Comments on: How to Accept Losing Clients

By: Victoria

Victoria — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:33:53 +0000

I feel as though in the writing field it is something that is expect – especially for freelance writers. I never put to much thought into it. Sometimes they are not really lost you may hear from them again in the future.

By: Lori

Lori — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 20:34:24 +0000

Anne, that's exactly why my "no third party" clause went into the contracts. Either they're stated up front or I don't have to work with them. It's too hard to please someone you know and someone you don't.

By: Anne Wayman

Anne Wayman — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:43:30 +0000

I lost "a year's worth of income" with a book ghostwriting client awhile back… hard and confusing… and I finally figured out that the client was writing a book to please others – small wonder it didn't work… so that's one of the things I ask about before I agree to write.

By: Lori

Lori — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 18:25:22 +0000

Devon, it really is ironic - I wrote this before heading over to your blog. I hope your situation sorts out soon.

AnnaLisa, those are the worst situations. They've done nothing wrong except delay endlessly. But that's a problem that could stretch right into payment time. Good for you for finding a better client! That's usually the case, isn't it?

Cathy, the first ones are always the toughest. :) I think you've hit on something -- they sound as though they weren't happy because they weren't sure what they wanted. Hard to make up their minds for them!

Sandy, that sounds like someone who hasn't a clue how to run a business. Wow! Sounds like they were attempting to claim a few more deductions than they were entitled to.

Great advice, Susan! I've found the same thing - clients who disappear in a cloud of upheaval are often making room for a better client. It's sad to see them go (if they're truly decent people) but there's usually something better waiting.

By: Susan Johnston

Susan Johnston — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:39:21 +0000

Losing a client can also be an opportunity. Sometimes clients eat up our time and energy or hold us back from challenging ourselves. So losing a client can be a blessing because it frees you to pursue other opportunities. The first thing I would do after dusting myself off emotionally would be to contact other clients and let them know that I'm open to referrals and have some availability coming up if they'd like to discuss new projects to start filling that hole in my income. I'd also be looking at how I could woo new clients, though that tends to take a bit longer.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:58:25 +0000

All your advice is spot-on Lori, but you're especially right to focus on the fact that losing a client sometimes allows you to get rid of a lot of stress. When I first started out, I did some research and ghost writing for a local author. She was forever calling at odd hours, told me all my facts were wrong when I'd gotten them directly off the website of a non-profit that gave me permission to use the info, sent me a 1099 that had a wildly huge amount of money listed (it was an accounting mistake, and it took her husband/account manager forever to fix it and they acted like it was no big deal — but since it would have been my tax bill, it was a big deal to me). I finally simply quit accepting work from her, and it was such a relief.

By: Cathy Miller

Cathy Miller — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:38:11 +0000

The first client I lost was a new one on a single project. They paid and there was no problem that way, but I submitted my DRAFT and heard nothing, nothing, nothing. Then I heard that they had to do quite a bit of editing. Yet when I received the final copy, there was little that was changed so either a) they viewed ANY change as too much or b) they just weren't happy with it even after their edits.

In hindsight, being that they were a new client, I should have worked out my questions before sending the initial draft. I listed my questions and told them I would make the edits after we discussed the remaining questions, but that was a mistake.

I have a few clients who prefer to work that way so they have something in front of them to get an idea where the copy is going.

Maybe because it was my 1st lost client and this had never happened to me, I still regret that loss. I really liked their business and thought I had the makings of another great client.

Yes, I learned from it and have moved on (mostly), but it's kind of like your 1st breakup with a boyfriend. :-)

By: AnnaLisa

AnnaLisa — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:10:51 +0000

To me, it's kind of like the classic advice Dear Abby gives when someone asks whether to leave her/his spouse: Ask yourself whether you'll be better off with or without him/her.

Some clients simply beg to be "lost." I went through several stressful months of delays, periods of unresponsiveness, and vague answers from one client. I finally realized, she simply wasn't ready to go forward with the project--and if she wasn't, then I couldn't. Period. A recipe for continued frustration. Clearly, I would be better off without the project.

And I was. Not long after I canceled our contract, another client filled the empty spots in my schedule--a client I'm still working with, happily, two years later.

By: Devon Ellington

Devon Ellington — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:39:04 +0000

Very timely today, my dear. I'm having payment drama with a big client, and realize my work is no longer valued. It's all on the blog. I'm going to have to replace that client. The way we'd set things up, they were supposed to give me a year of financial security for a heck of a lot of work, but that's not the way it's worked out. I don't know yet with what I'll replace them, but I shouldn't have to fight for my money for a successfully completed project for which they collected payment back in January.