Description
Abstract about my biggest customer dropped me.
My Biggest Customer Dropped Me, Now What?
I am still thinking about one of my most recent mentoring clients. This CEO and the
staff were devastated because they lost their biggest client in whom they had “hung their
future”. Now they were frustrated because their maor !otential income stream was
gone"in “the blink of an eye”# I had cautioned them to not get into the situation of
tying their income stream to one or a few big customers. $ut% they did.
&o% now what to do' That situation !rovides the o!!ortunity to ste! back% take a dee!
breath% and do some careful analysis and strategic !lanning. (ou may think your
business will never recover when a big client leaves% but the right moves can turn the
loss into a win.
Nobody likes to talk about being fired by a customer or client% but it ha!!ens every once
in a while to ust about everyone in business. $ecause% the fact is% at some !oint%
someone you)re working with may decide they no longer need your services% and they)ll
cut you loose% !ossibly in an abru!t% angry or awkward way. &o what can you do when
a client fires your business'
I remember reading an article several months ago by *eoff +illiams% a freelance
ournalist who said% “,s an entre!reneur% you have to know that bad stuff sometimes
ha!!ens and all you can do is res!ond to it and address what you can.” I share a few
thoughts and insights.
-. ,sk for a .eferral
This may sound cra/y at first% but as 0ark 1aust% a growth and turnaround consultant
and s!eaker% !oints out% 2$eing fired doesn)t 3always4 mean you failed or they didn)t like
your work. If you can% get testimonials and s!in5off work.2
1aust !ublished a book% “*rowth Or $ust6 7roven Turnaround &trategies To *row (our
$usiness”% in which he says “$efore you do that% however% ask what went wrong and if
there)s a way you can regain your client)s business. It)s !ossible to recover after being
fired by a client% but only if you know what went wrong.
Of course% if you know that your client ust wasn)t !leased with your work8or you8
then don)t ask for a referral. Instead% 1aust suggests another a!!roach.
9. *o to Their Com!etitors
2There)s nothing unethical about going to the com!etition and using the work you did
with the client as a reference%2 says 1aust% who is :uick to add that he isn)t suggesting
you do anything unethical% like sharing !ro!rietary information. ;e also isn)t suggesting
you !retend that the e<ecutive who canned you would be ha!!y to vouch for you. In
other words% don)t do anything that calls your integrity into :uestion.
$ut the work you did for the com!any that fired you is !art of your work history and
e<!erience% and if you feel your business is fully :ualified to work with an e<5client)s
com!etitor% you could be shooting yourself in the foot if you don)t seek out that
o!!ortunity.
2I think a lot of com!anies and consultants avoid going to the most obvious of !laces%2
1aust says% 2the closest com!etitors of their former clients.2
=. Conduct a 7ost5*ame ,nalysis
Now what if a referral isn)t forthcoming and com!etitors aren)t looking to hire you% at
the very least% it)s time for some 0onday morning :uarterbacking. If you don)t figure out
why you were fired% it could ha!!en again.
1or e<am!le% Nick Niehaus% !resident of Connect ;ome &olutions >>C% a direct
marketing startu!% had some maor clients dro! him. Each time a client fired him%
Niehaus says his com!any% which has eight em!loyees% lost =? !ercent of its revenue.
2That meant less hours for my em!loyees% who work on a fully commission system% and
it was a big hit in my income%2 Niehaus says. 21or a small business% losing any client is
usually a big deal% but very early in the formation of a business% it can be deadly.2
Niehaus says he was too stubborn to sim!ly give u! and move on@ instead% he did a !ost5
mortem each time to figure out what ha!!ened. ;e reali/ed his com!any)s !ricing
structure didn)t work. 2+e were focusing on charging too much for each lead%2 he says.
2Our clients !ay two se!arate fees for flyer delivery and leads% and our lead !rice is
much lower.2
A. ,cce!t the >oss
2>osing a customer always feels like a vote of no confidence either in me or in my
business. ,s the only one in charge% that)s hard to take%2 Niehaus says. 2I think% as an
entre!reneur% you have to know that bad stuff sometimes ha!!ens and all you can do is
res!ond to it and address what you can.2
The faster you acce!t the loss and aggressively try to re!lace the client% the better off
your business will be. $esides% it)s almost inevitable that whether you)re fired due to a
lack of funding% an inability to give the customer what they really want or ust because
your client doesn)t like you% you)re going to lose clients8that)s ust the nature of the
beast. $ut if you)ve !lanned ahead% you)ll also gain new clients% too.
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
Cean >. &wanson &outheast 0innesota &CO.E
DCean is a volunteer &CO.E 0entor 99? &outh $roadway% &uite -??
and .egional Eice 7resident for the North +est .egion .ochester% 0N FFG?A
doc_326148800.pdf
Abstract about my biggest customer dropped me.
My Biggest Customer Dropped Me, Now What?
I am still thinking about one of my most recent mentoring clients. This CEO and the
staff were devastated because they lost their biggest client in whom they had “hung their
future”. Now they were frustrated because their maor !otential income stream was
gone"in “the blink of an eye”# I had cautioned them to not get into the situation of
tying their income stream to one or a few big customers. $ut% they did.
&o% now what to do' That situation !rovides the o!!ortunity to ste! back% take a dee!
breath% and do some careful analysis and strategic !lanning. (ou may think your
business will never recover when a big client leaves% but the right moves can turn the
loss into a win.
Nobody likes to talk about being fired by a customer or client% but it ha!!ens every once
in a while to ust about everyone in business. $ecause% the fact is% at some !oint%
someone you)re working with may decide they no longer need your services% and they)ll
cut you loose% !ossibly in an abru!t% angry or awkward way. &o what can you do when
a client fires your business'
I remember reading an article several months ago by *eoff +illiams% a freelance
ournalist who said% “,s an entre!reneur% you have to know that bad stuff sometimes
ha!!ens and all you can do is res!ond to it and address what you can.” I share a few
thoughts and insights.
-. ,sk for a .eferral
This may sound cra/y at first% but as 0ark 1aust% a growth and turnaround consultant
and s!eaker% !oints out% 2$eing fired doesn)t 3always4 mean you failed or they didn)t like
your work. If you can% get testimonials and s!in5off work.2
1aust !ublished a book% “*rowth Or $ust6 7roven Turnaround &trategies To *row (our
$usiness”% in which he says “$efore you do that% however% ask what went wrong and if
there)s a way you can regain your client)s business. It)s !ossible to recover after being
fired by a client% but only if you know what went wrong.
Of course% if you know that your client ust wasn)t !leased with your work8or you8
then don)t ask for a referral. Instead% 1aust suggests another a!!roach.
9. *o to Their Com!etitors
2There)s nothing unethical about going to the com!etition and using the work you did
with the client as a reference%2 says 1aust% who is :uick to add that he isn)t suggesting
you do anything unethical% like sharing !ro!rietary information. ;e also isn)t suggesting
you !retend that the e<ecutive who canned you would be ha!!y to vouch for you. In
other words% don)t do anything that calls your integrity into :uestion.
$ut the work you did for the com!any that fired you is !art of your work history and
e<!erience% and if you feel your business is fully :ualified to work with an e<5client)s
com!etitor% you could be shooting yourself in the foot if you don)t seek out that
o!!ortunity.
2I think a lot of com!anies and consultants avoid going to the most obvious of !laces%2
1aust says% 2the closest com!etitors of their former clients.2
=. Conduct a 7ost5*ame ,nalysis
Now what if a referral isn)t forthcoming and com!etitors aren)t looking to hire you% at
the very least% it)s time for some 0onday morning :uarterbacking. If you don)t figure out
why you were fired% it could ha!!en again.
1or e<am!le% Nick Niehaus% !resident of Connect ;ome &olutions >>C% a direct
marketing startu!% had some maor clients dro! him. Each time a client fired him%
Niehaus says his com!any% which has eight em!loyees% lost =? !ercent of its revenue.
2That meant less hours for my em!loyees% who work on a fully commission system% and
it was a big hit in my income%2 Niehaus says. 21or a small business% losing any client is
usually a big deal% but very early in the formation of a business% it can be deadly.2
Niehaus says he was too stubborn to sim!ly give u! and move on@ instead% he did a !ost5
mortem each time to figure out what ha!!ened. ;e reali/ed his com!any)s !ricing
structure didn)t work. 2+e were focusing on charging too much for each lead%2 he says.
2Our clients !ay two se!arate fees for flyer delivery and leads% and our lead !rice is
much lower.2
A. ,cce!t the >oss
2>osing a customer always feels like a vote of no confidence either in me or in my
business. ,s the only one in charge% that)s hard to take%2 Niehaus says. 2I think% as an
entre!reneur% you have to know that bad stuff sometimes ha!!ens and all you can do is
res!ond to it and address what you can.2
The faster you acce!t the loss and aggressively try to re!lace the client% the better off
your business will be. $esides% it)s almost inevitable that whether you)re fired due to a
lack of funding% an inability to give the customer what they really want or ust because
your client doesn)t like you% you)re going to lose clients8that)s ust the nature of the
beast. $ut if you)ve !lanned ahead% you)ll also gain new clients% too.
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
Cean >. &wanson &outheast 0innesota &CO.E
DCean is a volunteer &CO.E 0entor 99? &outh $roadway% &uite -??
and .egional Eice 7resident for the North +est .egion .ochester% 0N FFG?A
doc_326148800.pdf