Re: How to Turn Down a Client

Sandy,
In the printing business we have a few ways of turning down a
less-than-perfect client:
a)  Offer extremely high prices that you could live with if he still wants
to stick around,
b)  Say that you have too many clients right now and can't get the job done
in a timely fashion; offer an insanely long schedule,
c)  Find an incompatibility of some sort that sounds legit such as some
esoteric need that is essential for his application but that you cannot
handle,
d)  Require payment up front,
e)  Tell him you just closed a deal with a major competitor (unnamed, of
course) and that deal requires that you don't work on a competitive job for
a certain period of time,
f)  Refer him to a competitor who can better suit his needs.

Its best to find the simplest solution to the above depending on the
scenario.  After all, he still might be able to refer you to another
potential client, so you don't want to turn him off completely.  Also, you
may need the business somewhere down the line.

A great alternative is to bill the guy for sitting down and thinking the
project out with him in a meeting.  He may not have the skills to know what
he wants, or he may have difficulty in decision making.  It might be best
for both of you if you can get paid for listening to him think out loud.
Perhaps if you are a good listener, you might find a creative solution to
his dilemma that is more service oriented.

Kate Pollara
visit my site:  http://jsjbf.com

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