My assistant used to have a saying for clients that I needed to fire…PITA….pain in the a#$.  Once I realized the drain, and realized it was not worth the $$$ it was much easier to say goodbye!

I raised my fees, and gave myself more value which eliminated the ‘Kmart’ shoppers….

@deairby @charlynshelton-socialmediainterpreter I agree raising  your fees/pricing is a solution for some however, for others it is perhaps not viable. For some service providers the demand for their services is weak forcing to slash pricing to stay competitive. Which opens the doors to bad customers/clients.

It is a catch 22 situation however, by providing your prospects with client worksheets. These information sheets are designed to capture as much information as possible, determine their level of expertise, client participation. 

From this you can judge whether you want to take them on or to pass them off to someone else who might thank you for the referral. 

I am about to fire a client today – she pays me the least and causes me the most headaches.  Because time are tight I thought I needed them for the regular income; but a good conversation with my coaching group and the influx of people interested in my services convinced me that I needed the 4 hours a week for more viable clients. Thanks  to everyone for all the good advice.

Great input, thanks Barbara and Joan-exceptionally wise, as usual! @barbaralemairephd @joanmuschampfagnani

A big part of the how, for most service providers, is to have a clear fee agreement that spells out what will happen if you need to fire a client — and what will happen if a client wants to fire you.

I agree life’s too short for bad clients/customers.

The clearer we are on who our ideal client is the more of those we’ll be working with. Raising rates is also viable — or having rates that are competitive. Rates that are really low seem to attract the “K Mart shoppers.”

@rich-brooks @deairby @joanmuschampfagnani @barbaralemairephd @ptwylie @charlynshelton-socialmediainterpreter

Hi all so I gave my notice to the client and offered to train my replacement.I live in a city that acts like a small town so you just don’t burn bridges. Every one was satisfied at the end of the meeting and I will soon be free of a huge drain on my time.

@stefaniefrank @debbielynnava I am adding that to my contract.

Congratulations @barbaralemairephd

@stefaniefrank is right, a clear fee agreement that establishes the terms of the relationship is a must. Expectations and deliverables should also be clearly defined to minimize ambiguity and reasons for friction.

I’ve been in contract with agencies where the “not so great” client was rough and higher costs were not an issue so the client remained on-board for too long.  @rich-brooks morale was in fact at an all time low leading to the loss of a great employee as a result.

@joanmuschampfagnani great advise on “how” to deal with these types of clients. It is a delicate situation but all effort to handle it as graceful as possible can make a huge difference on a company’s reputation. 

IMO, how to fire? Meet to discuss perspectives, expectations (might need to step back to regroup, especially if you find out that both parties have not been in alignment); otherwise, discuss reality, its effects and possibly the need for higher fees as consequences…

Why? If there isn’t a win-win, it is in everybody’s best interest to move on.

When? When you have tried everything within reason to build a successful relationship and it doesn’t make sense to continue on. 

Ideal client defined? I think this would require clients to always see things your way; ideal but not realistic.

My story?…PITA charges are definitely in place and applied when they need to be. 

@barbaralemairephd Isn’t it true that the ones who pay you the least cause the most problems? 

I recently was struggling with a client that wanted the world for a very small amount of money. I had agreed to give her a low price when we first contracted because she promised to send me referrals from the business owners she came into contact with each day. 

Several months later, I hadn’t seen one referral and she had been late on every payment. Not only that, but she felt that I was “on-call” for all her social media needs on holidays, weekends and I received phone calls and emails from her almost daily. 

Finally, I told her that I couldn’t continue working with her for that price and that if she needed that much support, she would have to pay me 3x her current payment. I didn’t want to end the relationship on a sour note, so I made sure to give her an “out” and let her know that I understand if she can’t afford it and wants to manage the tasks on her own. 

Finally, I was able to get rid of the work and it was such a relief!

i dont  do service  and  im out here in the face to face world….but    i have  bad ones too.. but if they  really  can afford me and  want my stuff  i can usually  solve it  by   having  strict rules about what i will do and  not  being pushed around….  i can say no in a nice way and  get them to accept my   llimits…. i dont  blame them  for  wanting  way more than i  want to give.special orders, delivery,lay away,   little  changes etc etc…….but its my  way  or the highway, with a smile i hope …

some  of the worst ones are  ones with  loud  grabby kids  who  dont  respect my stuff…hate that!!! one i had to  really   gripe at and they still spent over  1k  that  day..

so i  try hard  to save  the hard ones,,, ..but i dont have a limit  to how many  customers i  can sell to in a  given time…. like  most of you  do…

In these kinds of situations I try to consider whether what the client wants is simply inconvenient for me or entirely unreasonable of them.  If it’s the latter we follow the approach so aptly described by @rich-brooks – cut ‘em loose as quickly as possible.  Don’t get me wrong – we really like clients who challenge our creativity.  That may be inconvenient at times but it usually winds up being fun and they generally aren’t the PITAs.

It is imperative to know where the breaking point is. Some clients have unreal expectations and think that because they hire you, you are an employee and not an independent contractor. It is our job to provide the best results for the client, it is ultimately up to you (the contractor) to make sure that they and your other clients are provided the best solution. If you feel that dealing with one individual is getting to the point that your sacrificing results for other clients it is time to cut ties. A simple explanation of expectations versus reality and then provide a solution. Either increase in pay or moving towards the exit door. I think it is important that if the exit door is taken it is taken in a tactful way of course where no one is left with a poor experience. 

@debbielynnava @stefaniefrank Ladies – I am a consultant who is interested in the wording you use in your agreements with your clients. I am based in Australia and not in the social media business myself. I am a consultant psychologist who works with organisations to assist them with recruiting, assessment and also training and coaching. I would love to look at a copy of what you put in your agreement with clients. My own agreements are usually pretty casual and I think this is an area I need to tighten up.  If you like, you can send it to my email address:ibby@allyoucanbepsychology.com.

Of course, if it is something you would prefer not to share then I completely understand. 

Thanks Oh and sorry @deairby as this is a bit off topic!

Sill me Debbie! @debbielynnava
no it is actually libby@allyoucanbepsychology.com. Duh. Maybe I should put the L on my forehead!!

I have been running critical incident debriefings following a tragic and horrific motorcycle accident last week and clearly I need some rest!

Cheers and thanks for accepting the friend request.

I hate not being treated like a customer, if I let you know how I feel, in some what unpleaseant terms don’t worry about firing me, I quit! and, will take myself and my money to a business that would be happy to have me and knows how to give service with a smile. I hate not being treated like a customer, so many businesses have gotten away from customer service, which is why people like me should get the irreate customer of the year award.

Clients require a decent amount of maintenance regardless – so why put up with a cheapskate who fancies themselves as King/Queen vs. someone who pays you what you’re worth and gives you the proper respect? I look for those who are close to a partner as possible. And that IS possible.

@deairby I think it’s essential and important to fire bad customers.
Small businesses don’t have enough resources so spend on the excess workload generated by bad customers. Also bad customers are bringing bad atmosphere to the organization. What I did is just to be stringent on the demands from this customer and not to negotiate at all. All this while trying to be very polite. If I couldn’t be polite with this customer I would hand him over to another employee so we actually played the “bad” guy and “good” guy. 

@richbrooks @deairby @joanmuschampfagnani@barbaralemairephd @ptwylie @charlynshelton-socialmediainterpreter

Thanks Ann  @annfurnivall

You’re welcome @libbythompson. May you and your clients always be a good fit for each other.