Should I Break Up with my Poor Fit Client?

We’ve all had “that client.” The one who you dread hopping on a call with. Maybe it’s that they don’t treat people well, maybe it’s that they have a culture the opposite of yours, maybe it’s that they regularly try to push the envelope on what’s ‘in scope’ or find things to complain about. The variance of poor fit client depends on you, your organization, and what it stands for.  

I often hear “their money is also green” as a justification for having bad-fit clients. I’m here to debunk that. Sure a client may be paying your organization regardless of whether you like working with them or not, but all costs need to be accounted for in this equation, not just revenue. You may be saying “well the cost of delivering our product/service is the same regardless of the client.” It is rarely the case that your costs and your benefits are the same regardless of the client. When is continuing to work with the client justifiable and when should you move on?  The impact of working with this “problem client” needs to be taken into account.

Consider the following questions when evaluating whether it is time to break up with a client: 

1. In supporting them, does this work align with our mission and our values? 

2. Is the client happy with us? 

3. Does their organizational culture/ approach mesh well with ours? 

4. Are you missing other opportunities/ focus on better fit clients by working with this client? 

5. Do you worry about your team members’ retention/ satisfaction if they have to work this account? 

6. Has this problem been a trend / repeat issue? 

7. Are you getting repeatable value through working with this client? Can you take the product/service your offering to them and deliver it seamlessly to others? 

8. Are we spending extra effort to service this client?  Addressing the questions above may help to determine whether this client is worth the effort.   

Too often I’ve seen clients overlook the impact servicing a poor fit client has on their employees. Hiring and onboarding employees is one of the costliest (in time and money) endeavors of organizations. And often top employees are the ones tasked with the most difficult customers. If you perceive an attrition risk because an employee is stuck working with a poor fit client, you may have to choose your employees or your client. Not to oversimplify this solution as it is a privilege to be in the position to walk away from short term revenue for long term alignment/success, however I would be hard pressed to find many compelling instances where choosing your poor fit client over your employees is the right choice.   

Just like individuals, organizations also vote with their dollars and time. Making sure you are spending time, money, and effort on the right customers, vendors, and partners for what you hope to support is important.  

Let’s say after reflection, you decide, yes, it’s time to break up with this client. How do you go about this? Check out our upcoming blog on how to break up with a client! It’s not easy, and we’ll give some guiding best practices.