Welcome back to the Boss Responses podcast and day two with our guest co-host, Amy Ragland. Today we're talking about one of those more difficult topics how do you let a long-term client go when it's time for the relationship to be over? Let's just jump right into the question. If you're a freelancer, business owner or anyone who deals with clients, you're in the right place. I'm your host, Treasa Edmond. I've been dealing with clients and running my business for nearly two decades and in that time I've dealt with my share of doubt, imposter syndrome and not knowing what to say when a client asks a question I wasn't ready for. I created this podcast to empower you with the Boss Responses you need to grow your business. Each week, my guest co-host and I will bring you five episodes packed with practical insights. Monday through Thursday, we answer your questions, and Fridays, we dive deep to explore how our co-host embraced their role as the boss of their business. Welcome to Boss Responses. We are back for day two with Amy Ragland. Amy, what's the question for today?

So today's question comes from somebody who has a long-term retainer client and they need to let them go and they're thinking about that because the client pays lower rates than their other clients. They're always asking for changes and, frankly, they just take up too much of their time. I've thought about just telling them I'm raising my rates, but I don't think that would solve all the other problems and I don't want to burn any bridges because they've referred a couple of my higher paying clients to me and I appreciate them taking a chance on me because they were with me when I first started my freelancing journey. How can I break up with them without hurting any feelings?

I love this question and I hate it all at the same time because, every person is different.

The way I do it is, I take feelings out of it completely. It's a business decision. It's not about me. It's not about me getting along with them or not appreciating them. And actually when I break up with a client, the first thing I do is tell them how much I've appreciated working with them. I always start with the positive and then I say, unfortunately, I'm taking my business in a new direction and I'm not going to be able to work on your projects anymore. Would you like me to refer you to another contractor? So I'm not leaving them high and dry, I'm not making it about me or them, and then I'm giving them options If they come back and say well, why, what can we do?

Is there a way we can still work with you and just say this isn't what I'm doing with my business right now. My rates have increased, blah, blah, blah. I require these specific things from my clients and if they are willing to step up and meet all of that, then you have to make the decision on do you really want to break up with them? And I've had a few clients step up and more than double my rate with them and change the way they worked with me because I had evolved my style. That's rare, so most of the time I just make it a business decision. What about you?

You know, I think it's not uncommon to outgrow a client or if you shift directions and you're no longer aligned with those projects and what they're doing. I try to remember that if I was in an employment situation, if I was a full-time or part-time employee, people leave those positions all the time for different opportunities or different career paths, and it's a very similar situation to that. So I tend to work with people I like and so I develop friendships and relationships with those people. So, like you, I want to leave them with a sense of I haven't left them high and dry. I've left them well-prepared to just go to someone else and work with them. So a lot of times if I am breaking up with somebody, I also give referrals to another contractor. I also try to make sure that they have any operational processes that I've used that are unique to them, or any files that they may need. Just make sure that they're well-prepared to easily transition to another contractor.

Yeah, and for me and the way I've built it in my business and the way I teach it is, client management starts from that very first communication you have with a client and it goes all the way through off-boarding and you need to have an off-boarding or separation process. So it can't just be okay, I'm breaking up with you by bye. You need to say I'm ending our relationship, or however you word it, and then say I'll finish this project if you're in the middle of a project, or this is my one month notice on the retainer, if you have a retainer. However that goes. But I also make sure that I'm closing the loop with them.

Do I have any files that they need? If I have kept a copy of all of the files I've ever sent them on writing projects, then I will offer to send all of those to them in a zip file. So I go a little bit above and beyond to make sure they have what they need and they're not one going to have to reconnect with me for some reason, unless it's an emergency situation. I think that just helps all the way across the board. And then I do those referrals, and I love referring people to clients that I've grown out of.

Absolutely. What about testimonials? Do you ever ask for those? If you're leaving a client, if it's you initiating the leaving, do you ask for testimonials as you're going?

I don't wait until I leave. I ask for a testimonial after the first or second project or after the first or second month on a retainer.

That's a good point. I mean, I think that's a great reminder to be asking for not even so much testimonials, just feedback throughout the relationship and make sure that you're still on the same page with your client as the relationship progresses. That's such a great reminder of that.

It absolutely is, and clients who have referred other clients to me will often continue to refer clients to me after we break up. That keeps happening until they form a really solid relationship with another writer, and then it's absolutely their due at that point for them to refer the clients to the new writer, unless it's something I specialize in, like ghostwriting, and then they'll still send people to me. So it's an interesting situation. But yeah, make it about your business, not about yourself and not about your client. Don't tell someone I'm severing this relationship because you pay peanuts. That's just rude.

Exactly.

Just say this no longer fits my business goals or I no longer have availability in my schedule. So that's easy way to do it Blame it on your business every time.

Love it. That's the exact approach I would take too.

Alright, join us tomorrow for day three with Amy.