The Approach to firing clients and Terminating Projects
Reasons Why? How to Approach it? and My Email Templates For Certain Situations
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A couple of weeks ago I discussed How To Politely Decline Client Projects. I think you will find that issue very helpful.
I have also been asked so many times by other designers about dealing with bad clients and it’s always a tricky subject and something that can’t be explained in a simple message.
There are so many scenarios and situations that need to be handled in different ways.
In this issue I want to discuss the approach of firing a client and terminating the project and how I go about it, again its’s a very deep topic to cover everything but I’ll outline my process, and share my email templates I use that you are also welcome to use and change for different situations..
There comes a time when you’re working with a bad client who is so frustrating to work with that you just wish they did not exist and how great it would be if you could get to the studio one day and not have to deal with them ever again.
Sometimes relationships go sour and the majority of times it’s something to do with the client.
This can either happen early on in the project or near the very end when it comes to finalising the project.
There are cases were business relationships deteriorated after years of working together.
If the situation is not addressed early on and left over time, this negative client relationship can start to interfere with your business and eventually threaten your business reputation.
We as professionals will try our best to figure out what’s wrong and try and smooth things over but at times we need to make a tough decision to fire the client and terminate the project.
It’s never easy even for designers who have been in the industry for years who have a set in stone process for dealing with this type of situation.
Let’s take a look at how we can deal with The Approach to firing clients and Terminating Projects
How to Be Sure You Need to Fire the Client and Terminate the Project
Let’s be clear not all bad client relationships must end. Just because there seems to be a problem with a particular client, does not mean you have to let them go.
There are times when you can work it out with the client and get the relationship and project back on track and successfully complete the job.
Just have a professional and honest conversation with the client as it could save the project and save you having to fire the client and terminate the project.
Not all clients are in the wrong, some designers egos are unfortunately to blame and cause issues without them realising.
I have seen and heard many business owners get that frustrated with their clients to the point of letting them go just because.
The client asked for a revision out of the project scope: this is not a reason to fire a client, you may be busy but don’t react with frustration and anger remain professional and explain to the client.
The client rejected the designer’s ideas and directions: again this is no reason to respond in an angry manner or fire the client on the spot. Yes, it can be frustrating but you need to find out why.
When a client relationship has deteriorated beyond saving then it’s time to make the decision to move on.
Reasons You May Want to Fire Your Client and Terminate a Project
Let’s take a look at a few scenarios and reasons why client relationships can turn bad and why you may want to fire the client and terminate the project.
Client Communication Has Broken Down
You get to a stage in the project where the client goes AWOL and you reach out to them several times as you have hit a wall and their input to be able to progress further in the project.
Days pass, weeks pass, even sometimes months can go by with no response from their end.
You have worked so hard on this project and can’t understand what the issue is? It’s probably nothing to do with anything on your end its’s more than likely on the client’s end it happens.
Stop chasing the client, your time is better spent on other projects so move on and focus on other things you have going on.
When Clients Have Unrealistic Demands
Quite a common scenario where a client will disregard the original scope of work, and some go as far as becoming aggressive to try and get their own way.
They may even threaten you and block payments in the hope you will do what they want.
This is a stressful situation that can really affect morale and the running of your business.
The Client is Taking up More Time than What the Project is Worth
As designers we try to help our clients as much as possible but at the end of the day we are running a business and for that business to grow and be successful it needs to earn more than what is being spent/time spent.
Spending more time on a project that is not paying for extra time is time lost, time that could be spent on other projects earning the business more income.
The client and project literally cost your business money and this needs to stop. The only exception would be if the client has an emergency and needs to postpone to deal with matters this is unavoidable and would be a temporary setback or if the client has the potential to be a more lucrative partner for future projects.
They Try to Micro-Manage the Project
Clients hire designers to complete projects because we specialise in our field. We are the professionals the client has commissioned to complete the project because they need our knowledge, advice, recommendations, ideas and skills to bring the project to life.
The client may know more about their brand than we do, but when it comes down to the work involved we are specialists who know the best practices, strategy, and process to make it happen.
If a client is unwilling to accept that and ends up trying to micromanage the project and constantly rejects our advice, recommendations, and ideas then it’s not worth pursuing the project any further.
They Show a Lack of Respect
The relationship between a designer and client should be built on mutual respect that works both ways.
If the client does not respect you as a person or your business they will end up undermining and questioning your work.
A typical scenario is when a client treats you like a pixel pusher and the canvas is there’s your only job is to what they tell you to do on that canvas, a basic order taker and not a designer who has been commissioned to solve a creative problem this is something you should never tolerate.
They Don’t Want to Pay You and Expect Free Work
As a designer I’m fairly confident that the majority of designers out there have had to deal with this at some stage and it’s probably the worst type of client you can get.
Don’t get me wrong there’s nothing wrong with negotiating. Everyone, including good clients, wants to get the best deal they possibly can.
However, if a client is overly pushy about your rates from the start, take this as a massive red flag.
This type of client will never understand or value professional work, they will dispute every invoice you send, ask for more work than what was originally agreed and basically expect everything for nothing.
They are Really Slow at Paying You
It’s very annoying when you get a client who is slow to pay, especially when you get to the final stages of a project and suddenly the client is having issues and suddenly they can’t pay.
This is very frustrating and disrupts business cash flow. In most cases it’s simply not that the client does not want to pay you it’s a case of they are disorganised and don’t prioritise it and forget.
If this is happening quite frequently with the same client I would recommend having a conversation with them and state it’s getting frequent and you have been patient cut them some slack by not applying late fees.
But if you plan to add them if payments continue to be late, this will more than likely do the trick as the client will then see it as a priority otherwise it will cost more.
If all else fails it’s time to let that client go and move on as you don’t want to continue spending your time chasing invoices, and worrying about future late payments.
They Don’t Listen to You
I’m sure we have all had clients who don’t listen to us and never follow our advice and recommendations.
Some clients believe they know better than we do even though we are the professionals they hired for our expertise to begin with.
You may have had a client who defaces your work beyond recognition, they ask for your help but ignore everything you advised but they still expect you to make things better when things don’t work out.
Dealing with a client who refuses to listen to you is very frustrating indeed. It creates a lot of stress and makes them not worth your time.
They may be good paying clients but is it really worth it? As there is no job satisfaction and impossible to be super proud of the final results that’s gone against your advice originally given.
It’s also a lack of respect for you and your work and when you’re in this situation you need to voice your opinions in a professional and respectful way.
If all else fails to complete the project to the client’s liking as soon as possible, get paid and move on.
The Approach You Should Take When Firing and Terminating a Project
When you decide it’s time to fire your client and move on to better things it’s a good idea to follow a professional process:
Always check your design agreement and contract terms before you contact the client: Make sure you adhere to them so you can refer the client back to them. Documents like this are there to protect you and the client can use them!
Always maintain your integrity: keeping calm, being rational and polite. Give your client the reasons for your decision to end the project and remain professional at all times.
Follow-up with the client: It’s fine to start the termination process with an email, but also a good idea to speak to your client and talk them through the process and answer their questions.
Resist any urge to engage unprofessionally: Sometimes clients may try to make you retaliate inappropriately. Maintain your professional standards don’t lower yourself to their level.
Send the client a referral: You don’t have to do this but sometimes it’s a good idea depending on the situation.
Complete the project if possible: Depending on the situation it may not be possible to finalise a project but if possible then try to complete it as soon as you can, get the final payment and move on.
Straight talk
When it comes to firing a client and terminating a project you just need to be straight with the client.
Explain in a professional and calm manner that you are unable to complete the project to their expectations, and quite simply state you are not a good fit for each other.
For instance when you have a problem client you can send them an email to outline and start the process of ending the relationship by sending something like:
Dear {Client},
Unfortunately, we have come to the decision to terminate our contact effective from {………………….}, as stated in our design agreement and contract terms which you already have copies of from our initial meeting before the project started.
{Insert Reasons Here} eg -
Due to the recent problems and delays with your project, it’s come to our attention that we’re not a good fit for each other. Your requirements are outside of the scope of what we do as a company.
We’d also like to recommend {Company}, who have a focus on specialities and might be a better fit for your needs.
If you’d like to discuss this further, I’d be happy to discuss the situation over the phone or in person.
Thanks for your business, and I wish you all the best for the future.
Kind Regards,
Your {Details}
This email clearly states the reasons for the relationship breakdown and issues that have arisen without casting any blame on the client.
By sending a referral it shows you don’t hold any bad feelings towards the client and still want them to succeed with the project.
The excuse
Now a lot of the time we want to tell the client how difficult they have been to work with because of this and that.
You want to make them realise just how much of a pain they have been in for you during the project, you want them to realise this!,
In reality it just does not work like this and will probably turn nasty, as they will try and fight back and blame you, we don’t want this we just want to move on.
In this case I would recommend using a convenient excuse. Such as:
Our business is moving in a new strategic direction.
We are having a conflict of interest with another client.
We have decided to increase our rates.
Ok, so let’s say you have a client that is not exactly terrible but you have become tired of working with them due to them being a slow payer, they don’t really respect your time and always try to get free work, their not really an ideal client or good for your business as a whole and would like to end the relationship.
You could send something like this with a convenient excuse:
Dear {Client},
I just wanted to let you know that as of {DATE}, we will no longer be able to offer you our services.
Our company is moving in a new strategic direction, and unfortunately this means closing off some of our current accounts, including yours.
I apologise for any convenience this may cause. We are recommending our clients speak to {company}, who have packages that should meet your needs.
If you’d like to discuss this further, I’d be happy to discuss the situation over the phone or in person.
Thank you so much for your business over the years. We wish you all the best for the future.
Yours Sincerely,
Your {Details}
It’s a simple straight to the point goodbye email. You have explained the situation its’s you moving in a different direction, you have offered a referral and still trying to help, and you have welcomed them to check or meet with them so there is no hard feelings towards them. Done!
The fee increase
Now this one can be tricky as it can backfire on you so use it wisely. Only use this when you know the client will not be willing to pay more, or if you have had payment issues with them or price discussions with them.
I once used it years ago with a client who had become difficult to work with for other reasons not related to money, thinking it would get rid of them but they agreed to the increase so I was stuck with them for a little longer.
Dear {Client},
I’m writing to inform you that, as of {DATE}, our rates for some of our services and our hourly rate will be increasing.
You can see the new rate structure in the attached PDF.
As this includes the service you are using, I’m letting you know to give you an opportunity to decide if you’d like to continue using our services.
Feel free to contact me if you’d like to discuss this further.
Kind Regards,
Your {Details}
Some clients may be difficult to work with but some really don’t mind paying more if you increase your rates so just think about who to send this to.
We were providing annual IT Support and web maintenance with ongoing design services for this client but it had turned into a nightmare situation.
The client always wanted more and was always calling and emailing for every little thing outside of the agreement, and even with the added increase it was not worth the time to support them no amount of money could cover it truly was that bad.
I honoured the original annual agreement and put up with it for another 12 months before I could escape.
I still remember my Dad saying “Their treating you like dirt, get rid of them!” I was in my mid-twenties at the time so you can imagine it was a difficult situation, that I would handle a lot differently now but a life lesson and lesson learnt!
How to Prevent Getting More Nightmare Clients in The Future
Once you are finally free from a nightmare client it’s such a good feeling, and you think to yourself I never want to have a client like that ever again!
It’s such a great step you have taken to end a relationship with a toxic client and more on as now you’re free! …But don’t party just yet!
Now comes the time to reflect on what happened and caused the issues and relationship breakdown in the first place, was it something you missed that could have prevented it from happening?
Most importantly what you can now implement to prevent this from happening in the future.
What you should consider:
Improving your client validation process: The majority of client issues happen because the client has greater expectations that don’t align with the actual service you’re providing them. Figure out how you can rule out clients who are not ideal and create a system to validate during your on boarding process. I will explain this in detail with my 6 P’s to validation.
Revisit your pricing structure: You may not be charging enough for what you’re offering, clients could see this as a bargain and once signed up they will expect more and more for less it’s just how it works. Look at adding additional charges for certain areas outside of your work scope and outline these within your terms and agreement.
Group together and prioritise your clients: If you work with a lot of clients on retainer / service level agreements then categorise them into groups to help you figure out the type of client and work your attracting this will help you spot if you have too many bad clients.
Look at the lead-generation sources you’re using: Where are you attracting clients from? Are bad clients coming from certain sources? Look at new ways and strategies to attract the type of clients you would like to work with.
Pretty much everyone in business deals with terrible clients from time to time, and the key is to identify them real early in the validation stage so you can decline and save yourself time, stress and frustration in dealing with them.
Don’t let bad clients keep the door closed as you don’t want them to destroy everything you have worked so hard to build up.
My Dad used to say to me:
“Look after your business and it will look after you!”
He was right!
As I always say - “Stay curious & enthusiastic, and good things will happen!”
Thanks for reading. I appreciate your support. 😃
What sort of process do you have in place? Leave a comment I would love to hear from you.
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