Katie Baird over at Loose Ends asks how you know whether or not to keep long-term, low-value clients. You know, the ones that you have kept on because they’ve been with you from the beginning, or they’re just nice and they only take up a little bit of your time, so you don’t feel justified in turning them loose, yet are they really benefiting your business in any way or are they dragging you down?.
Here’s my 2 cents: When you answer the phone or read an email from one of these occasional clients, do you smile or groan? If you still donât mind doing the actual task required, can easily fit it into your schedule, and you get some other value from these relationships (perhaps they refer you business, have given you a great testimonial, allowed you to use them as a reference or you just plain enjoy servicing them) then I would keep them.
If you resent hearing from them, dislike the actual work you have to do for them, or find theyâre keeping you from pursuing the work and clients youâd really like to have, then you could consider subbing out the work or just referring them to another VA.
My clients can remain âinactiveâ? for a long time and I expect that. But then again, Iâm working mostly with authors on a project basis and they may go a year (or five!) without needing me. I have âresignedâ? from clients over the years as my business has changed and they no longer fit into my preferred business model. I would do this even before I âcouldâ? financially. But I also think this opens up space (physical and mental) to pursue the clients/projects you really want.
Thanks Katie, for inviting me to join in your conversation. Comments are welcome. What do YOU do with long-term, low-value clients??
Lauren Hidden, owner of The Hidden Helpers is a professional writer, author, editor, and writing coach. Working with professionals in a variety of industries, Lauren helps her clients get their messages across clearly, concisely, and persuasively.
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Sometimes I hesitate to refer work that is so low volume (or “low value,” as you put it).
You know, just because I love a client dearly doesn’t mean that the party to whom I refer him or her will have the same chemistry or enjoy the quirks of working with that person. I’m not aware of too many colleagues who can manage the chaos that ensues from taking on a lot of these people.
Or the next VA may have an “abandonment clause” in their contract, and if the client goes missing for 6 months or so, will consider that work agreement ended.
OTOH, I hadn’t considered that someone else might have a skillset to offer that would be a great asset to one of these low volume (can we just call them LVs from here on in?) folks. Referring them on to someone else then becomes an unselfish gesture, or gift for both the new VA and the client.
The potential for future referrals is a fantastic reason for holding onto LV clients. But not true in the case where the client doesn’t really understand his/her VA’s niche. Then you just end up with unqualified leads.
You’re right on about the smile-or-groan-test. joy The joy I feel when I hear from the ones I have kept in my lineup reinforces that it is all about relationships.