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18 Replies Last post: Apr 24, 2008 3:05 PM by clnshirtz

Sometimes you have to walk away

Apr 16, 2008 6:17 PM

Iwrite 1,094 posts since
Dec 29, 2007

With the economy going the way it is I cannot believe I fired a client today. But it had to be done.

I was burning time and gas meeting with them, gathering information and talking strategy, and the relationship was not going anywhere. They are nice people, but they could not make a decision and they didn't value my services.

With what they were offering to pay me, I would not have made a profit. I would have barely been able to pay the art director. I don't want to do business like this. It is not fair to the people working with me, myself or the client.

"The Client?" Yes, the client. The client/agency relationship is based on trust. They could never get the best from me because they would never trust what I am offering. No matter how excited I am about a solution I offer, they would never see the value in the idea. Which could lead to them missing an opportunity. They deserve someone who they believe in and value their skills. for them, this was not me.

Intechspecial has a beautiful response on another post about serving God through how we conduct our business. I know with the issues they have that I am not good for their business. It would do more harm than good to them.

I wrote them a very nice letter. But first, I called the marketing person to let them know my decision. He was not happy, but I hope down the road he understands. I'm not happy either.

When do you think it is right to walk away? Do you think it is ever right to walk away?

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LUCKIEST 7,912 posts since
Aug 6, 2007

1. Re: Sometimes you have to walk away Apr 16, 2008 6:42 PM

Sometimes you have to walk away. Congratulations firing a client is hard.
In my former life as an Accountant, there were times when the client said goodbye to me,
and yes sometimes I said goodbye to them. Not often, BUT
Hopefully in time you will pick up bigger and better clients BUT
you will alway remember the ones you let go of.
Have a drink, enjoy the evening.
LUCKIEST

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akgold 51 posts since
Jul 19, 2007

2. Re: Sometimes you have to walk away Apr 16, 2008 6:59 PM

Profitability has many dimensions: financial, personal, emotional, future positioning, etc.

Freedom, the reason why most people go into business for themselves, demands that business owners make wise decisions. I am very careful about stocking up on cash so that I never have to take a project out of desperation and can make level-headed decisions.

Freedom is even better than a big house, a nice car, or fine restaurant. Freedom means that you can choose to walk away because you are not an employee. So, whether the economy is good or bad, whether gas costs $1.50 a gallon (remember that!) or $3.98 a gallon, protecting one's self interest should remain the same.

My history professor was fond of saying "Desperate people do desperate things." Showing that you are not desperate is very important in life and business. Only you know if you made the right or wrong choice Iwrite. The good part is that you and not they made the decision. Good luck.

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Iwrite 1,094 posts since
Dec 29, 2007

3. Re: Sometimes you have to walk away Apr 16, 2008 7:42 PM

in response to: akgold

Thanks for your encouragement. This is the first client I have ever fired. What bothers me the most is that I know I could have help to grow their business.

I am not down as much as I had hoped this would not have happened for a long while. But such is life. And business.

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Lighthouse24 2,396 posts since
Oct 10, 2007

4. Re: Sometimes you have to walk away Apr 16, 2008 9:58 PM

You have my best wishes. I had to walk away from my biggest client (ever) about two years ago. If your head and heart are where mine were the night that happened, you're just flat out angry at one or two of their people for being so oblivious. The whole deal still bothers me when I think about it, it's still impacting us as an organization, and it's still what I would do if I had it to do over.

I have a few "absolutely non-negotiable" points . . . things I need to have in a transaction, things I'll never do as a professional. It really is only a very few things, but I know what they are and I stick to them (even if it means "walking away"). I'm also old enough to know (in retrospect) that the right time to walk away in the past would usually have been a little sooner than I did -- so that experience would keep me from doubting myself if I had to walk away now. These days, I try to follow the late, great Herb Cohen's mantra for business relationships: "You have to care, really care -- but not THAT much."

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LariosVox 15 posts since
Apr 1, 2008

5. Re: Sometimes you have to walk away Apr 16, 2008 10:44 PM

When you feel you have done the best job you can offer and there are no other solutions in good faith, then we can begin to fire. alot of times we make decisions that affect not just us, but the entire teams we manange. Walk away before your loss becomes dessaster, always try to discover what it is your clients want and what you want from them., it will give you an edge i think. Good luck,

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MKTG.com.au 44 posts since
Feb 21, 2008

6. Re: Sometimes you have to walk away Apr 17, 2008 5:06 AM

Hello Iwrite

Yes you are right and you know what? You did the right thing. Seriously.

Sometimes you just have to pull the pin on relationships (all kinds and not just business) to move forward and some clients just don't get it (sounds like your client didnt get it). I've pulled the pin before. Its hard and sometimes scary. But it is the best thing. People like us (you fellow marketing professional you) are hard to value at times but we need to value our self first and choose to walk way!

Ok, I don't like to promote people or brands etc necessarily (as we know there are enough people doing that!), have a read of a book by a guy I think his name is Alan Wiess and its called Value Based Fees and it really helps you (well it helped me) realise that yes its best to walk away and that if you are a professional with education, skills and experience etc then you should be paid what you are worth and not be shy to demand nice pay. I always do this - even if it means I walk away now. I have spent a great deal of time and effort putting the hours in, studying my heart out and working in real marketing and I make sure I have a lot to give and am happy to ask to be compensated fairly for the difference I can make.

mktg.com.au

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DomainDiva 1,727 posts since
Oct 10, 2007

7. Re: Sometimes you have to walk away Apr 17, 2008 7:35 AM

Walking away from, or firing a client is sometimes a diffficult decision...then sometimes not. When a consultant reaches the point where the relationship is poisonous to both parties, then it is time to sever the relationship. Someone has to step up and do the right thing....unfortunately most of the time it is the consultant, accountant or other small business person.

There are several large corporations that I will not do business with as their definition of payment of an invoice differs from mine.

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Lighthouse24 2,396 posts since
Oct 10, 2007

8. Re: Sometimes you have to walk away Apr 23, 2008 12:02 PM

I was reading Consult This! by Michael W. McLaughlin this morning, and he offered five signs that suggest a business services provider might want to consider firing a client:

Your client contact is difficult to reach or meet with (doesn't return calls);
Your client contact has disengaged, leaving decisions to subordinates;
Your profit margin on this client's projects is steadily eroding;
The client nit-picks your invoices, and/or payments are consistently late;
The client's projects do not allow you to grow professionally.

I know this thread has been inactive for a week or so, but it seemed like the natural place to post this.

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NatOnline 670 posts since
Oct 10, 2007

9. Re: Sometimes you have to walk away Apr 23, 2008 1:35 PM

I walked away from my best customer when I had my graphic design firm.

I work together more than 2 years, but sometime customers are asking something I could not do for them.

My customer asked me to start building a catalog with 1/3 of pictures and descriptions, as you may know you cannot layout or create a catalog from scratch if you don't have all elements to work with. He never get it, so I just let him go.

I was sad we cannot find a way to work around his project, but unfortunately I did not have a magic hand.

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FCPainter 83 posts since
Jan 8, 2008

10. Re: Sometimes you have to walk away Apr 23, 2008 2:20 PM

It's a great move. If you redeploy that time to delighting another customer (who's likely to refer you), creating new sales opportunities, managing your finances etc you'll come out way ahead...and they'll go find a vendor who's better suited to them

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Iwrite 1,094 posts since
Dec 29, 2007

11. Re: Sometimes you have to walk away Apr 23, 2008 2:21 PM

in response to: Lighthouse24

Thank you for the response. These are signs we often ignore but end up paying for in the end.

I left the post unanswered because there is alway more to say on this subject.

Here is one more sign:

Your client is disrespectful and abusive of you or your employees. They are ruining the morale of your business.

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Lighthouse24 2,396 posts since
Oct 10, 2007

12. Re: Sometimes you have to walk away Apr 23, 2008 3:43 PM

in response to: Iwrite

Good one! (Depending on the "abuse," it may not even be a choice. An owner/manager may be legally obliged to walk away in order to provide the right work environment for employees -- for example, if a customer continued to sexually harass an employee.) He should definitely add your suggestion if/when he revises the book.

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SJCarpentry 30 posts since
Feb 6, 2008

13. Re: Sometimes you have to walk away Apr 24, 2008 10:38 AM

I think it is important to be able to do this in a service business. Some people just expect or want too much, and when you deliver a service there is a subjective element. At the end of the day, you can lose your shirt on a bad customer.

It should also help you long term to think through who your target customers are

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Iwrite 1,094 posts since
Dec 29, 2007

14. Re: Sometimes you have to walk away Apr 24, 2008 10:51 AM

in response to: SJCarpentry

Cool. So, our veiw of who are customer is should evolved? I don't think that is not something I have heard mentioned on this board. But it only makes sense that over time we become better at recognizing customers or situations who may be a problem.

Thanks.

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Sometimes you have to walk away

Apr 16, 2008 6:17 PM

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