Every business encounters clients who waste the valuable time and resources of its staff. Myriad experts point to the various signs that identify such clients, signs which serve as alerts to fire that client. These signs range from disrespect to displeasure to the displacement of professional boundaries. Steve Tobak, writing for Money Watch, adds to the customary list, noting that clients who are vague and secretive, refuse to give a straight answer, cannot prove the results they claim, bombard you with unnecessary information, or conceal requests for funding in their messages to hire you.
However, most of the advice to jettison such clients points to identifying them before they actually become your clients. What do you do when you have an existing client who wastes your time? Especially with a client who pays the market rate and whose projects you enjoy, this is the time both to exercise a little backbone and nurture them.
Anthony Iannarino addresses this conundrum in his article “What to Do When Your Clients Waste Your Time.” He reminds readers that you landed this client because they like you and they want to do business with you. When you have a good client who wastes your time, he says:
- Set deadlines. Simply inform your client that you have a hard stop at a certain time and then sticking to it will force respect for your deadlines. Failure to follow through on hard stops teaches clients that your deadlines mean nothing.
- Call clients while in transit. If you’re on the road–using a hands-free device, of course–or in the airport, you can chat with clients until it’s time to board that airplane or arrive at your destination. Phone calls while in transit have implied and hard stops that clients will recognize and accept.
- Schedule calls in advance. One way to avoid too-frequent and too-long conversations that sap your time and energy is to put clients on a call schedule. Your client will know you’ll be in touch and will more likely contain his questions and comments until then. Just make sure you include hard stops on those scheduled conversations.
Other red flags that identify time wasters, says William Lipovsky in his article “Spotting a Time Wasting Client,” include clients who don’t know what they want, who continually haggle to lower your price, who troll for industry knowledge without offering anything substantive in return, and who fail to respond in a timely manner. Such clients get lumped in with tire-kickers and cheapskates who undervalue your service and/or product.
The question arises: What do you do when you encounter such prospective clients? As with all things business, you employ a well-designed process. Lipovsky recommends asking questions to probe for the answers you need to disqualify clients who aren’t serious, lack adequate funding, or devalue the work. You want to ensure that you client not only wants the service, but also that he needs it and can afford it. Once you’ve established that trifecta of criteria, you’re ready to bring the project onboard.
The Heggen Group can help you develop an effective sales process that will qualify which clients are worth your time. Then it’s time to engage a process to systematically nurture those good clients. Contact Jayne Heggen at jheggen@heggengroup.com for expert assistance in designing the processes that will take your business to the next level.
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