How to Fire Toxic Clients

We're going to talk about how to grow your practice by firing clients. This may seem counterintuitive, especially when I spend my time helping you get clients (rather than sacking them), but do stay with me on this one—It's super important!

Let's start at the beginning. Back when YOU started your business or your practice, you just wanted to work with anyone and everyone who could pay you.??

When cash is tight, we often accept clients who are not always ideal. The ones who may not always be up to our standards, may not pay our full rates, or may not always be following the rules or boundaries that we have set in our own practice.? Instead, we accept all sorts of behavior. This is because we need the cash.

This changes as your practice and client base grows. You start to realize that those are the people who we call Vampire Clients.

Vampire Clients pay just as much, or less than, all of your ideal clients, but they require more time and energy. They require your personal vibes, too.

They create havoc in both your life and your business. They may send you referrals, but never the good ones!? They never get a great result from working with you because THEY are not ideal. As a result, Vampire Clients will rarely, if ever, give you testimonials.?

As an act of self-love, you need to get these Vampire Clients out of your life!

When deciding whether or not a client is a vampire,? keep in mind what defines an ideal client. They should make you feel good and give you energy-not suck it out of you!

When you think of all your clients answer these questions:

• Do I feel energized after working with that person?
• Do I look forward to working with them when I see them on my calendar or after speaking with them? Or do I feel drained?
• When I see them on my schedule, get an email from them, or hear a team member mention their name, does my heart sink??
• Do I say to myself, “Oh gosh, I can’t believe I’m gonna have to talk to this person!”?

If you answer “yes” to these questions, it is a strong indicator that you have a Vampire Client on your hands.?

Here are two more questions to ask yourself:

• ?Would you want a practice full of that kind of client??
• Would you clone that client, and just work with people like that??

If the answer to both questions is a resounding “NO!”, then what you've got on your hands is a non-ideal Vampire Client.?

Many years ago I created a list of what constitutes a right-fit client for me and my business.? It's a detailed list, but it has one overriding trait - they have got to be a nice person-kind and trustworthy.?

I know from past experience that, if someone is not nice, and doesn’t have the right character, they will eventually put a drain on both myself and my resources.??

We are a loving company that really cares about our clients, so I am very careful about who I offer space in my world. You should be that way, as well.? No amount of money is worth selling your soul to the devil.?

Sometimes, it can be a bad match. They are not a bad person; they are just not your person.? Not all people are for all people.

We're not ideal for chronic whiners and skeptics.? This type of person makes excuses, doesn’t do the work, and treats those around them (myself, my team, and other clients) in an unkind manner.

That's not somebody we want to play and work with.? I spend a lot of time with my clients, so I want to feel good when I spend that time with them.

We're clear now, and everybody on the team is trained to look for red flags.? We're very caring, and we don't let those people in.? If we recognize that they're in, we make the decision that, maybe, it is time to say goodbye.

First and foremost, I want you to love yourself enough to get super clear on who's an ideal client and who isn't. This is because keeping a Vampire Client has consequences that you may not see at first. Vampire Clients will suck the life out of you and the team, and eat into the profits of your business.?

Joey, one of my new clients in the Business Advisor Academy, was recently sharing with me about how her team had gone through this. They had a really bad Vampire Client, that was not only making her exhausted and fed up but was affecting the team. Their happiness at work, and the quality of the work itself, was suffering.

After working with us for a few weeks, she got a new high-value advisory client (who was worth 102,000 dollars to her for a year's work).? This high-value client brought her, along with her team, the energy, and confidence to sack an old Vampire Client of hers. Both her team and family were so happy!?

I have to be honest with you.? I still really struggle if I have a Vampire Client. You see, having a Vampire Client doesn't just affect me just when I am at work, or at that moment. ? It affects my overall mental and physical health. A Vampire Client keeps me awake at night; they become a topic of conversation with my husband at the dinner table or when traveling in the car; and it has even seen me snapping and shouting at the children, as I am so stressed out.

I reckon I am not alone in this. Many of my clients have confirmed they feel this way, too, with bad clients. Having one can really negatively change your life. A Vampire Client can make your head hurt, your back ache, bring on depression, leave you unable to go to work, and lay you up in bed. It’s pretty horrendous.

So why do we allow ourselves to keep Vampire Clients in our business? Why do we let them suck the life out of us???

Quite simply, it is because we are scared of saying no to money. Vampire Clients may be awful, but they pay the bills a lot of the time.?

The ability to now market your accounting services means that there is no need to keep bad clients. Since the pool of clients is so much larger, you can just go and get a better one.

This always hasn’t been the case, though.? Before 1977, CPAs in America were not allowed to advertise.? Here in the UK, the ICAEW didn’t allow accountants to advertise their services in the public newspaper and other media until October 1, 1984.

Before this, accountants relied on word of mouth. Let's be honest-many still do!? This means that getting rid of a Vampire Client is scary because they have no control over getting a new one.?

We all know the saying, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush".?

This old adage might be keeping you from making a very sensible decision. You are convinced that you are doing the right thing, so you can’t let that bird fly away!

You are not sure where your next good client is coming from, and you are scared. So you keep the vampire client, and convince yourself this is the right thing to do both yourself and your staff. You need to pay the mortgage.

However, there is an answer, and the answer is one word—CONTROL.

You are allowed to advertise and get clients; you are no longer restricted and banned from advertising. Therefore, the thing you need to focus on is getting your practice to a point where you can get clients when you want to. You need to have a faucet of good leads that you can turn on and off at will.? It all depends on whether or not you need (or want) a new client.?

The definition of a Vampire Client will differ for individual firms and their owners.? Different people can tolerate different stresses, so you have to come up with your own basic rules to follow.?

Vampire Clients can show up in several ways, but there are sometimes when you just have to sack them—get them out of your company, and get them out of your life!

Here are some ideas to help you, and while these are created from MY values in life, I would be most surprised if you disagreed with me on them. The first kind of Vampire Client is the one who is threatening you. This can be verbally, physically, or with court action.?

The second Vampire Client that makes an appearance is one that is harassing you. It might be via email, on the phone, or sexually.? What can be flattering at first may very well end up creeping you out.? Without a doubt, this is most definitely a reason for dismissing a client!

?No one should ever be creeped out, and it is your job to keep an eye out for clients who are doing this to your staff, too.? It can go under the radar if your team is not prone to sharing.? If that is the case, you need to check to make sure that the staff are ok.? It might take getting the question out in the open, so your staff feels comfortable sharing such issues.?

Here is another one - if the client is lying to you. They are making up stories about why they could or couldn't do something, blaming your team when you know it’s an untruth, or telling downright lies that you know are tales and not true. I have had a couple of clients do this to me. I knew that their claims were simply not true, and I had to quickly shut them out of the business.?

How about the client who is making unreasonable demands?? No amount of money should make you a doormat. If a high-value client is demanding too much from you, and it is affecting you mentally or physically, it is time to get the hell out of Dodge.?

This next Vampire Client is slightly different, because the situation may be fixed, and you can avoid having to fire them. We have all run into a client that emails at unreasonable hours and expects immediate answers.? It may be an onboarding problem. If they were not made aware of your ground rules, and you didn’t let them know you wouldn’t be available to them 24/7, it is your responsibility to give them a chance to change their ways. Put better boundaries in place, and see how it goes.

Here’s another type of client that may not be under the Vampire Client heading—the ones that do not pay on time. I have a couple of clients that always pay me late.? They need chasing every month, but they love my services, and I really like them. I let it go, but their late payments do cost me money. My team has to chase them, and it can get frustrating, but they are not Vampire Clients.?

If they were, this would be the straw that broke the camel’s back…?

A good client is only good if they pay their bills. If they owe you money and don't pay their bills at all, send in the debt collectors and sack them. You run a business, not a charity.?

This next one is really important and rears its ugly head around tax season. They do not do as you ask, incur fines, and then blame you. This leaves you in a situation where they are angry at you when it's not even your fault. Arguments and horrible emails can follow. Voila! All those sleepless nights I mentioned earlier start to happen.?

They start to play you off against other accountants. Maybe the Vampire Client wasn’t always a one but is now becoming that way.? If they play you off against the competition, then this is a big warning sign.? Most of all, it means they are not seeing the value you provide, as they are being swayed by price or someone else's offering. If you cannot fix this problem, and articulate your value better than your competitor can, then you should let them go. Don’t be held ransom.?

Finally, letting go of this particular client is a no-brainer.? They are not sticking to the law. If you have a client who wants “creative” accounting, then sack them fast. You could end up in court. This could destroy your business, your marriage, and your relationships with everyone around you.?

You are nothing without a good reputation. If you have a Vampire Client who holds you over a barrel and threatens to destroy your reputation, it is even more important to sack them.?

In order to build your freedom practice, you need to get rid of Vampire Clients and fill your practice with high-quality clients. Advisory clients who value you and pay you what you’re worth.

How exactly do you go about slaying a vampire? Here are some steps for you:?

Step #1:? Check Your Letter of Engagement.? Can you sack them, or do you need to give notice?

Step #2:? Finish Existing Projects.? It’s not good to leave in the middle of a project. Tie up all loose ends.

Step #3:? Check your ego.? This might sting a little, but it’s important to check that this decision isn’t about you and your bruised ego. Consider their behavior throughout your entire working relationship, and ensure this isn’t just a one-off because you are in a bad mood.

Step #4:? Put them on Probation. If a Vampire Client represents too large of a percentage of your revenue to let go right now, you might want to consider putting them on probation. Work on helping them become better clients.?

Abraham Lincoln claimed that the best way to destroy your enemies is to make them your friends. In a similar vein, you can get rid of bad clients by turning them into good ones.

However, if the client fails, or outright refuses, to change their behavior within a given time frame, you will be well within your rights to end the relationship.?

Step #5:? Send a Letter of Disengagement.? This should be short, polite, and emotionless. Don’t gush or apologize. Explain to your client that your practice is moving in a new direction, and you will no longer be able to serve them in a way that is beneficial to them— not because you don’t like working with them. No matter how much pain a client has caused you, you do not want to leave a relationship on bad terms or walk away with egg on your face.

The moment you decide to slay your Vampire Clients is the moment you will get freedom in your life. Watch your team relax that little bit more, your relationship with your partner and children improve, and your health come back to you.? On top of all of that, watch as you start to have fun running your practice again.? A Vampire Client will suck the life out of you. Don’t let that happen!? Your job is to slay the vampires fast and build a life of freedom…?

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