Don’t waste time on difficult client relationships.

It is—but have you ever thought about the flipside of that particular coin? 

Sometimes we as service providers need to be a little bit picky about who we work with. Not all clients are good clients FOR YOU, and there’s no rule that you can’t make informed decisions about whether you’ll take someone on or continue working with them.

Whether you’re a builder or a bookkeeper, the professional relationship between client and service provider is a two-way street. Sometimes that relationship can become more harmful than helpful to either party. And when that happens, it’s time to re-evaluate.

Why can’t I work with everybody who’s willing to pay me?

Well, you can. But there are always clients that will cost more in time, hassle, stress, and money than they’re worth.

Many business owners will keep on clients that are causing themselves or their employees huge amounts of stress because they are paying good money. It’s a tough call to make, but divesting yourself of a difficult client is worth it for the improvement to team morale alone. As an employer, it’s your job to look out for not only the physical safety of your people but also their mental and psychosocial safety.

In the long term, “firing” a tricky client (and by this we mean ending the relationship in a professional, kind way that fulfills any outstanding obligations) leaves space and opportunity. It allows you to fill your books with clients you can make happy. It allows those with whom you’ve parted ways to find a provider that meets their needs better. A win-win!

Remember: a difficult relationship between you and your client does not mean that anyone is in the wrong. It can simply be the wrong fit! 

What are the client red flags I should look for?

As Released has grown into our niche—virtual assistance for tradies—we have parted ways with several clients. Sometimes we can’t provide what a business needs, and that’s OK. We have also retained some who fall outside of our target audience, because the relationship just works for everyone involved.

For our clients, the experience might look slightly different in practice but is similar in theory. Whether you’re putting plumbing in a new build, contracting to a renovation project, offering regular lawn maintenance, or providing any other kind of service, you can look for these warning signs.

What has helped us to spot the relationships that aren’t working? Here are just a few red flags:

We are in the business of solving problems for our clients. But if they can’t tell us what the problem or objective is, we’ll have a hard time getting on the right page.

Sometimes this red flag can be detected right from the initial discovery call or quoting session, which is helpful for all involved. Asking the right questions is crucial as both parties decide whether working with our business will be right for theirs. If the potential client can’t articulate what it is they want, we’re setting ourselves up for unmet expectations and possibly resentment down the road.

A client might sound like they know exactly what they want and be able to articulate it. A great start! However, sometimes as the relationship progresses the objectives shift until you’re chasing goals that were never mentioned or agreed upon initially.

That’s not to say that it’s not OK for the scope of your work to change over time. In fact, if you’re helping your client move their business forward, then it should change! But this shouldn't be an insidious goalpost creep. It should be openly discussed so that you can reset your planning and renegotiate where necessary.

Look, it might be worth a try—you might be the right fit they’ve been looking for! But if a client comes to you and says “we’ve worked with this gardener, this other one, another one, and these three handyman services in the past five years”, red flags are going up.

Proceed with caution in this case. Make it clear what you can provide and what you can not. A discussion about why they parted ways with their previous providers may be insightful.

When your work has to be run by a full panel of stakeholders, some of them unknown to you, it’s difficult to do your job efficiently. Time spent going back and forth on a lengthy approval process is adding to the client’s bill, adding to your frustration, and creating tension in the dynamic.

When you onboard a client, ask about who in their organisation needs to give approval and for what. The process should be as clear and as simple as possible. For tradies, this might become an issue when you’re working with other contractors as part of a wider project. Who do you answer to? 

If you have a client on a set package and they’re taking up many more hours than they’ve been allocated, it’s time to re-evaluate. Why are they using so much time? Is it due to the issue we mentioned in the last point? Is it micro-managing? Is it just that their expectations are beyond what you agreed to provide?

Whatever it is, you need to find the root of the problem and come up with a solution. That might mean renegotiating the package, and it might mean ending the relationship with that particular client.

Set yourself free

There are many other reasons to stop working with a client, and we hope some of them are obvious: if they are not paying their bills or if they treat your people with disrespect, it’s time to cut ties. We know from experience that for small businesses, letting go of troublesome clients is scary. But doing so can set you free to find the ones that are excited about picking up what you’re putting down.