In an instance of blogging imitating life, I just read the Irreverent Freelancer’s post about getting to “no.”
Interestingly, I invested a significant chunk of my morning writing a “Dear John” e-mail to a prospective client.
As freelancers, we’re most interested in moving our prospects to “yes.” Getting work is our focus. But when should we focus on getting rid of it?
When Do You Pull the Plug?
I’ve only resigned a handful of clients over the years, though the clients that stick out are the ones I should have resigned, but didn’t.
In the article that spawned Kathy’s post, writer Debbie Bermont lists seven reasons why a freelancer should turn down a prospect.
They’re all good reasons, but unfortunately, you’re never quite sure when the line has been crossed.
It’s a judgment call, and when there are bills to pay and revenue goals to meet, judgment often goes out the window.
I will say this; it’s a bad sign when you need to set professional boundaries with a prospect. When those boundaries are continually crossed, your choice is clear.
And beware the prospect who — without agreeing to send a dime your way — aggressively pursues all sorts of freebies. They might simply be testing you, but over time, a client who always pushes hard for a little more — without paying for it — grows tiresome.
Fortunately, work is plentiful right now, making it easier to look forward rather than back.
Consider the Cost
Dumping a client is a hard decision to make. You have to consider lost revenues, but don’t ignore the opportunity costs. Instead of struggling with a troubling, pain-in-the-ass client, you could pursue your dream prospect (a good idea in any case).
Anyone regret dumping (or not dumping) a client?
[tags]copywriting, freelancing, writing, writer[/tags]
Comments 10
Totally agree here. One of the biggest professional leaps I ever made in my freelancing career was to clean house of lame clients.
I got rid of them not because they didn’t pay well or crossed any professional lines, but because I just felt icky doing the work. The work was soul-less and didn’t provide any value to the world and I just hated doing it.
I came to the realization that I didn’t become a freelancer to spend my days hating what I do. Now I have some of the best clients anyone could ever ask for and I know the things I’m writing are affecting people in a positive way.
Soul-sapping work is grounds for immediate client disqualification, regardless of how nice (or evil) the client may be.
Good comment!
I agree. I’ve written things in the past that really didn’t have any value for others…just busy-work to pay the bills. I won’t do that anymore. My writing is too important to me to waste time on words that don’t mean anything to anyone.
I think this is such an essential point. Is the awful client the same as the ideal client? When we say “yes” to the awful client, we give him/her the same rights/attention that we do for the ideal client. Saying “no” is a way that we value ourselves and the work that we offer. When we make everything a “yes”, a sense of priority is lost and everything is rendered equal. Talk about feeling icky…
There truly is enough work out there for all good writers. Moving on from clients who don’t value your work or treat you well is like moving on from bad relationships. It might feel scary and sad at the time, but in time, you look back and say why did I stick it out so long? There are better clients out there. Free up your time and energy to find them.
Elizabeth: My sense is the awful clients generally get more attention than the good ones.
Gloria: I’ve always advocated picking the clients you want to work for and pitching them, but I need to take my own advice. Lately, the clients have been finding me, keeping me off balance.
Basics. Gotta get back to basics.
It is actually proven very challenging to grow a service – oriented business without “firing” about 20% of the bottom of your client base annually.
In terms of saying “no” in the beginning…it actually establishes credibility when negotiating and reduces your unnecessary workload.
Here is a link to a free report that describes the negotiating part…
http://www.goddoesntshootcraps.com/freegift2.html
I consistently use this technique.
Along with not taking every client on in the beginning…it has doubled the copywriting portion of my consulting practice.
Joseph Ratliff
Author of The Profitable Business Edge
http://profitablebusinessedge.blogspot.com
Can I read your “Dear John” letter, Tom? I’ve never, ever, ever regretted dumping a client, but I have regretted not trusting my instinct about dumping one sooner.
And you’re right; the awful clients do get all the attention, both in the sense that that take away time from other clients and that we spend even further time complaining about them. Of course, my blog would cease to exist without them, but I’m fortunate to have had very few truly awful clients over the years.
The “Dear John” is only a couple lines; the usual “I believe another copywriter might be a better fit with your needs, good luck, yadda, yadda.”
It’s always tempting to nuke the person, but I don’t want to do that in an e-mail. If I have something to say to a client, I say it to their face, or just move on.
Fortunately, you’re right — not that many truly awful clients clutter our lives, though I never thought about your dependence on them.
Fortunately, there have been few clients I’ve regretted taking on. I’ve “fired” a handful of them, and I’ve never regretted it. (I say “fire,” but it really amounts to saying “no” to future work.)
By the way, opportunity cost is a biggie. You could be writing copy for your own products, improving your self-marketing, spending more time with your family, etc. All better than working for a bad client.
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