If at first you don’t succeed,
Try, try, try again
Marc Kramer, Contributing Writer Dec 8, 2015, 12:03pm EST
In any deal, someone might either take advantage of you or run out of money. Here are some types of clients it’s best to avoid if you can.
For any company, especially entrepreneurial businesses, navigating the minefield of dishonest clients is always difficult. A seemingly trustworthy client turns out to be a dishonest fraud who refuses to pay you.
If your brother is Tony Soprano or Mike Tyson, it would make collecting so much easier.
I was hired once to write a business plan for a well-known serial entrepreneur. His accounting firm brought me in and said I didn’t need to worry that one of their partners was the new CFO — of course I would be paid. The agreement was for the client to pay 50 percent up front, another 25 percent upon delivery of a draft, and the final 25 percent when I delivered the final document.
Well, the entrepreneur decided he was going to have his people finish the plan when I handed him the draft and giving himself a 25 percent discount.
Fortunately, knowing he might do this, I had made sure that the first 50 percent allowed me to at least break even. When I received the draft payment I made money.
In any deal, a person might either take advantage of you or run out of money. It doesn’t happen often, but it happens.
So over the years I have developed a profile of potential clients to avoid. The following is my Top 10 list.
- Finger Pointers
This is someone who tells you what they want and you deliver. But when it doesn’t work out, instead of working with you to develop a solution, they blame you for not delivering what they hoped for and don’t want to pay. If you see this kind of behavior while bidding, get out fast.
- Dreamers
Dreamers don’t base their expectations in reality, because they have never bought the service you are providing. Watch out for potential clients who aren’t concrete.
- The Impatient Ones
They want everything yesterday. Their expectations are unrealistic. They are calling you at home and on vacation. If they’re like this during negotiation, they’ll be like this when they’re your client.
- Non-committers
A friend of mine asked me to do a business plan, but his partners really didn’t want to do it. They tepidly agreed, but as I was working on their plan and asked for certain documents, the partners didn’t want to provide them. Then they refused to pay for the rest of the project. Trust your instincts if someone in the deal seems lukewarm about it.
- Name Droppers
Some people like to show off by dropping names of people they know. Those people usually only know, if they know the people at all, in passing. People who have good contacts don’t brag about them. They use them strategically and usually keep the names to themselves. If you’re getting name-dropped on the first call, be on guard.
- Paranoids
They think everyone is trying to rip them off. A small amount of paranoia keeps you on your toes, but too much keeps you from getting anything done because you micromanage everything. Stay away from paranoid types because they will drive you crazy.
- Perfectionists
Nothing is acceptable for these types. I once met with a prospective client whose assistant warned me that no matter what I wrote, her boss wouldn’t accept it and would want it rewritten. She told me he had gone through three other writers before me. I decided the fee wasn’t worth the aggravation.
- Poor Communicators
Someone who can’t clearly articulate what they want can set you up for a great fall. They think they are being clear about what they want, but they aren’t. Don’t just assume you know what they want. Don’t just get poor communicators to verbally agree to your interpretation of their requirements; get everything in writing and have them sign off.
- Clients with Poor Reputations
Go on the Internet and see if they have any lawsuits against them. Contact people you know who might know them, know of them, or even know somebody who knows them. One bad posting can be explained, but if you see or hear more than one bad story, you need to be very cautious.
- Slow Payers
Nothing is more infuriating, outside of not getting paid, than slow pay. And unfortunately you only find out you’re dealing with one when you’ve already committed.
Sometimes, slow payers are having their own cash flow problems. But sometimes they pay slowly to show you they are the boss and that you are lucky to have them.
These types are often unreliable, and they may even jerk you around to see if they can extract a lower payment. Consulting is tough enough, so if someone acts like a bully or takes too long to pay, give their business a miss next time.
Fortunately, there are good clients out there and you’ll be able to tell the good ones by their prompt delivery of what they’ve promised and respectful treatment of you and your time. You can’t avoid every bad client, but if you conduct your due diligence on every prospective client, you can avoid the worst ones.
Marc Kramer, a serial entrepreneur who has started and run more than 20 ventures and written six books, is president of Kramer Communications. Kramer has been named an Inc. Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year, plus Small Business Journalist of the Year by the Center City Proprietors Association of Philadelphia. He has a master’s degree in management from Penn State University and a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from West Virginia University.
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Walter Unger CCIM, CCSS, CCLS
I am a successful Commercial / Investment Real Estate Broker in Arizona now for 20 years. If you have any questions about Commercial / Investment Properties in Phoenix or Commercial / Investment Properties in Arizona, I will gladly sit down with you and share my expertise and my professional opinion with you. I am also in this to make money therefore it will be a win-win situation for all of us.
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Walter Unger CCIM
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