Let me start out by saying, THIS SUCKED. Let me also say there’s a difference between being a favorite an being good. There’s no world in which I imagined I’d have to fire a client that represented my favorite product and favorite venue that I’ve ever worked on. No, I won’t tell you who it is… They are afforded some level of client privilege and what they do really isn’t important to the story. Plus, I always viewed the people as friends.
I spent years nurturing this lead prior to landing their business. Nearly two years of follow-ups, complimentary meetings, free advice, and being in the right place at the right time. I had met the owners of this business at a venue in Minneapolis (which no longer exists) where they were sampling their product for free, as they were just getting started. The product was delightful, and due to personal hobbies and passions, I was asking all about their process and origin. At the end, I half-jokingly said “well if you need help with digital marketing, I know a guy.” We exchanged cards.
My follow-up cadence varies by prospect needs, frequency of response, project timelines, and many other variables, including where my schedule is at in the moment. With them, it was every month unless I heard a response. Most of the time I did not, but then it would be a “hurry up and wait” type of communication on their end, where I would hear nothing for up to six months and then they would email me out of the blue asking for me to come in the following day and discuss their needs, strategy, and order of operations. Then it would be silence for many more months. Perhaps that should’ve been the first sign.
Eventually this client asked me to submit a written scope of work and price everything out line by line. Not having open dialogue up to this point, I just issued my standard pricing for everything, and they went silent once more. Eventually they sent terms on how they would like to proceed with working together. This whole process in total took more than 18 months.
This client needed to meet every week, which is more than most other clients but something I am more than happy to do. Meetings up until the end were always pleasant, spirited, and left me with a great feeling regarding their “can do” attitude and seeming desire to succeed at all costs. Speaking of costs, it probably helps that I am always looking for the cheapest option to accomplish tasks efficiently for all of my clients. However, communication was always quite poor on a good day.
This trend never changed, and ultimately is the reason I’ve stopped working with a few clients following project completion, and why I’ve now fired a client for the first time ever. Where communication was an issue, there didn’t seem to be a lack of trying. They tried digital meetings, changing meeting times, utilizing new tools, putting other leaders in charge of certain components, but none of those changes really got at the heart of the issue.
The heart of the issue was the lack of buy-in across the board. I am an all-or-nothing person, as you’ve probably realized if you’ve followed along over the years. I love when others are all in as well, but I like to think I’m realistic about the likelihood of this actually happening. As binary as “all-or-nothing” is, the fact is that this attitude exists on a spectrum, as many things do. I never saw much in terms of willingness to invest in the right areas or listen to the right leaders, when appropriate. I also didn’t see a lot of effort from most individuals. Maybe this business was too much of a side hustle for some folks.
The problem this caused was that business moved much more slowly than it could’ve, even on a limited budget. The “it’s not a priority, I’ll do it later” attitude is toxic. I didn’t ultimately have issues doing my portion of the work, but getting signoff was slow because the level of caring was low. The learning moment for me was understanding that an excitement around what we can do, the thrill of knowing what is possible, doesn’t always translate into the effort to make it happen. What did I do to combat this issue? I communicated as directly as I always do, and I started setting deadlines for everyone else. It is my responsibility to grow this business, both within and without the means of my personal efforts.
Setting deadlines went over well for a time. Eventually the rest of the group started setting their own deadlines, which also worked for a bit, until they stopped holding themselves accountable. I have a low tolerance for a lack of accountability.
And so things progressed for a while in a way that was not satisfactory. It never really boiled over or came to a head, it just became clear to me that things were never going to change for the better on a permanent or long-term basis. I gave yet another deadline. And another. They weren’t met, so I had to follow through with my promise to myself. I fired the client after working together for just 13 months — less time than it took to acquire the client in the first place. By my thorough estimates, they would be pulling slightly more than double their current monthly revenues if everyone had bought in. That’s what success looks like to me, and what I expect of myself when I work for a client. If I am not given the means to provide exceedingly strong returns for whatever reason, then I need to move on to someone who is willing to grow.
But again… it sucks. It really does. I love the people and the product. I wish them the best and am certainly willing to keep in touch on a personal level. There are no hard feelings on my end, at least. I am grateful for the learning experience and the chance to grow the footprint of such an awesome and unique product. I hope I never have to go about firing a client again. There have been other times where I’ve stopped working with clients because of poor communication, but that’s a different situation. Up until now it has always come at the end of a project, where my scope of work has been completed and invoices have been paid. In those situations, I will check in on your digital properties every two months (as I do for any client) to ensure everything is functioning properly and that no additional work is needed. I feel that this is my obligation as a consultant, despite never having written this task into a contract. I want to ensure clients feel covered and looked out for. I hate that I can’t do this for a fired client.
As with every experience, you learn from it and take that knowledge with you to the next venture. So I guess there are a few silver linings, one of them being that I am well-equipped to consult in internal communications and process efficiency, due to this experience. Another is the additional capacity I now have available. If you are genuinely ready to grow your business, consider Digital as one of those primary levers for growth. Reach out to me at no obligation and we’ll discuss how we can achieve that growth.