90% of your clients will be fantastic. They will bring you interesting projects, they learn and adapt based on your recommendations, they teach you interesting new things and allow you to grow and challenge yourself. They may even become lifelong friends.
But throughout the life of your business, you’ll come across some clients who are just… argh! They will question everything you do for them, argue incessantly, refuse to give you the information you need, undermine your work and then blame you, refuse to pay, or just do flat-out insane things.
When a client becomes a bigger hassle than the money they bring in is worth to you, then it’s time to get rid of them.
But how do you fire a client without the negativity coming back to bite you? Here’s our guide:
Often we feel as though we need to just deal with nightmare clients because they are part of doing business. After all, if they’re paying the bills, then what does it really matter in the end?
Not true. Your bad clients can actually end up costing you money. If they consistently pay late or haggle over fees, they interrupt your cash flow. If they are constantly requesting changes or calling with questions, they eat into the time you have to devote to other clients or to growing your business.
They can also damage your reputation. Many nightmare clients refuse to listen to your advice, and then complain when they don’t get the results they expected. If that client has a large audience, their complaints may reach others in your industry and cause them to reconsider partnerships with you.
And if they’re just a nightmare to work with and they’re bullying your team, they create additional stress. According to Karen Higginbottom from Forbes, employees with high stress levels: engage less, are less productive, and take more sick leave than workers who are content. Getting rid of the source of this stress will improve morale and productivity, and that has a positive impact on your business.
Nightmare clients hurt your team, your culture, your, and your bottom line. It’s time to let them go.
There are several different types of nightmare clients. Have you come across any of these?
Ian-I-needed-it-yesterday: Ian believes that just discussing an idea means the work will get done immediately. He doesn’t seem to be aware of the fact you have other clients who aren’t him. Every project he has is extremely urgent – however, they will often get held up for approval on his end. No matter how many times you try to set appropriate expectations, Ian just doesn’t get it.
Celine-can’t-pay-that-right-now: Celine seems professional and put-together, but not only is she extremely demanding – requesting multiple revisions and lots of attention from your team – but only when it comes time to pay the bill does she mention that she might be having some cash flow issues. She argues about every cent of the bill and becomes so belligerent you end up knocking the price down just to get rid of her.
Fred-this-is-all-your-fault: Fred loves the sound of his own voice. He loves to talk over people and And more than anything in the world, he loves to blame other people when things go wrong – loudly, and in front of their colleagues. Fred delights in making others feel small. Your staff are terrified of him and are all mysteriously “out to lunch” at the same time whenever he comes to the office.
Julie-I-just-don’t-know-what-I-want: Even if the fate of the world was at stake, Julie couldn’t decide between plain or deckled paper for her flyers. Julie can’t choose a package, can’t decide on which services she needs, can’t confirm or agree to anything, and will procrastinate to the point where deadlines get missed and you actually forget she’s a client.
Ursula-I’m-a-unicorn: Ursula is the perfect, dream client dangling the most amazing opportunity in front of your face… that never actually happens. Ursula knows she’s a mythical creature you desperately want to obtain, so she will dangle that promise in front of you and get you to jump through hoops and complete quests and bow to her might and majesty, and then just when you think she’s within reach… she will disappear without a trace.
Charlie-change-it-up: Charlie seems like a great client at first – he’s talkative, keen to learn, and excited about your project. But then he takes the work you’ve done and chops it up and adds things to it and twists it all around and by the time he’s done, it bears no resemblance to the project as initially conceived. What’s more, he’s made mistakes and invalidated much of your work, then has the nerve to blame you when he doesn’t get the results he’s after.
In whatever form your nightmare clients takes, the key things to watch out for are clients who:
Depending on the problem you have with your client, there are several different ways you can approach getting rid of them.
When firing a client, always:
Here are some samples for firing a client below, complete with some sample email templates to start the process.
Sit down with your client and in frank and diplomatic language explain that you can’t deliver on their expectations and that you aren’t the right fit for each other.
To start the conversation, you might say something like:
Dear Celine,
Unfortunately, we’re going to need to terminate our contact effective from the close of this month, per clause 3.5 of our agreement.
Due to the recent problems and delays with your website project, it’s come to our attention that we’re not a good fit for each other. Your requirements are outside of the scope of what we do as a company. We’d like to recommend The Good Website Company, who have a focus on the SEO side and might be a better fit for your needs.
If you’d like to discuss this further, I’d be happy to discuss the situation over the phone or in person. Thank you very much for your business, and I wish you all the best for the future.
Yours Sincerely,
Had-Enough-Harriet
This letter shows that the reason for the breakdown of the relationship is due to the issues, but without casting blame and emphasizing that you both aren’t a good fit for each other. Giving a referral shows that you bear no ill-will and still want them to succeed.
Even if you want to give the client some information about the difficulties you’re facing with them – in the hopes they change for the next partner – in certain situations, you know that just won’t fly. Instead, a convenient excuse will enable you to exit the relationship without a confrontation.
Try:
Here’s a sample email you could use:
Dear Johnny,
I just wanted to let you know that as of DATE, I will no longer be able to offer you accounting services.
Our company is moving in a new strategic direction, and unfortunately this means closing off some of our current accounts, including yours.
I apologise for any convenience this may cause. We are recommending our clients speak to Easy-As Accounting, who have packages that should meet your needs.
Thank you so much for your business over the years. We wish you all the best for the future.
Yours Sincerely,
Wendy what-a-relief
If you’re firing a client purely because of the numbers, increasing fees or adding additional charges for excessive support or administration requests could actually solve the problem. The client may even agree to the increased charges and become profitable again. If not, you can shift your focus to bringing in clients with a larger budget.
Here’s a sample of a fee-increase email:
Dear Late-paying Larry,
I’m writing to you to let you know that as of DATE, our fees for some of our services will be increasing. You can see the new fee structure on our website HERE.
As this includes the service you are using, I’m letting you know to give you an opportunity to decide if you’d like to continue using our services. Feel free to contact me if you’d like to discuss further.
Yours Sincerely,
Glen getting-paid-what-I’m-worth
Now that you’ve got rid of that client, doesn’t it feel as if a weight has been lifted from your shoulders? Isn’t the sun brighter and the coffee more delicious?
It’s great that you’ve taken this step. Now you need to reflect on what caused the breakdown in your relationship with this client and whether there are any steps you can take to prevent it happening in the future.
Consider:
We all deal with nightmare clients every now and then. The key is to identify them early and escape with your dignity and integrity intact, before they destroy everything you’ve worked so hard to build. If 90% of your clients are amazing, then they deserve to have 90% of your energy directed toward helping them.
Have you ever dealt with a nightmare client? How did you handle the situation?
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