Vickie Sullivan lists three red flags you should watch for when prospecting for new clients for your service firm. As not all clients will be a good fit for you, you should know when to negotiate and when to walk away or refer them elsewhere. Her warning signs include:
- Clients looking for superheroes - the desperate ones who feel they’ve been ripped off in the past and need someone new to come in and save the day. In my experience, these tend to be the biggest problem clients because they have incredibly high expectations and usually aren’t willing to face reality.
- Clients who aren’t willing to accept their role in the solution because of excuses like they don’t have time, it costs too much, they are understaffed, or they don’t have the necessary skills. In other words, nothing ever moves forward because they aren’t willing to devote the resources necessary to be successful.
- Clients who can’t make a decision and feel the need to research or try out every possible option yet can’t make a decision. (I once had a client who spent 3 months trying to pick out the right shade of blue for their website because the committee couldn’t agree. Talk about missing the forest for the trees.)
I’ve had all three types of clients - and a few that were a combination of the three. Having gone through those experiences, I am much more careful about with whom I do business. Nothing good comes from unhappy clients - and the three red flags listed above are good indicators of how likely your prospect is likely to become one of those unhappy clients.
Link: Dodging Bullets: How To Avoid Bad Clients
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