Comments on: Planning for the Obvious

By: Kimberly Ben

Kimberly Ben — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:48:13 +0000

I can usually see the signs coming – especially if it's a client I've worked with a couple of times previously. This happened to me last year with a client I'd been working with for almost two years. Looking back it was for the best, and I learned once again why continuously marketing is so important.

By: Anne Wayman

Anne Wayman — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:34:09 +0000

Like Devon I tend to ask pointed questions early on… and you know what? Sometimes clients just quit the project… often without saying anything. I have a mental picture of one gal now being so embarrassed she won't say anything… I can't fix this sort of thing.

By: Lori

Lori — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:38:55 +0000

Maybe because I have plenty of work in front of me, it didn't really shake me. It was a little frustrating, but in both cases (and one you and I have talked about, Devon) I shrugged, exhaled, and moved on. If these had been my only two clients, I would have panicked and stressed. They were a decent monthly total, but not the largest of the checks coming in, thankfully.

I like your idea. I was inches from suggesting that to one of them. There were a few more things going on there that was making the work harder to accomplish. Not so hard that I stressed, but it was taking more time than was necessary. I was beginning to feel a bit resentful that my requests for information were unanswered.

By: Devon Ellington

Devon Ellington — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:53:10 +0000

Yeah, the waiting is so awful it's a relief when they're gone.

When they linger and shuffle their feet, I get confrontational. I say outright, "Look, this isn't working. Here are some suggestions I think will help. (And then I list them). I'd love to hear your ideas. But if we don't implement changes immediately, I need to resign."

It takes too much out of me on too many levels to watch it fade away, even when I'm replacing it. I'd rather make a clean cut and cauterize the wound.