Your speed or your clients speed?

[rogercbryan]

Your speed or your clients speed?

I recently had a potential new client get frustrated with me because he wanted to do everything ‘right away’. He seemed to think that setting up a vehicle donation program was a breeze and that the money was just going to roll in. I ended up loosing the client because I did not feel comfortable rushing to set-up his account when I had not even sat down with him to review his marketing plan.

My question here is have you ever turned down a client because they did not want to follow your normal operating procedures?

I’ve been in business a little over two years and this is the first time I’ve ever let this happen. When I first started my company I would bend over backwards for any and all clients. Now that I have a handful of large clients I’m starting to over look the small clients. Is this good?

[capforge]

It's a balance. You don't want to overlook the smaller clients too much, because you never know who they know, or who is going to get big a lot faster than you would have thought. On the other hand, deciding not to work with certain people because it isn't a good fit (meaning they will suck down way more of your time and energy then they will ever be worth) is just good business. So, try to be fair in your evaluations, but definitely don't feel bad about opting out of the occasional job if it means saving yourself more time for the "good" clients.

[BusinessAdviser]

Two things:

1) To answer your question, it all comes down to a cost-benefit analysis. Do the benefits of adopting the strategy, with regard to client selection and treatment, outweigh the costs (think opportunity costs of a different strategy)? If so, keep on keepin' on. If not, I would consider rethinking your strategy. Always remember, it is often a folly to try to be all things to all people - find the best niche for yourself.

2) A question to ask yourself regarding your lost client: Might you have avoided losing the client by clearly explaining your expectations for the project, such as time, cost, procedure, etc., so that the client knew what to expect? Maybe, maybe not, but I think it's worth considering.

[Silverion]

I would say it is necessary depending on how much you and your business have grown. Small clients that can´t follow your procedures need to understand that the reason why your business is succesful and works well is because there is a defined course of action to take and if they can´t follow along, then it might not be in either your, or his best interest to continue working together. However you must also weigh whether if the clients interest in doing things at a different pace or out of the general mold is actually a bad thing or just different. Because if it is just different you might be loosing the possibility of developing more creative ways of getting things done in your comapany.

[rogercbryan]

Two things:

1) To answer your question, it all comes down to a cost-benefit analysis. Do the benefits of adopting the strategy, with regard to client selection and treatment, outweigh the costs (think opportunity costs of a different strategy)? If so, keep on keepin' on. If not, I would consider rethinking your strategy. Always remember, it is often a folly to try to be all things to all people - find the best niche for yourself.

This was my reasoning tool. In my line of work the large clients (The Salvation Army, The Red Cross, Goodwill Industries) have the basic understanding of how programs work and what the potential returns are. With them you negotiate a contract, launch the product, and measure the returns. This also allows for me to easily evaluate profitability.

With smaller clients that I've had in the past I've had situations where the income (30 units x $40 = $1200) in income a month hardly out weighs the time my staff and I spend working with them. I could tell in talking to this potential client that he was going to fit right into this category.

2) A question to ask yourself regarding your lost client: Might you have avoided losing the client by clearly explaining your expectations for the project, such as time, cost, procedure, etc., so that the client knew what to expect? Maybe, maybe not, but I think it's worth considering.

I did send him a pretty detailed email outlining what we do, how we do it, and what we charge. I even increased my price by 20% to try and compensate for my answer to #1 above. The client wanted everything right now... he wanted to be up and running in 24 hours.. when I usually spend 30 days getting ready to launch a new account. It turned me off and made me feel like the client had unreasonable expectations.

I guess I did everything I could... its just the first time I ever turned down (or got turned down by) a client. I feel like I'm sitting at the restaurant waiting for a date... and she isn't going to show... just a strange feeling.

[rogercbryan]

I would say it is necessary depending on how much you and your business have grown. Small clients that can´t follow your procedures need to understand that the reason why your business is succesful and works well is because there is a defined course of action to take and if they can´t follow along, then it might not be in either your, or his best interest to continue working together. However you must also weigh whether if the clients interest in doing things at a different pace or out of the general mold is actually a bad thing or just different. Because if it is just different you might be loosing the possibility of developing more creative ways of getting things done in your comapany.

I agree with what you are saying. If the client that called me was a name brand charity (Red Cross, Goodwill, or Salvation Army) I could have set-up their account in a few days. I would jump through hoops for someone who can bring me a large amount of business. So I guess it was less about capabilities and more about my desire to do it.

[rogercbryan]

It's a balance. You don't want to overlook the smaller clients too much, because you never know who they know, or who is going to get big a lot faster than you would have thought. On the other hand, deciding not to work with certain people because it isn't a good fit (meaning they will suck down way more of your time and energy then they will ever be worth) is just good business. So, try to be fair in your evaluations, but definitely don't feel bad about opting out of the occasional job if it means saving yourself more time for the "good" clients.

Good info... thanks

[zharlene]

My question here is have you ever turned down a client because they did not want to follow your normal operating procedures?

Yup. I've done it a few times, mainly when I'm already expected to follow strict demands before any payment is made...nobody likes customers with attitude issues.

I know what you mean. Last year when I started making some money online doing little jobs, I used to do 'overtime' (so to speak) for each and every customer.

I felt that I was offering them an awesome rate for my services, doing the best I can...and their attitude/pressure was hindering my progress.

Many customers forget that we're human; they see it more as a 'master to slave' thing than a 'you scratch my back I'll scratch yours' kind of thing.