Peter Lessard-Why I turn down clients and you should too

Why am I writing this and for who?


I am writing this because after getting over the hurdle of actually being able to get clients one of the really big problems you will encounter is taking on the wrong clients. I am sure for many it is a problem you would love to have but note that it can be just as much an issue when you are starting out with just a few clients as when you are busier down the road. For example if you are low on resources and one client out of ten calls you constantly then it is causing a serious drain on resources.


Also note that my definition of “wrong client” includes the deal you struck. The client as a person or business may rock but if you promised a 10k project for $2000 bucks I will generalize and say wrong client.


***********My little story to put things in perspective*******************


To give you an idea of how important client selection can be let me use my situation as an example.

Many years ago my business exploded after being featured on television. It was just days after Google launched PPC and I was featured as an expert on the subject. We all think we want more clients but two hundred new clients in three weeks not so funny. I had significant corporate experience so was able to scale up but I don’t remember sleeping nor did was it much fun.


At that time I was doing bricks and mortar, employees, equipment, in person meetings, sixty hour weeks. All this growth meant more office space, training, equipment... You get the picture.
Now of course this was better than not being able to pay the rent but it was stressful as hell.


FAST FORWARD TO Today?

Have my dream home by a lake. Cannot remember the last time I had a meeting that was not skype video. All my staff is virtual and all my service delivery and training processes are fairly automated. I have broken my company into two parts. First part is pre-packaged offers that have a set price such as a lead generation site or video marketing package that my VA’s can easily execute. The second part of my business is where I am very careful because I love this part of my business. I decided to limit myself to a handful of “prime” clients that have budgets of 2k+monthly that can profit substantially from the “dedicated” efforts of me and my team and this is where I found applying client selection to be of most importance. It is where I put 90% of my time, creativity and where I can profit most.


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BUT HOW DID I GET TO A PLACE IN MY BUSINESS OF BEING HAPPY, MAKING GOOD MONEY ETC..?

Other than the obvious I attribute a huge amount of my current situation to CLIENT SELECTION!!


SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES TOO!
There are many other off liners here with great instincts on when NOT to take a client and I hope you contribute.


HERE ARE A FEW OF MY REASONS FOR NOT TAKING CLIENTS


1. THE CLIENT THAT DOES NOT FIT.
If the client/project does not fit into my big picture for my business I have learned to walk away. Example if life is great with a small group of 2k+ month clients don’t let yourself get easily sidetracked. If your business is rocking with specific niche, milk it! Beware of the distractions. This sounds easy but we as internet marketers are generally really excited about the next shiny object or different niche but being flighty with client selection can be bad. Of course if you have the resources and time then it may lead you to a cool new niche just decide carefully before you say yes.


2. THE MONEY IS NOT AN ISSUE CLIENT.
One of my favorites! If EVER a client says “the money is not an issue” run like hell! I know a ton of people with stupid amounts of money and NEVER have I heard them say “money is not an issue”. People and businesses that have accumulated wealth value money! The ONLY times I have not been paid is when I fell for this line. These are the business owners that will stall and stall and take up your time and get you all wound up about how much their going to give you.


3. THE BE MY PARTNER CLIENT.
Ruuunnn!!!! Seriously though, let me explain further because a big part of my business is limited partnerships BUT they often involve months of negotiations, lawyers, long contracts and I would still rarely be a “partner” in a venture that involved me providing the marketing for someone that holds most of the cards as far as product and service delivery that did NOT cover my costs! I am happy to take a 10k retainer and then cash reduced monthly payments for cash+ a piece of the pie. What you will find is that when most “clients” are so kind as to ask you to be a partner what they really mean is can you be an INVESTOR. That is great if you can afford it but do not mix up the two. When you are young and new you may be flattered into a very bad investment.

4. THE NUMBERS/DREAMER CLIENT.
I include this in my list because to me a bad client/deal is a deal where I could not possibly satisfy the emotional expectations of my client and later he will hate me. I could care less if a guy is pushing a check at me I really don’t want to have somebody totally pissed that I supported them in their delusions and it didn’t work out. EXAMPLE: I rank for “city” widgets and I make Y dollars so if I ranked for that in 20 cities I would make 20 x Y so here is 2k a month to make that happen. Ummm? Ya you can see how that will turn out. There is NO proof this will happen, don’t support clients in their delusions for the sake of a quick payday it will bite you in the ass. When I have discussions like this I say “Would you be happy if I make you more than I cost you?” If they keep ranting about their dream numbers I walk away.

5. THE CLIENT THAT KNOWS MORE THAN YOU DO.
This one is odd isn’t it? A prospective client will call you to hire you as an expert and then once they send the first payment try to tell you how you should handle their marketing. Suddenly they are experts or they read an article or their cousin Bob said it should be done this way. Imagine how that will turn out if your value proposition is “I will make you more than I cost you” then this guy throws you a bunch of cash then insists on doing things his way. Had that happen twice, issued a prompt refund and wished them well. I am NOT saying you should not take input and consider the clients requests but you have to have the courage to advise them properly. If you are easily swayed because you are not sure of yourself you should not have accepted the job.

I hope this helps a few and I know that other off liners here have many more examples they can share of when it is best to turn down a client. Sometimes when times were lean I stuck to this and was glad I did because within days another prospective client would pop up that was a great fit.