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Breaking Up is Hard to Do: How to End a Business Relationship
By Julie Gerstein
Dec 26, 2005, 21:25
To most new business owner, the idea of turning away potential clients or customers seems crazy. Every nickel and dime, every contract––large or small––makes a difference. New business owners tend to bend over backwards to find and retain customers, and that often leads to businesses taking on work that may not directly fit in with the main mission and goals of the company.
For example, a graphic design firm may end up doing time-consuming scuttle work for clients, such as scanning or faxing documents. Clients may think that these things require little to no effort and time, but in actuality, these things take energy away developing new business and concentrating on producing high quality work. Doing a favor for a client every once in a while isn’t discouraged, but when favors turn into an expectation of free services, then it becomes problematic.
Sometimes a client’s needs don’t match the services your business provides. A job may be too large or too small for your business to handle. Taking on such a job could result in a cost to your company. If the job is too large, you may have to outsource pieces of it to another firm (which requires additional time and energy), and if a job is too small, you may be wasting your resources on a project with little to no reward. If the job requires equipment or skills you don’t possess in-house, you may run out of resources trying to track down the elements required to do the job right. When choosing clients to work with and jobs to take on, consider both the financial gain––and the potential cost––the job will generate. In some cases it’s more cost-effective to pass on jobs or clients that may not fit with your firm’s services.
When else should you “fire” a client? When that client is abusive to you or your employees. If a client is hostile, verbally abusive or physically abusive to you or one of your staff members, it’s time to end the relationship.
Business-client relationships should center on mutual respect and professionalism, and if a client crosses the line, you need to seriously consider what their business means to you. Is it worth jeopardizing yourself or your employees?
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