Bad clients?

I get an email newsletter, "The Marketing Minute" from Marcia Yudkin, and the latest issue made me laugh because it starts out as follows:-

"Please say this after me five times: - I do not have to take every client that comes along. Repeat this too: - If I have a string of lousy clients I will step back to figure out why."

I don't know about you but I'm very keen to get work which is both fun and lucrative. In fact, I have made it my rule for about 12 months now never to work with miserable clients.  After years of struggling doing things because I thought I had no choice, I finally wised up and dropped the illusion. 

The interesting thing is that the more you enjoy what you do and the more passion you can put into it the more you will attract good clients.  The converse is true.  If you find you are attracting dreadful clients, rather than simply pointing the finger at them, you might want to spend some time reflecting on whether some aspects of your behaviour or your marketing effort is partly to blame.

In the past I was very busy but not always enjoying what I was doing.  Being very busy is a pretty hollow reward in these circumstances.   

Raising prices for a quality service and focusing on very specific offerings is something that can bring to you clients who respect and value what you do. Consider giving it a try.

Comments

[Marcia Yudkin]

Hi Derek! Glad you liked my thinking on turning away clients that aren't right for you. It's worth adding that what makes someone a bad client for you might make him a great client for me and vice versa. It's a very personal thing.

Whenever I feel myself hesitating, I say to myself, "Life is too short to deal with people I'd rather not be dealing with," and I make a space for the next project instead of that one.

Best wishes,
Marcia Yudkin
Author & Publisher, The Marketing Minute