Numerous students have asked me: “I motivate myself to work on marketing by looking at my bottom-rung client, and thinking that I wouldn’t have to work for them anymore if I brought in a better client to replace them. But once that happens, how do I actually fire the bottom-rung client?” Definitely worth discussing, so here are some thoughts.
First, if a client acts unethically, repeatedly harangues you to take on work you’ve told them you don’t want, does something really egregious or is highly unpleasant to work with, just fire them. “Please remove me from your list of available freelancers,” or something like that. But here we’re talking about something more nuanced: this is the client you’ve been holding onto only because you really needed their work, and now that situation has changed. For a lot of translators, I think that anxiety about this kind of situation is wrapped up in fears about their business overall: what if I cut the cord and then my work volume from other clients decreases, and I really need that client again? In my experience, that rarely happens, but that’s why the situation is stressful.
If you’re really and truly done with this client but you don’t want to burn a bridge with them, take the “firm but kind” route. “I’ve really enjoyed working with you over the years, but over time I’ve also started working with other, higher-paying clients. In order to save your time, you don’t need to contact me for work that pays less than X cents; but if you ever have projects with that type of budget, definitely keep me in mind.” That lets the client know that the issue is purely money, not that you don’t enjoy working with them. If the client still sends you low-paying work, with a request that you consider it “just this once,” you may need to get firmer. “As I mentioned, my minimum rate is now X cents per word. If you contact me for future projects, I will be happy to consider them, with the assumption that that rate is fine with you.”
If you want to leave a crack in the door, try something like this. “I’ve really enjoyed working with you over the years, but over time I’ve also started working with other, higher-paying clients. In looking over my accounting, I noticed that the majority of my clients now pay X cents per word, so I am prioritizing my work with them. I may be available to work with you occasionally when I have breaks in my work with other clients. If that works for you, feel free to continue sending inquiries, and if not, of course I understand.”
Or, if you really don’t want to get into the specifics of the situation (which, as a freelancer, aren’t really the client’s business), just become “too busy” whenever the client contacts you. “That project looks interesting, but unfortunately I’m busy with something else right now.” “Thanks so much for contacting me, but unfortunately I’m not available.” Try just leaving it at that, and I can tell you from experience that sometimes the client will never ask for more information. For example I recently spoke with two translators who took extended (months) periods of time off, and successfully used the “not available” explanation the whole time.
Readers, any thoughts on this?
I just cannot believe the coincidence!! I have just taken the first step towards firing (though I am hoping we won’t get there in the end) one of my longest-standing clients, not because of rates but because they take ages to pay. I have just emailed them regarding all the outstanding invoices and said that it has become very difficult for me to continue working with them under these circumstances, regardless of how much I love their projects and that I am not prepared to take on any more projects until this is sorted.
I have paid all the translators involved in these projects a long time ago (while I am still waiting for this client to pay me), I (and the translators) have always delivered on time and on specs, have always been flexible to accommodate their projects when they were urgent, so I told them it would only be fair if they also paid on time.
Of course, all the reasons above are valid ones to fire clients and your advice is extremely useful, as usual.
I’m right there with you, Alina! I’ve broken off relationships with a couple clients (individuals and companies) for money reasons, and while making the decision to do so was difficult, the actual process of letting them know was quite a relief. But now I’m encountering companies that take much longer to pay than their payment terms, resulting in email chains where I have to remind them over and over and threaten late fees. I’ve been idly wondering at what point it makes sense to say I won’t work with them anymore over this issue, especially when the money does eventually come and it’s pretty good money, too!
That sure rings a bell over here.. I remember once I had this client that delivered a fairly large amount of work, hundreds of pages a month, but took forever to cancel the invoice. Nevertheless, I did enjoyed working with him. At the end, I stopped worrying about that and just focused my business in a much more comprehensive manner, instead of focusing on the problems I had with particular clients. Before I started my company, Translation Inbox, I did have a hard time managing these types of customers, but now I see each project as an opportunity, with different experiences. No two clients are the same, and neither are two projects. Cheers!
I have recently came across the topic “Firing clients” in the book “How to become a wealthy freelancer”. The chapter gives similar recommendations. It also gives one great advise. If you are breaking up with a client because of the rates, you might want to recommend another translator who is willing to work for the price client is comfortable with (make sure you let another translator know first and make sure s/he is ok with it). This way you keep good relationship with the client (in case client’s budget will be increased in future and s/he will come back to you).
Corinne, I love your positive approach to a negative issue. Breaking off a relationship without burning bridges is what I would call business finesse. Daria, I love your idea of suggesting another translator.
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Hi Corine,
Thank you for the post. It gives me a lot of encouragement to do what is right and cut off unnecessary exploiting work relations. What do you suggest, if the client pays well, but he takes endless rounds of back and forth till he is happy with the final work. This of course, waste a lot of time and make you so exhausted. Do you think it is legitimate option to fire him and save the headache.
Hi Corinne,
I think those are good ways to speak to a client. When I was at the beginning of my career, I lost some of my clients by situations that I now regret. Now I understand better the market and know much more about the motives behind the rates and the pressure on a project manager shoulders. This new strategy worked for me. I had some returning clients that were able to pay more or had better projects…
this is a great article corrine! and so important for any business owner. we try to use the pareto rule as much as possible. 80% of revenue comes from 20% of customers. focus on the 80% in every facet of the business has worked well for us. and yes, that means letting go of bad clients that eat up your time which is indeed your most valuable asset.