Think of your absolute best client, you know the one who buys all your products, pays their bills on time and sends you a card at Chistmas time. (is this a little too perfect?)
What if all your clients were like this…
What would your business look like? How would it feel to get up and go to work each day? How good would it feel not to have another one of those difficult conversations with a client who is continuosly difficult to deal with?
Most small businesses believe they need to get every sale they can make. The believe they have to put up with all the pain some of their difficult clients put them though.
This is not true!
These “difficult” clients are costing you money – and LOTS of it.
Think of your most difficult client – add up the amount of money they spend with you. How much of that amount is Profit? Now divide the Profit by the number of hours you have spent with them (don’t forget to factor in the heart ache and those dreaded moments just before you pick up the phone to give them a call).
How much per hour are you making?
Now ask yourself the following questions –
- It this customer worth it?
- Can I survive without them?
- Is my time better spent finding more A grade clients?
More often than not – the answer is it is not worth your time to deal with difficult people and your business will survive without them (infact when you find more quality clients it will get stronger).
The answer is – fire the customer!
Your business will get a reputation for not dealing with idiots – this is a good thing. It will strength your brand (specifically your level of profressionalism) and the appeal of your business both existing and new clients.
James Hill