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Fire your client.
You know that one client you wish you didn't have?
The one who makes you cringe every time you pick up your ringing phone and see their name on the caller ID.
The one who reminds you that nothing you do is ever right. That no product you provide is ever adequate. No service you've spent your professional career developing and perfecting is ever acceptable. And no matter what you do, it's not good enough.
C'mon. You can admit it. You know that client. Every business has one.
98% of the people you do business with think you are the greatest thing since the invention of sliced bread.
98% of your clients are grateful, gracious, and agreeable.
But this client requires more time and attention than all of your other clients put together. And even after you do everything you can to please them, they question your charges or maybe threaten you with bad Yelp reviews.
You spend at least 50% of your time and 80% of your emotional well-being talking to, thinking about, and trying to make things right for this one unbearable client who makes up less than 2% of your income.
Fire your client.
Just like you would advise a loved one to get out of an abusive relationship, it's time to care about yourself enough to make the call.
“It's just not working out.”
“It's just not a good fit.”
“I wish you every success.”
Or, as Billy Crystal says in The Princess Bride, “Have fun storming the castle!”
In other words, it's time to fire them. Or, as George Strait sang,
“Goodbye, farewell, so long, vaya con Dios,
Good luck, wish you well, take it slow, easy come, girl, easy go.”
Yeah, I know, he was singing about a love interest and we're talking about a client. But still…
What are you worried about? Worried that they'll say something terrible about you and your company?
When you consider what they've said to your face, you know they're saying bad things about you and your business already.
Firing them can't make the situation worse.
But it can make it go away.
And it can make your professional and personal life so much better.
Fire your client.
Just think of what you can do with all the time you'll save. Think about what productive good you could do by applying yourself to satisfying your good clients and maybe even finding some new ones.
Think about the fresh ideas, increased enthusiasm, and clearer head you'll have when you don't have to put up with people you don't like doing business with.
It's easy to get all those things…
All you have to do is fire your client.
It was an exciting revelation to myself when I fired a client. It meant I had arrived at a place where belief in my abilities outweighed any fear about the impact on my bottom line. His executive team was surprised when I told them I was about to end our relationship, but they knew I had taken them as far as I could with the CEO/ Owners behavior and mindset. I miss working with them, but continuing would not be positive or productive.
Thanks for sharing that, Norm. Be careful, after you do it once it gets easier…!
I wouldn’t have a second thought about firing a client who is less than 2% of my income. When they’re 20%, 30%, and so on, it’s not so simplistic.
That’s the thing, Kezia. When you factor in the opportunity cost of staying with them (diminished morale, disappointing work quality, reputational damage, and ineffective use of time, not to mention increased agita, stomach acid, and sleepless nights) even 20 or 30% isn’t worth it.
Bruce — thanks for reminding us of the “power we have when we give ourselves permission”… to do anything. This was great Bruce — thanks for this contribution!
As Pogo the Possum said, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
We have to be really careful not to hold ourselves back.
We have a clause in our Agreement that states… “Either party may cancel our Agreement at any time without reason.”
We have used this initive several times over the past 44 years when we felt this was in the best interest of all parties.
I prefer an LOA (Letter of Agreement) for that reason, Pete. It clearly spells out how we will work together but does not address the time we will spend together. If we all benefit from our work together, we’ll keep doing it. If not, goodbye and good luck.
Did not realize you have such an extensive background in strategic consulting. Have you had similar seccess with your “Letter of Agreement” with US Military clients as well?
My experience with the US Military has almost always been that they provided the contract form, and I signed it, Pete. The only exception was the National Guard, which used my simple LOA.
Comment *A variation on this: TELL your client that you’re going to fire them, but softened with a phrase like “I think”. Though I’m primarily a public speaking skills coach, I also have a side business as a photo restorer and editor (https://FreshenYourPhoto.com). I’ve had two clients in the last year who wanted so many revisions and so many fine detail changes that were NEVER going to be visible once printed (they were zooming in on their screens ridiculously).
In both cases, I finally said, “You know what? Your expectations exceed the time I have and what I think is possible with Photoshop. As much as I hate to have invested all of this time for nothing, I think we should quit here and you find someone else who you think could do better.” Amazing how fast I was told how they loved my work when they thought they were going to lose what they’d already seen. But it was a risk of losing the job…and worth it.
I like that. Unless, of course, you don’t like working with the client regardless of the pay or the projects. In that case, let ’em go!
That was amazing Milo!
Milo’s comments are always brilliant, Morris. He used to email them to me, but I’ve asked Milo to post them here so everyone can see them and get the benefit of his big brain.
Hi Bruce,
Absolutely on target. The income cannot be worth the pain and it is probably not a profitable account.
Thank you,
Alan Campbell
How often did you learn this lesson in your illustrious career, Alan? Thanks for your words of confirmation. I know that you know how true it is.
I fired two clients in the past two months.
Every word of this post is true. Thank you for the validation.
DO NOT BE AFRAID TO STICK TO YOUR VALUES.
Thank you Joy. It’s so true, isn’t it? We already know what to do and who to get rid of, we just don’t do it so quickly. And then, once we do, we wonder what took us so long and what the heck we were waiting for. Glad you confirmed my words too.
“DO NOT BE AFRAID TO STICK TO YOUR VALUES.”
Love that. Thank you.