So, all the hard work and long hours you put in to gain a new client are starting to look like a bad marriage. What should you do next?
If you are like me, you count on the inside staff to do many things to aid you in bringing in new business. You need them on their “A” game just as badly as you need to always be on your “A” game. If you are like most sales representatives, you have a process of checking in with your client regularly. I know I do, but I also check in with the inside staff to get the relationship temperature.
I do this because I never really get the whole story, regardless of whom I talk to. People seem always to temper their comments when referring to someone else. People do not want to talk negatively about anyone unless the situation has deteriorated to a point where there is no true resolution to the problem other than cutting ties. That is why I stay on top of the relationship as it develops with both my inside staff and the operational staff of my client, so I see those events long before they reach that point.
The benefits of staying engaged with the client and both staffs
Staying involved with the ongoing process helps me avoid pitfalls in my relationship with my client.
- I can detect personality issues in my clients and staff very early and work on improving them before being asked to.
- I can easily intercede in the process when needed and get management proactively involved, especially if the issue concerns workload in any part of the team.
- I can find out if someone in my client’s organization advocates for a different service provider than me and quietly shoots my company down whenever they can.
- I gain a much higher level of respect from both my client and the inside staff because I am not behaving like most sales representatives do – “Bring the deal in, drop it off and forget about it until you get paid.”
When deciding to fire the client
Now that we have fully reviewed the situation from all sides, it still appears that a toxic relationship is what we have here.
- Meet with management. Then, it is time to discuss your findings with management. Management needs to be fully on board with you as we continue taking the next steps.
The issue is that if you do not have management’s buy-in on this process, you could end up with someone else taking over this account and watching the relationship become someone else’s problem. However, this could still impact the inside staff’s ability to produce quality results for your other clients.
- Discuss with the inside staff. Let’s say management is on board. Next, we want to talk with the inside staff to inform them of your plan to fire the client. Trust me, the fact you would even consider losing any commission dollars for the betterment of their workday will be very well received. There have been times when I have chosen to fire a client, and the inside staff saw the relationship as a challenge, but they wanted to continue trying to improve it. When that occurs, you need to help staff understand the burden the client is placing on the company and help them evaluate the possible impact of maintenance.
- Talk with the client. Now that you have talked with management and the inside staff, it is time to speak with the client. This is the hard part. It does not have to be, but for most, it is. I find that once I have decided to fire a client, I take care of it in person and do it quickly. I do not wait for all orders to be filled, nor wait until the following order to turn it down.
I pay my clients all the respect they deserve in supporting my business up to this point. I simply acknowledge they lack the symmetry and teamwork we have been experiencing and let them know that, at this time, we do not appear to be a good fit. Make sure your client fully understands that any work you are doing with them will be thoroughly dealt with professionally or that they can choose to move the work someplace else, which will be as seamless as possible from your side.
This process has resulted in a client returning to me on more than one occasion. When they have staff changes and those from their side of the table have moved on, they want to move back. Those requests have always occurred when I took all these steps to ensure they were dealt with professionally.
There are two things to remember. You only have so many hours a day, and so does your inside staff. If you have a client who regularly takes a good share of that time but never seems satisfied with your efforts, does the money generated by those efforts reflect a good return on investment?
If the answer is no, find a way to correct the problem. Unfortunately, sometimes, that means letting a toxic client move on to the competition and finding a better client who matches your company’s practices. This will result in more quality time spent with that client and more opportunities to make additional time with the newfound spare time.
