5 CLIENT BREAK-UP LINES THAT DON’T SUCK

WHEN IT DOESN’T VIBE, IT’S TIME TO SAY GOODBYE

Have you ever felt excited to finally book that client for your social media manager business! At first, things are going well. It seems as though you’re communicating effectively, share the same vision, and you’ve hit a few home runs at the very start. But slowly (or quickly in some unfortunate instances) things begin to go sour. The client consumes all of your time. They don’t understand the value you provide. And sadly, your work far exceeds your compensation.

Ugggh. This dream client quickly becomes a nightmare.

I’m a big believer that when it doesn’t vibe it’s time to say goodbye! So stop wasting time on bad clients. This time could be time spent finding your dream client, and building the social media manager business you’ve always dreamed of.

Here are five signs it’s time to break-up, and what to say your client is no longer a good fit.

#1 – You become an order taker.

As a social media manager, or really any other service based business, clients ideally come to you because of your expertise. So if you have a client who refuses to allow you to guide them, and instead insists that you do things their way, then it’s certainly a good time to reconsider this relationship. It’s a waste of your expertise. But most importantly, this scenario is setting you and your client up for failure.

How to break-up: Perhaps your needs are better suited by someone with a different skill set. How about we work on a 30-day wrap up plan?

#2 – Your client wants more work but doesn’t pay.

I advise all the bosses I coach to clearly identify what the scope of work is BEFORE you start working with your client. Set the expectation that any additional work comes at an extra cost. Your time is money. All that time you spend working for free, could be time you spend working for someone who will actually pay you. In other words, stop losing out on extra income! So if your client is expecting you to do extra work without any compensation. It’s time to part ways. First, see if they are willing to increase your payment. If not. . .goodbye.

How to have the talk: It looks like we’ve outgrown the original scope of work. Based on the new assignments and goals that you’re interested in pursuing, allow me to get back to you with a revised monthly fee.

#3 – Your client is not respectful.

You deserve to work for a client who respects your time, respects your expertise, and generally respects you as a person. Once a client enters “disrespectful” territory, they usually don’t turn back.

A client is disrespectful when:

• They expect you to take a call without previously confirming with you, then keep you on the phone for hours. These are clients that typically expect you to be at their beck and call and squeeze unproductive time out of you.
• They don’t give you an opportunity to provide strategic direction, and make bad use of your skills.
• They are rude, make threats, don’t pay on time, or simply forget to pay you.

Time to split up if your client shows any of the aforementioned signs.

How to break-up: It’s unfortunate that we can’t seem to get our professional relationship on the right footing. Let’s come up with a transition strategy so that you can find a social media manager who could better serve you.

#4 – Your client has unrealistic expectations.

I cringe every time I hear, “let’s make it go viral” or “find me 10,000 organic likes.” Because, let’s be real, it ain’t going to happen. Managing client expectations for your social media manager business is the key to success. And if you’re client’s expectations aren’t realistic . . .RUN!

How to break-up: I understand your objective, but it may fall outside my expertise. It would be irresponsible of me to tell you that this can be easily accomplished. Perhaps another social media manager can assist you with this.

#5 – Your client doesn’t mesh with your personal values.

If a client expects you to do anything unethical, or if they represent an industry that doesn’t align with your personal beliefs, don’t sell out for the money. Don’t pursue the relationship. You most likely started your social media manager business so that you could live a happy and fulfilled life. So why let this get in the way of that? If it doesn’t feel right, it will NEVER feel right.

How to break-up: I appreciate the opportunity, but you deserve to work with a social media manager that is passionate about the work that you do.

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