Three's A Crowd: Working With Clients of Clients

Every so often in this wonderful industry I work in, there arises a unique circumstance that only other PR people could ever really understand. It happens when a client, whom you work with exclusively, decides to introduce a new factor into your buisness relationship. For comedy's sake, we'll call this factor the Third Wheel Dilemma.

The Third Wheel Dilemma occurs when a third party (someone who is not your client or yourself) suddenly becomes very involved in the day-to-day business relationship you've developed with your client. This person may be an asset to the relationship or, like in my case, he or she may just place a slight damper on that relationship.

Before I even begin to discuss this, let me first address the fact that I would never bad-mouth a client, especially not on a public forum such as the Internet. This discussion serves as a way to share what I've learned from my experience with the Third Wheel Dilemma with the readers of this blog . I'm doing this in an effort to make this blog a genuine, honest experience.

Now that that's cleared up, let's get back to the situation at hand.

When dealing with the Third Wheel Dilemma, it's important to keep a few things in mind:

1. Be professional: Even if the third party is overbearing, steps on a few toes or is flat out rude, treat him or her with the respect any fellow professional deserves. Remember, this person is important to your client, so he or she should also be important to you.
2. Maintain contact with the third party: The last thing you want is to be out-of-the-loop with what's happening between your client and the third party. It's always a good idea to keep the line of communication open with the third party so you never risk being uninformed.
3. Keep an open mind: Even if the third party is slightly difficult to work with, never [ever] let your distaste for the third party cloud your professional judgment. The third party may not be an ideal business partner, but there is a reason your client introduced him or her into the equation, so it may be worth listening to some of the ideas he or she has.
4. Accept the presence of the third party: As much as you may dislike it, the third party is now an asset (good or bad) to your relationship with your client. The sooner you accept this and move forward, the better.

The Third Wheel Dilemma isn't the most ideal situation to have on your hands. Sure, there will be times when you wish the third party wasn't involved in your business relationship, but understanding the importance of keeping the third party happy in order to keep your client happy is key here.

 Maintain a professional approach to the situation and three may just be company, too.