Breaking the Cycle
I recently had the unfortunate experience of having a client so bad, I woke up every day with horrible anxiety. I had spent 10+ hours setting up a full content calendar, and select members of the team were supposed to review the calendar and fill in the copy section so that I could post the content. But because the calendar was going completely ignored, I couldn’t push the posts through, and I knew the second I opened my eyes every morning I’d have texts complaining that the posts were up late. The work was almost entirely done and there was no reason for the posts to be late, but it was completely unavoidable due to the lack of attention the calendar was getting.
On top of the obvious disregard for the social media aspect of the project (which was incredibly important as the project was promoting a self published documentary), the client was verbally abusive. If a small mistake was made, I would receive calls from the client yelling and swearing, throwing an adult tantrum. Frankly, if I wanted to be verbally assaulted by a grown man, I’d give my father a call.
Beyond this project being a blatantly toxic environment (I could tell the team was used to the clients tantrums, and they just dealt with it. Couldn’t be me.), the core issue for me was that it made it look like I was bad at my job. I was being blocked from doing my job well, and I couldn’t even use the time I’d spent with this team and client as a portfolio builder because it was such a poor reflection of my work. There was not a single aspect of this job that benefited me besides the money, and they had haggled my prices down.
So after only a month of working together, I called the marketing director and quit for a second time. The first time I’d expressed my concerns, right after the first abusive client call, he implemented a new structure so that I would be willing to stay on. But just like any toxic relationship, the changes were never made. This is only the second client I’ve ever had to fire, and I hated every second of it. It’s awkward and I hated the thought that I’d be losing all of these contacts, but what’s worse than losing the contacts is losing my drive. The experience was so bad that it was starting to make me hate my job.
How To (Politely) Fire Your Bad Client
Once you’ve decided that the job can’t be salvaged, it’s time to gracefully take your leave. It doesn’t have to be as extreme a situation as the one I’ve described. You can end the relationship due to unmeetable expectations, unpaid invoices, or simply unpleasant working conditions. If the client is a bigger hassle than the money is worth to you, leave.
The question then becomes, how do you fire the client without negatively impacting your own image? For a freelancer, reputation is everything. The last thing you want is to be blackballed in your community. So here’s a step by step guide to (politely) booting your problem client.
Step 1: Make sure you voice your concerns early
Just quitting out of nowhere is going to frustrate your client and makes you look unprofessional. Once you start to see consistent issues that are going unsolved, send an email or schedule a call to try to implement a solution for the issues you’re noticing. By doing this, you look like you’re attempting to stay on top of your task list, and it gives you the genuine opportunity to salvage the project and strengthen your relationship with the client if they’re receptive to the changes you propose.
Step 2: Make sure you’re meeting your obligations
Even if you’re in a situation like I was where the work I was doing was going ignored, I was still doing the work. So when I got the inevitable call demanding to know where the work was, I could point to the 95% finished calendar that required their attention. Make sure that your side of the bargain is done and done well. Don’t give them any opportunity to point the finger at you.
Step 3: Ask yourself if the relationship is past the point of no return
Have the solutions you recommended not been met? Can you sense tension between you and the client/team when you communicate with them? And the most important question, can you afford to let this job fall through? Being able to fire a client is absolutely a privilege. Personally, it was worth it to me to spend the time I’d have spent with this client every week finding a new, better fitting job.
Step 4: Pull the trigger
If you’ve done all of the above and are satisfied with your decision, it’s time to pull the trigger. But how do you do this while keeping things professional and removing emotions from the mix?
Personally I recommend starting the process with an email. Calmly and rationally state your reasons for terminating the project and set an end date. This should reflect the contract you’ve exchanged with the client. Schedule a follow up call so you can answer any of their questions, and put together a task list to complete so you can leave them set up for success. If possible, give them a referral of someone you know who may be a better fit.
Here’s a template of the exact message I sent to terminate my contract:
“Hello (marketing director name), I wanted to touch base. I’ve been in this industry for a while and I’m pretty good at sussing out when I am and am not a good fit for a client/team, and I’m sensing a critical disconnect between the social management services I provide and the needs of the client.
The process of content ideation to posting is very disjointed, and unfortunately none of the solutions we discussed are being implemented successfully. I can sense that it’s getting more frustrating for your team members, not less, which doesn’t reflect the quality of work I aspire to bring to the table. Due to this mismatch, I wanted to reach out and see if you wanted to loop in your previous social media manager as of Feb 2nd, which will be when our first month ends. I’m happy to continue working together until that point.
Please let me know when you have availability for a wrap up call, so I can put together a task list that leaves your next social media manager in a good starting position. I will also be emailing you all of the assets I’ve collected over the past month.
Sincerely,
Brittni”
After our final call, I built them a calendar for the subsequent month that their new social media manager could use as a base template to work off. I also expressed that I was open to working together in the future with a different client/project, so the relationship wasn’t completely cut. If you’re feeling nervous about their reaction, or simply feeling like a bit of a quitter, remind yourself that your worth is not directly connected to your job. It simply wasn’t a good fit, and that is completely okay. Most of your clients will be lovely people who you learn from and them from you.