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#AH - IT'S NOT ME, IT'S YOU: Why It's Important to Break Up with Tricky Clients

Everyone’s had a tricky client or two.

But when things start to negatively impact you and your team, it might be time to take action and resign them.

“If you’ve never resigned a client, it is a terrifying prospect,” explains Simon Douglass, owner and founder of Curated. “One particular client was all over the place internally. I could see the red flags in their processes and what they were asking from us. It was just so negative.”

This negativity had a noticeable effect on his team, and that’s when he knew he had to call time on this working relationship.

Jonathan Hill, CEO of 1minus1, has had similar experiences with clients – and it’s a much more common problem than you’d think.

“Sometimes a client’s ethos and approach to the world is just so different to ours,” he explains. “And sometimes they just don’t understand the value of the work you do for them.”

“Your gut feeling is everything. The honest truth is, if I get up in the morning and I’m dreading working with you, I’m just not going to.”

It can be difficult to make this decision if a client is a big source of revenue. However, it’s always important to weigh this up against the value of your workforce, and whether the negativity and stress is worth it.

“If it’s paying you a small fortune, you think you’ll be struggling if you get rid of them,” says Simon. “But actually, you will struggle more if you keep that client. Your staff will be unhappy. They won’t deliver good results. They’ll probably leave. Resigning a client is the best thing to do in that situation.”

This is a discussion open to all to discuss experiences of resigning clients and to share advice with others who are currently in a sticky situation themselves. We’ll be talking all about the negative impact of tricky clients, how to approach the situation, and the red flags to look out for in the future.

Feb 3, 2021 11:30 AM in London