Ok, so we’ve all been there, we’ve all had clients that we dread working with but we keep doing it because we convince ourselves we should, usually because we want the money. Sound familiar? Do you have a client now that makes your heart sink instead of sing?
As time passes and you gain more clients the financial need for the dreaded ones becomes less and it’s very normal to feel it’s time to move them on, but how do you do it?
Generally you have 3 options…
The first is to increase your fees in the hope that they decide to jump ship. I’ve seen this happen a few times and usually the clients stay on and happily pay the increased fees. In the short term you feel OK with it because at least you are getting paid more but longer term you end up back in the same position as you still dread working with them.
Option two, is to find an alternative supplier for them and then clearly suggest that the alternative supplier would be a much better fit for reasons X, Y & Z. It could be reasonable to request a small commission from the new supplier for sourcing them a new client, so you may still retain a small fee from the dreaded client, which is a nice upside.
Option three is to come clean and explain you don’t feel you are a good fit anymore.
My preference is option two as it frees you up and you may still maintain a small revenue stream from them so it’s a win:win:win all round.
If you know you have a painful client my strong advice is to take action quickly and don’t let it fester on. If you don’t enjoy working with them they won’t be getting your best so it is the fairer option to move them on to a new supplier.
So who’s on your dreaded client list? How are you going to resolve the situation?