Most businesses cringe at the thought of losing a client, but here are three warning signs that signify it is time end the relationship.

1. Three Signs It’s Time to Fire a Client
For a service based business, the primary goal is to attract new clients while maintaining a consistent
client base. A lot of organizations focus all of their energy on attracting new clients. From marketing and
promotions, to networking and personal referrals, a lot of time is spent looking for new customers.
However, there are times when you need to focus attention from hiring a new client to firing an existing
one. Most businesses cringe at the thought of losing a client, but here are three warning signs that
signify it is time end the relationship. Cutting a bad client loose helps you better focus your resources on
your other clients and other areas of the business.
They Are Consistently Late With Payment
Service based businesses differ from product-centric companies as the revenue stream is different.
Instead of selling products, a service business charges for its services. When a client doesn’t pay by the
time their invoice is due, it impacts your cash flow. This in turn can affect your payroll, as well as your
operating expenses. If your client is consistently paying late, or you have to spend a lot of time and
energy chasing them down to claim a delinquent payment, it is time to let them go. Not only does this
type of client disrupt your cash flow, but it shows that they don’t value your company or your services.
They Need Constant Hand Holding
When you work for a client, the goal is to make sure that you provide the best service possible.
However, there is a fine line between good customer service and getting taken advantage of. For
instance, your team members spend an exorbitant amount of time on one particular client because you
have to explain something multiple times or you have to guide them step by step through every single
process. Clients that insist on hand holding become a burden on your team, and can lead to lower profit
margins as you are charging the same rate for your services for a client, but have to spend twice the
amount of time managing them without being compensated for the extra time (and aggravation).
They Are Opposed to Change
Many times a client hires a business to help them fix a problem. Companies hire consultants to build a
better business plan, build a brand new marketing plan, or even review your IT infrastructure to improve
the office’s technology. These consultants then spend hours upon hours creating new plans,
suggestions, and offering different options to help improve the clients’ businesses. The clients in turn
then refuse to make any of the recommended changes. This unfortunately happens all of the time. You
or your team members waste time and energy working on a plan that will never see the light of day. This
is time that could be spent working on other, more profitable clients. The effort that you put in for your
clients should be respected. If a client can’t recognize the value of your work, let them go, and find
another one who will.
About The Author
GrowthForce (http://growthforce.com) provides growing businesses with cloud-based bookkeeping and
controller services, delivering timely and actionable financial intelligence. By leveraging teams and
technology and The Cloud, our dedicated U.S. based service professionals optimize and integrate your
accounting and financial systems, standardize and automate processes, and perform the
daily/weekly/monthly finance functions from our secure hosted environment.