Screaming Mimis and Chatty Cathys

Do you give nicknames to your most difficult clients?   I have a client who does.  She assigns names to her clients as it tends to relieve her stress. Monikers such Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Clueless, Obi (obnoxious) and Nobi (knows nothing) and the list goes on.

With the Good, the Bad and the Ugly clients, it's all about relieving the stress.

I use Screaming Mimi to describe the client who always likes to complain at the top of their lungs.  They tend to be a bit elusive, irrational and it usually has nothing do to with you or your company.

I use Chatty Cathy to describe clients who have nothing better to do but take up your time with meaningless chatter.  All designed to torture you slowly, word by word, with a monologue that has nothing to do with the service or product you have provided to them.

So how do you get them off the phone and minimize the flotsam of feelings they leave behind?  Aside from just plain hanging up, gently interrupting them with a request to 'continue the conversation' at another time usually works. They are going to feel privileged to now have an appointment to complain versus just an impulse call.

What do you do to get them off the phone?  Comments most welcome. 

Top 3 Ways to Fire the Client From Hell*

A large part of my practice is creating strategies to help professional service firms fire their "Ugly" clients. When seeking the payment of an outstanding invoice, it is better to be "two on one." It keeps the focus on getting a check versus a disintegration of the conversation. Having played the role of the 'second' for my clients, I find these tips dead on.

Re-printed from an article at InsideCRM.com*

1) The one who's never satisfied: Even if you come in under budget and over-deliver, this client just isn't happy with your work. He may have something in his mind that he just can't communicate to you, and when you don't deliver this idea that lives in his head, he's disappointed.

How to get out: Ask the client to clearly describe or sketch out what he's looking for, or even send you an example. He may want a product that looks like his friend's, but he's afraid to say so. If you're already done with the project and you've done a great job, don't sweat it. Make it clear to the client, citing any agreements that you've made, that you conformed to the scope of the project and delivered exactly what he asked for.

2) The client who wants you to be something you're not: Some clients have a clear idea in their heads of what they’d like to see from your work. Often, this is good news, but if their specifics don’t line up with the way you like to operate, you may end up butting heads.

How to get out: To reason with this client, you can explain why you prefer to do things the way you do. After all, you're the expert. If he simply doesn't understand or refuses to accept your methods, it's time to cut ties. Explain to him the problems that his requests create for you and let him down easy.

3) The know-it-all: The know-it-all thinks he understands how to do your job because last weekend, his cousin showed him the basics of the computer program you use. Of course, he doesn't realize that he needs your expert skills to use this tool to do the things he really wants to do. He'll tell you exactly what to do and how to do it, turning you into a production house instead of letting you do what you do best.

How to get out: First of all, do your best to remove any references to your name or company on work you've done for this client. Why? Because he'll probably try to tinker around on his own and completely mess up your work in the process. Then, stop the project, get caught up on invoices and give him whatever you've done so far. He'll probably hand it off to his cousin to see if he can finish it.

Strategies for Growth works with service companies on creating Client Retention Programs designed to convert Bad clients to Good and fire the Ugly with an eye on increasing the bottom line. 

*pending reprint approval from InsideCRM.com from their article "Top 10 Ways to Fire the Client from Hell."

3 Reasons to Fire Toxic Clients - Part II

No more Toxic Clients!

Many times relationships start out OK, but then sour. Sometimes it’s easiest to just keep trudging along. If a profitable client is hard to work with it can be tough to say good bye to their revenues. But let me share why I think it’s good riddance:

1. They drain you emotionally. People who are mean, disrespectful, full of negative energy, etc. just eat away at our own personal happiness. Even if you like the work, or like the money, don’t overlook the drain of positive energy from your own heart and soul.
2. They are NOT generating as much revenue as you think. You may assume it’s clear, you worked 10 hours and got paid for 10 hours. But because of the emotional drain, you generally spend a lot of un-billable time doing things like: complaining about them, questioning your own skills, protecting yourself with excessive paper trails and backups, defending invoices, etc. All of this is taking you away from revenue earning projects.
3. They can ruin your confidence.  A toxic client can question your actions and tear down your self-esteem. You can start to question the quality of your work, your pricing, your behaviors. An entrepreneur, freelancer or business owner cannot spend time at this pity party.
4. You’ll be more productive without them. This is real reason to let them go. Spend the time finding better clients to work with. Clients and customers who respect you.

 Emily's post ended here with a personal note.  I wanted to weigh in here and encourage all business, small and large to look into their client base and make the difficult decision to identify and fire your toxic clients.

A bit about our guest blogger: Emily Brackett is president of Visible Logic, Inc. Established in 2001, Visible Logic is a graphic design firm that works across all media—including web sites, logos, print materials, annual reports and book design. Based in Portland, Maine, Visible Logic builds complete
branding systems and designs individual projects for clients across the U.S. You may reach Emily or learn more at: www.visiblelogic.com

Toxic Clients: 3 Reasons to Fire Them

I ran across a fantastic blog that said it all so well that I rushed to gain permission to re-blog.  I have cut the article in two parts for easier reading. Here is Part 1.

A bit about our guest blogger: Emily Brackett is president of Visible Logic, Inc. Established in 2001, Visible Logic is a graphic design firm that works across all media—including web sites, logos, print materials, annual reports and book design. Based in Portland, Maine, Visible Logic builds complete
branding systems and designs individual projects for clients across the U.S. You may reach Emily or learn more at: www.visiblelogic.com

Unfortunately, I am currently in the midst of “separating” myself from a toxic client. And while this blog post is not about design, it is about being a small business owner, and I had to write it.
First of all, what makes a toxic client? There can be many variations and each is unique but there are usually early red flag warnings, followed by one or more of the following:

• Disrespectful behavior. Any client relationship should be a partnership, not a stomping ground.
• Pays late, disputes bills. If you are providing a professional service you should be paid. Someone who constantly questions your bills are questioning the quality of your work or your honesty in billing them.
• Questions your skills and expertise. If you are providing a service you are getting paid to help someone using your specialized experience. If a client continually questions your decisions, they don’t feel comfortable about your level of expertise.
• Undermines projects. When working with a  client, there should be a mutual goal of creating something together. For us, that means a web site, a logo, an ad, etc. We should be helping each other. When a client becomes an obstacle rather than a resource, there is a problem.

The first question I always ask my clients is:  How many toxic clients do you currently have and what are they costing you in time and revenue?
 It takes guts and courage to fire a toxic client.  How do you do it? Think about finding a colleague or consultant to 'second' you in your decision and communication with the client.

Second Part of blog next week.  Stay tuned. 

Laurelle Johnson
Strategies For Growth
The Good The Bad and The Ugly
Client Retention Program
laurelle@laurellejohnson.com

Client Retention Program

As most of my readers are aware, I have developed a  program called The Good The Bad and The Ugly Client Retention Program.  Focused on service firms that are in need of a client management program that is NOT computer-based, GBU creates a process to convert the bad clients to good, manage the good with first-class service and fire the ugly.

The reams of information on good client relationships, managing those relationships, and keeping those good clients fills a giga-bite-plus of internet space. Popular CRM software cannot classify the organic nature of client management.  This huge gap leads to mis-communication, bad feelings AND loss of revenue.

Client relationships are built between human beings. A Client Retention Program is a execution plan.  Plain, simple and straightforward, it allows a firm to deploy precious  resources to the good, convert the bad and fire the ugly.

Time to ask your service firm the following questions:

How do you manage your clients?  What relationships do you actively maintain and why?  What revenue is stuck behind a difficult relationship?

Feel free to comment on your current state of clients: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!

Book Recommendation

Am reading a great book I picked up at a book fair for $7.00.  Brought it home and have been working my way through it voraciously.  I am terribly impressed by how these authors put into words that which is so challenging to us humans that we muck it constantly: communication with our clients.

The complexity of communications has ended up with muffling, bashing, confusing our clients and peers alike.  Communication is so complex that it's like walking a tightrope every time we open out mouths. Then we spend hours blaming ourselves for a job badly done!

Service professionals need to be able to really listen to their clients and help untangle the challenges of the business while offering solutions without minimizing or insulting the dignity of the client. This book creates such a road map of "how to's" so well I've made it my carry-it-everywhere-with-me book.

I have posted access to the book via Amazon link in the box at the left. Enjoy!