Drop the Dead Wood
By Marnie Pehrson

Sometimes in order to serve your customers better, you have to let some of them go. That's right, get rid of some of your customers!

Sometimes in order to serve your customers better, you have to let some of them go. That's right, get rid of some of your customers! Sometimes it's better to dump dead wood in order to make room for new customers or to devote more time to your existing good customers. You only have so many resources. Don't waste them on customers who aren't worth keeping.

Here are some typical characteristics of problem clients:

• Clients who complain about your prices and/or are always trying to get you to cut your rates.
• People who complain about your competitors. A client who has tried 5 other desktop publishers or web designers and has had bad experiences with them all is probably the problem. Everyone else can't be all bad. It's probably them.
• Clients who miss appointments or who are habitually late have no respect for you or your business. Steer clear of them.
• Clients who can't make up their mind about what they want can waste an enormous amount of your time. They want you to work and rework things -- usually at no charge because they can't make up their mind.
• Clients who hover over you while you work - watching everything you do. People who come unprepared with the outline ''in their head'' expecting you to create (for example) their brochure or flyer while they think it up as they go.
• Clients who owe you money or keep saying they'll pay you ''when their funding comes in'' or ''when their customers pay them'' may never pay. Don't get caught in this trap.

Having too many customers can be bad for business. If you spend all your time taking care of customers who do not return on your investment, you are taking away time you could be giving to your best customers.

So how do you drop the problematic customers? Here's one way I've used. When I first started in my computer business 10 years ago, I charged around $12-16/hour. After four years, my rates had increased to $30 per hour. But, I had old customers who still expected the old rates. I had spoiled these customers by letting them hover over me as I worked and gave them free phone support for what seemed like forever.

I needed to raise my rates again, wanted to eliminate all those annoying telephone calls for help, and still keep my best customers. So, what I did was discuss my rate changes in an informal manner with my best customers -- just to get their feedback. Once they assured me that my rate changes would not affect their business dealings with me, I wrote a letter to all my customers explaining my new rates. I told them why they were being raised and what these rates covered. They covered telephone support, database design, Internet development, marketing, and writing services.

This letter served three purposes:

• It got rid of the bothersome customers. They didn't call me anymore for free help. They couldn't afford my new rates. But that was a sacrifice I was willing to make.
• I was able to work less to earn more. I was able to focus on my best customers who were willing to pay me what I'm worth.
• It was a great opportunity to list all my services that I could provide for my customers. Matter of fact, when they learned that I also did Internet development, my best customer had me redesign their Web site.

You don't have to suffer with annoying clients. Don't be scared it will ruin your business to eliminate them. In the end, it will free your mind and your time for bigger and better things.

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