As a business owner, you’re no longer sitting in your
too-small cubicle waiting to be called to HR for yet another downsizing
in yet another company. No more being told when you can take lunch,
make a personal call or, heavens forbid, go to the bathroom.
Owning
your own business comes with lots of perks. One of them that is
frequently overlooked however is that you now have the ability to fire
a client.
Stop and think about that for a moment. As a business
owner, you don’t need to take on every client that comes along and can
*fire a client* if you want or need to. Isn’t that liberating?
"I need all the clients I can get. Why would I ever want to fire one?" you ask.
In
order to make your business as profitable as possible, you need to
ensure that your client relationships are win-win for both you and the
client. There are several reasons why you may want, or need, to fire
one of your clients. Here are the top three scenarios in which you may
want to consider firing a client:
1. They don’t pay you on time.
If you have a client who consistently can’t, or won’t, pay you on time, you may want to consider firing him.
You
are in business to make money, to provide for your family, to fulfill a
need and be paid for your time in doing so. You are not in business to
spend your time providing services for another company for free.
If
they are having a tough time *right now* and you want to hang in there
with them, be sure that it is worth your time and effort and that
*right now* doesn’t turn into months. Remember that you only have so
many hours in the day to work on your business, use them wisely!
2. You cringe when the phone rings.
Some
clients can just rub you the wrong way — often. These are the clients
that, no matter what, drain you of your positive energy.
If you
find you’re cringing when that certain client calls, if he always wants
something for nothing, or if his ethics aren’t up to your standards, it
may be time to part ways.
3. You are ready to move up.
Have a client who refuses to pay you what you’re worth while others are waiting in the wings?
If
so, let him go and hire clients who are ready AND willing to pay you
what you’re worth! I had a client back in the day who actually told me
I should be happy he was paying me a small amount as he could give me
*more* work that way.
Want to guess how long he lasted?
You want to work only with clients who appreciate you and know your worth.
You
get the idea. Now that you are a business owner, remember that it goes
both ways – not only does the client interview and hire you, but you
also interview and hire him!
You can more efficiently manage your
profits this year by spending the time to take a good look at your
business and your clients and letting go of those who no longer fit.
Sandra P. Martini, the
Automatic Business Coach ™, is creator of the “9 Simple Steps to Creating an
Automatic Business” system. To learn
more about this step-by-step program for small business success, and to receive
her FREE “5 Simple Steps to Putting Your Marketing on Autopilot” e-course/audio
mini-series and how-to articles and teleseminars, please visit www.SandraMartini.com.