maybe that is relevant.

I agree, but what would you do?

I would dial my accent down/code switch when I’m around him. I have a variety of accents (bottom of the working class origins, went to Oxford, professional career) I can draw on when contexts require.

Ignore this. We all make instant judgements when meeting new people. He’s not saying he doesn’t want to work with you. He’s just saying he’s unsure.

So win him over by being good. Ignore the ‘posh’ thing. That will be irrelevant if you do a good job.

It will be exceedingly hard to make it work.
If your manager knows and yet can't switch you out...well, then it's the managers prerogative not to care about client service.

I'm probably overthinking it, I was just a bit taken aback by the comment because I thought the planning session went OK, he liked the materials I brought.

My manager's great. She was probably taken aback too.

I think this is easily fixable. He’s making assumptions about your background and life experiences based on your accent. You acknowledge that you sound posh, but you say that you’re not posh, so presumably you’ve actually had a life that he can relate to. So make sure you make it known that your life experiences are not posh, but very normal!

I was from a working class background but poshed up my accent when I went into a profession because I felt it disadvantaged me. I can now do a range of accents from broad Liverpool to BBC English and sometimes use it on the phone when my "housekeeper" goes to see whether her employer is available.

I would resist the temptation to dial down your accent however. This is the clients self image problem and not yours.

If I heard this from a client I wouldn’t think “what should I do”, I’d think “idiot client” and then just add him to a long list of other idiot clients and then get on with the job.

Well, if he has issue later, he has issues. Being posh has little to do with your job and he should be grown up enough to understand that. If doing good work, you're approachable and friendly, not much more he should expect. Don't stop being you or try to be something else, embrace any poshness!

When you say older do you mean Boomer or Gen X?

If it's the latter pretend you like Oasis and not Coldplay, go a bit 'Mad fer it'

Well- he's revealed himself to be someone who quickly stereotypes and thinks negatively of you. Would he have expressed that he thought you were 'rough' or something else he has decided to put an umbrella negative connotation on?

He's narrow-minded at best. I'd be a little unwilling to take him on as a client tbh.

He's a business man, he'll know that he'll get the best results by working with the best people and that good results equals increased profits. So show him (or tell him) that you're the best person for the job; he'll care more about increased profits than he'll care about your accent.

I would take it all with a grain of salt. This is all coming via a colleague. They could easily be adding legs to the story eg the client could have said something like you have a posh voice and your colleague could have added to it. (Often not in a nasty way). I had very similar in work this week where I was told by one colleague about something an ex colleague told him. I happened to meet the ex colleague and asked them about it and it wasn't the exact story I was told.

Well, he wouldn't be allowed to say he wasn't sure about working with you because of your race or orientation. You are the class you are - there is no disguising it. I think you just crack on and hope he gets over himself.

Exactly what I was going to say.

Doing a good job should win him over.

THIS!!

OP do not change your accent or anything else about how you present to pander to this man.

Don’t change anything; it’s his issue, not yours.

i have had this issue. The only thing that works is doing a good job. Don’t change your accent, or content of your conversations. It will come across as inauthentic. Just do a great job for him.

Imagine if it was the other way round, and he was unsure about you because you were too working class, in his eyes…