What to Do When an Anchor Client Disappears

Let me start by saying how much I hate the term “anchor client.”

Reason: There is no such thing as a sure thing. So, considering someone an anchor of your business is a seriously bad idea. When that anchor breaks away, you’re drifting.

Another reason: You tend to moor yourself and your businesses to anchor clients, who then become the catalyst for everything that happens in your business. Your workload, what you write about, even your rate becomes tied inextricably to that client.

Don’t think so? Imagine a scenario where you’re writing newsletter articles — let’s say five small ones per month — for a client who pays you $1/word for the work. You write about retirement topics. All month. Every month. When a client comes along looking for someone who can write thought leadership articles on cyber threats for their tech startup, how are your clips going to convince them that you can handle it? You can’t. You’ve limited yourself to retirement topics.

Yet another reason: You get lazy. You stop looking for new clients and projects. You slow or halt your marketing because damn, you have a great gig already and plenty of work. Until they leave. Then you have nothing.

So, first order of business — lose the word “anchor” and replace it with “regular.” Regular is a little better in that there’s still an understanding that this is a tenuous business relationship. At least in my head, anyway.

But when that regular client disappears, it doesn’t matter what you call them. They’re gone and you’re out of a pretty sweet gig.

[bctt tweet=”When a regular client disappears, your #freelance business needs a Plan B.” username=”LoriWidmer”]

So let’s make a Plan B right now.

Here’s what I’ve done when I’ve lost those clients I thought would never go.

1. Find a short-term cash flow solution.

My go-to has always been magazine articles. When money is tight, I pitch. That means you need to have regular, friendly relationships with editors. Otherwise, you might starve before you get a response. Build those now and nurture them always.

Also, look to your current clients. Some clients may have plenty for you to do but are too busy to reach out. Get in their emails or better yet, on the phone. Let them know you’ve got openings in your schedule.

2. Ask for a referral.

It takes one email to net more work. A simple note to the departing client could read something like this, “I’m very sorry we won’t be working together anymore. It’s been a pleasure, and I will miss our conversations. Would you know of anyone who might need a writer? On top of what I write for you, I cover these topics, as well….”

Don’t reserve that ask for your departing client alone — ask all your clients if they have any referrals. The best referrals come from satisfied clients. And satisfied former clients — send your referral ask farther afield. Some of my best referrals back in the early days came from people for whom I’d did one project or had worked alongside at some point.

3. Market.

You probably should have been doing this all along, but now is the time to really crank up your marketing efforts. Find clients similar to the one who just departed. Reach out. Wow them with your background and make them realize how much they need you.

Hit up social media, too. Make sure to do a little humble-bragging (please, just a little) about projects you’ve finished for Client A and while you’re congratulating that client on a great accomplishment, you’re also alerting others to the fact that hey, you do this kind of work. Example: “Congratulations to ABC Staffing on the release of the new e-book titled, ‘Ten Ways to Vet Your Workers Successfully.’ It was a pleasure to work with you on this!”

4. Ask your posse.

Your writer friends are more than just friends — they’re sources of leads and referrals. If you don’t have a ton of freelance friends, you’re doing it wrong if only for the sake of the camaraderie. But you’re also missing out on the potential work that could come your way. When you lose a big client, tell your friends.

5. Focus on the Octopus.

One of my more popular blog posts here was about the income octopus method in which you focus on how many clients you have (can you guess how many are considered ideal?), which keeps you looking ahead to replacing clients as they leave. That renders the first point in this post moot — if you’re already working with enough clients, one big one disappearing will make a dent, but it won’t break you. If you lose a client, you’re already conditioned to looking for a new one.

6. Raise your rates.

I feel like I go hoarse saying this so much (or at least my fingers go numb typing it so often). Raise your rates. I did. You are, I guarantee you, undercharging. Rethink how you charge and how much you charge. Move to a pricing structure that fits with your situation. For instance, I moved to a per-word rate when I became quite fast at turning projects around. That way, I wasn’t punished for being timely.

Regular clients leave. I know. I had one that was responsible for $75K of my income last year disappear this year. Yet I am still on track to hitting my income goals. I raised my rates and replaced the client as the opportunity arose.

You can do that, too. If you put your plan in place now, losing a regular client won’t sink you.

Writers, when your regular client disappeared, how did you handle it?
Any advice for other freelancers who might be in the same situation?