Time to Break Up?

by Donna Toothaker

The phone rings.  It is who you think it is, calling AGAIN.  How many times has it been today?  Three?  Four?  You know you should answer, but you dread the conversation.  You slump in your seat and sigh.  Is that an e-mail from her now?  Is this a headache coming on?  You can no longer avoid the inevitable.  It’s break-up time.

Just about every VA has had a client who presented challenges that proved too much to deal with for too little payback.  These challenges were not about difficult projects or tasks, but about difficult people, making the issues more personal, and therefore harder to resolve.

You may be afraid of confrontation, or of losing income; however, as in a dating relationship, the worst thing you could do for your business would be to stay with the wrong person.  Continuing to let such a conflict persist will sour the way you feel about yourself, and your business.  So, if you’re involved with one of the following client types, come clean about your feelings, and if you can’t make it work, make a break!

Control freak.  Your client is an entrepreneur who, until now, has had the reins on every single aspect of her business.  Unfortunately, over the past few months, you have discovered they have no plans to hand them over.  Why did they bother hiring you, anyway?  Micro-managers are time- and energy-vampires who display little respect for your time and abilities.

Needy. Another sort of time- and energy-vampire, the needy client does not micromanage, but requires a lot of hand-holding and constant communication throughout the course of a project, sometimes expecting you to take on more than your agreed upon workload.  Needy clients require extra boundaries.  Discourage telephone calls with the needy type.  Keep it a strictly online relationship if possible, so you have control over how and when you respond to questions and requests.  If that doesn’t work, it’s not worth keeping the client.

Inattentive. The opposite of the needy client, this client makes it difficult to get anything done because of their lack of communication.  They’re often wondering why a project isn’t getting done, when all the while it’s because you can’t spend your days chasing them down for answers, information and approvals.  You shouldn’t have to jump through hoops and spend excess time trying to do your job.  If communication is a one-way, dead-end street, it is probably a good idea to reverse direction!

Penny pincher. This is the client who wants to cherry pick your services, or negotiate you down from your hourly rate or minimum monthly hours.  This client will make your life very difficult, nit-picking, disputing bills and expenses, or asking for you to do extra, all the while taking extra time to pay your bill!  If you sense a potential client is a penny pincher, take hourly rates off the table, and offer only package services.  If you are currently serving a penny-pinching client, consider letting go.  Their money issues are holding you back from enjoying a prosperous, fun business.

Establishing boundaries with clients early in the relationship AND becoming clear on who is an ideal client for you will help to eliminate having difficult clients but some will sneak through on occasion, and these difficult clients will eat up your time, energy and passion for your business…but only if you let them.   Identifying these behaviors early on will give you the chance to either ask your client to make some changes, or get out before they take a toll on you and your business.  Do not be afraid to let go.  You’ll be freeing yourself from negativity, and opening up an opportunity for better clients to come in.

Donna Toothaker is CEO, founder and coach of Step It Up VA Coaching. These highly sought-after VA coaching programs have been created for established, successful VAs who wish to create the 6-figure business of their dreams. Visit http://www.stepitupva.com to receive the free report, Top 3 Mistakes to Avoid in Creating a 6-Figure VA Business.