Changing their mind too frequently or too late in the process Demanding out-of-scope changes Unprofessional or disrespectful treatment of your staff Do not allow you to take credit for your work or will not share in the promotion of the work Demands work or solutions while declining additional services Do not believe you should or need to make a profit, particularly on “high profile” projects (this needs to be combated internally as well) Does not value the expertise you bring to the work Firstly, “All Work is Good Work” or “All Clients are Good Clients” We know there are bad clients – yet we don’t always act in our best interests in realizing it soon enough (or at all). The short-term gains of working on a high-profile project seldom balance out the losses of working with a bad client. Working with clients who are cheap, treat your team poorly, do not appreciate your work, or do not let you take credit for or celebrate it are not worth the cost overruns, staff burnout, or mental and emotional strain. Similarly, a friendly client that is easy to work with but is unprofitable is also not a good client. The time and resources spent breaking even on their account is better redeployed on one that creates profit. Much is written on client management and improving client relations and communications. That’s not this conversation. If you have clients who your teams consistently struggle with, are unprofitable, or who do the following, it is worth it to investigate removing them from your client mix:
Does not pay on time Procures solely on fee
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