Tell that Bad Client “You’re Fired!”
May 7, 2008
I’m dealing with a client this week that I should have “fired” long ago. This particular situation has gotten extremely messy and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy (not that I have enemies!). But it did help me reflect on firing clients, and how to do so easily.
The first step to firing a client is getting up the courage to do so. You have to realize that as a business owner, you are in charge of who you work with. You don’t have an obligation to work with a particular person, no matter what they try to tell you or promise you in the future. As long as you fulfill your obligation for the current work, you don’t have to continue working with a person if you don’t want to.
Think about how to get out of the relationship. If it’s just a personality conflict, then it’s up to you whether you want to ruffle their feathers with the truth or tell a little white lie like “I’m cutting back on my work hours.” It’s your call based on the situation, and sometimes it is best to just stretch the truth instead of telling them “You’re a psychotic anal retentive jerk.”
If there’s a problem with the project, or they’ve crossed the line in some respect, you may want to let them know specifically why you are terminating the relationship. For example, when I first started out, a client hired me for content writing and once I received his reference materials it became clear that he really needed a copywriter (and someone who didn’t mind writing about “mature” content). I’m no nun…but I definitely refunded his money and let him know he was barking up the wrong tree.
Firing a client takes a leap of faith. I know there’s always that moment when you wonder if you’ll ever have a client to replace the one you are leaving behind. There is. There will be plenty. Get over it and get on with your life. You’ll feel much better when you get the client out of your roster.
After you’ve fired a client, analyze what went wrong. Was it a lack of communication? Was there a problem with your contract (or the fact that you didn’t have one)? Did you do too little research at the start of the project to figure out if it was right for you? Was the project just over your head? Even if your former client was totally to blame for the problems, there’s always something you can learn to make your relationship with your future clients better and more productive.
Posted in Client Relations
content rss
May 8th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I think we’ve all had “that client”, Courtney. Hang in there! My favorite was the bulk content mill I worked for, that paid $1 per word and docked your pay by $10 if you missed a deadline (all deadlines were within 24 hours, so I’m talking missed a deadline by 10 minutes). He actually seemed surprised when I quit…
Nice to see you’re back to blogging!
May 8th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Sandi, $1 per word doesn’t seem bad - but the $10 docking does seem a little annoying, especially if the issue were just a matter of having a clock that was a few minutes off. Sometimes it’s about more than just the pay… some people are just difficult!
May 9th, 2008 at 4:14 am
@Sandi Thanks! It’s good to be back as well. Was that $1 per word or $1 per article? I’m thinking the latter.
@Katherine Thanks for stopping by. That’s definitely true…personality matter a lot. Some people are just jerks and bullies and it’s best to pass on their work, no matter how well it pays.
May 9th, 2008 at 10:09 am
In Michael Port’s outstanding book for service professionals, “Book Yourself Solid”, he has an extended discussion on the critical importance of firing all your clients whom you don’t truly enjoy working with. I read that section, then “fired” one of my astrology mentees. whom I found irritating, and had two more sign up within the next week. The universe will test you to see what you’ll settle for — be sure to set a high standard!
May 9th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Dur. I left out words - typing fast with a toddler climbing on the laptop will do that. It was $1 per 100 words - 7500 to 10,000 words per day. Hope that clarifies a bit.
If ONLY it had been $1 per word…