(This article was originally published on a static HTML page on my (spontaneousdevelopment.com) website in March 2006 – from where I’ve now moved it to THIS blog platform)
I do not know what your experiences so far in business have been, but mine and those of a surprising number of others I have read – this year alone – tell me that the market in which we look for clients and prospects is awash with all kinds of characters. I have as a result adopted a philosophy that contradicts what the popular saying “The customer is always right” suggests. My purpose for writing this article is to: a). Help entrepreneurs who read my writing learn how to protect themselves from exploitation while trying to meet clients’ needs (b). Help those who patronise entrepreneurs learn how NOT to behave if they are to avoid being guilty of Entrepreneur Abuse™. Read this article to learn more about Entrepreneur Abuse™, and why you may need to distance yourself from a client/customer who practices it.
Why Write This Article?
About 11 months ago, I posted an entry on my blog titled “What is Entrepreneur Abuse™? How Is It Responsible For Slow Progress Of Development Wherever It Is Common? And What Can YOU Do To Help Eliminate It?”. This was a direct fallout of many unsavoury developments I had witnessed by that time(I have since seen/experienced more) – in the society I live/work in. Various individuals and groups had subjected me or some other self-employed individual I was familiar with to needless harassment all in the name of getting services or products they claimed they wanted.
In most cases however, it was obvious that they sought to establish and maintain a one-sided relationship in order to ensure they could get the entrepreneur to become desperate enough to do MORE work than they would eventually pay him for. Or if they had paid him, they would proceed to make progress on the job as slow and difficult as possible by making themselves, needed contact persons and/or resources unavailable contrary to what was initially agreed.
Who Is An Entrepreneur AND What Is Entrepreneur Abuse™?
After being out in the “jungle” that is the world of entrepreneuring in my country since 2002, I have come to the conclusion that the description of an entrepreneur out here will not differ much from that of those in other parts of the world. That definition would be something along the lines I have enumerated below:
“A strong-willed, independent minded person who ultimately achieves financial success and social recognition for providing a new – or better – product/service or way of doing things, that makes a positive difference in people’s lives. A true entrepreneur, very often, will have just his/her idea and the desire to bring it to reality. Hence the saying that they create something new out of nothing, taking risks that threaten their very survival, but overcoming all odds via persistence, to do what most would have concluded to be impossible.”
However, going by my experiences, a number of unfavourable circumstances present themselves to entrepreneurs in my society, that NONE of the books I have read – about entrepreneuring – have really treated in any depth. Some of these circumstances include the absence of social welfare/security systems that entitle you to some base income/unemployment benefit as obtains for people in many developed societies for instance. In certain ways, this “support” system provides a cushion effect that is not available to us out here.
Another is the prevalence of “detractors” who will go out of their way to molest you or try to impede your progress. Some will do this for reasons as petty as ensuring you do not invalidate their alibis for failing to start their own businesses(or indeed failing WHEN they tried to start theirs), by succeeding in your chosen endeavour. Others could be people who have been in business before you – who may want you to pay them “homage”, and when you don’t, they take offence. Some will do it just for the fun of it…And so on…etc…
One quick example: I once had someone phone me up back in 2002, requesting that I come all the way down to Falomo on Victoria Island(more than 30 minute drive from where I lived on a good day) saying they needed my services in a particular area. I got there to find that I was only being mocked! The person was nowhere to be found after two hours, and her husband kept sending me around in circles, smiling impishly all the while! She did this twice before I caught on to it, and stopped responding. This same woman called me up many times afterwards to mock me on phone asking questions like “How is business now?” while intermittently erupting into loud laughter. And there were others like that – even worse!
Some people shy away from writing things like this because they do not want to raise “dust” or rub readers the wrong way. I believe that by forewarning persons who plan to do what I am doing(especially in a society similar to mine), I can give them a better chance of surviving the rough terrain they may have to travel to achieve entrepreneurial success.
Do You Need A Good Laugh? If you could do with a good laugh, and can spare the time, then read my article titled “Six(6) Warning Signs That Can Help You Avoid Wasting Time Marketing To The Wrong Prospects! ” to: (a). Learn how/why I suffered the humiliation of having to pick up an embarrassing cheque payment amounting to what could rightly be called “peanuts” after delivering talks to employees at six different branches of an institution of learning over a six week period in 2002. (b). Read about how two months ago, a prospective client told me to excuse him for “two minutes” (I was there on appointment), only to keep me waiting for over twenty minutes in his office, while – as it eventually turned out – he went out to have lunch (Sic)!
The above makes me believe a TRUE entrepreneur in a society like mine, will also be someone who will have developed a gut-level instinct for self-preservation, that enables him/her frequently(s/he won’t always succeed) evade attempts that may be made to frustrate, intimidate, or “shoot-down” him/her.
CORRECTION: The Customer Will NOT Always Be Right – Except S/he Is Profitable And NOT Abusive!
My experiences have also made me adopt a philosophy that contradicts what the popular saying “The customer is always right” suggests. Due to the difficulty of finding and retaining PAYING clients in my society, some mis-guided entrepreneurs and business persons insist that no matter how badly a client behaves, one should always accept whatever treatment the client dishes out. Some actually told me that if I failed to do this, I would not retain any clients, and my business would therefore not grow.
Here’s why I know they are DEAD wrong:
1. An abusive/unprofitable client is not likely to respect your need to be paid as/when due or in line with initial agreements reached. That means you will end up using your own limited resources to deliver your product/service to him or her, and then have to WAIT until s/he deems it time to pay up. You may consequently suffer cash flow problems that affect other clients you should be serving. That could also impede your ability to market successfully to find new clients.
2. An abusive/unprofitable client may try to get you to do more than s/he’s willing to pay for – especially IF s/he “thinks” you “need the business”. If you accept, you’ll end up spending your billable time doing work you may never get paid PROFITABLY for.
3. An abusive/unprofitable client is unlikely to refer you to NEW clients that will behave better than him/her. In fact, I have found that they tend to be keen to brag to their acquaintances(in your absence of course) about how they got you to do things at no cost or at give-away rates etc.
If the above accrues from holding on to an abusive client, then how can one expect his/her business to grow?
Thinking about it, I have come to realise that those who subscribe to the idea of holding on to clients who act abusive, often have OTHER profitable clients whose patronage help them stay profitable. In this case, the entrepreneur, though s/he may not realise it, ends up spreading income from other profitable clients to cover expenses incurred in catering for the unprofitable client. Unless s/he decides to critically appraise each client account on its own merit, the entrepreneur may never discover the unprofitable client overload s/he carries.
Another group of entrepreneurs who believe clients will always be right, are those who indulge in crooked dealings to get new business(e.g. through kick-backs, connections etc). This latter situation typically makes the need to be profitable irrelevant.
How To Determine If Your Client Is ABUSIVE And/Or UNPROFITABLE
If you are a TRUE entrepreneur, you are likely to have started out in your line of business because you LOVE doing it. That means apart from getting well paid, you also experience enjoyment and get fulfillment from doing what you do. An ABUSIVE client is one that you end up doing what you love doing for, and find yourself coming up short in one or both of the following possible ways:
(a). You have received significantly LESS(or NO) payment compared to the VALUE you delivered AND expenses you incurred, in the process of serving the client. In this case I categorise the client as UNPROFITABLE.
(b). You have not enjoyed doing what you love doing in serving the client due to what – after careful observation/analysis – are convinced are his/her DELIBERATE actions, or inactions. In this case I categorise the client as ABUSIVE.
Anytime I find that one of both of the above situations has occurred, I make a point of carefully analysing my relationship with the client, and over time if I find the same thing repeats itself, I tactfully discontinue the relationship. Or to paraphrase Donna Gunter, “I Fire The Client!”.
The Solution/Strategy I Have Adopted
As I said in my article titled “Entrepreneurs Need Opportunities To Serve For A Profitable Fee – NOT Handouts Or Pity!“, I honestly believe it is better to spend your time doing things that IMPROVE your ability to convince prospective clients that you are worth the fees you ask, than to go around – in a bid to appear “busy” – accepting to work for abusive ones who repeatedly underpay and exploit you!
Also, since I hate being in a situation where I am made to feel I have NO CHOICE, I have developed a strategy of continually marketing to acquire NEW customers. This helps me avoid getting tied to a particular customer or client, who – if potentially abusive – could begin to assume I cannot survive without him/her/them, and consequently start misbehaving.
Please understand what I’m saying here: I work hard to find new individuals or businesses who will pay me PROFITABLY to do what I do, for them. BUT I do not really start out aiming to have them keep me on a long-term basis to serve them. Instead I offer a support service that can be requested as the need arises. Over time, I get to know EACH client well to the extent that I am then able to decide more intelligently, on the one(s) that I can PROFITABLY work with for the long-term.
I am able to operate in this manner because the type of work I do permits it. You will need to develop a strategy that works for you, in line with what obtains in your business environment. Each time I successfully complete a project for a NEW client or customer, it provides incontrovertible PROOF that what I offer is needed, and that I am able to provide it competently and reliably. Old clients will see that NEW clients are engaging my services – giving them(old clients) re-assurance that they have not wasted their money, and over time could make them give me repeat business. This puts me in a position of strength, and any client with a tendency to be mischievous would, I believe, therefore think twice about doing so knowing there is a growing number of others who use my products or services.
No, I am NOT Being Alarmist!
The contents of this article are mainly based on my personal experiences in the society where I was born, brought up and have lived/worked for more than 3 decades. I understand the THINKING that prevails here, and how it influences people’s actions. Societies differ worldwide in terms of accepted practices that people engage in. You could for instance live in one where owning a handgun would be no big deal for you, your neighbours or family and friends. I happen to come from one where you cannot easily find ONE weapons sales shop talk less of owning one – or getting a licence approved to own one.
The implication – for instance – is that chances of a person I know getting shot by a friend, associate, neighbour or playmate/date – in my country are much slimmer than would be the case in a place where access to fire arms is easier. In my society, the issue of abusive treatment meted out to entrepreneurs is one that is something of a widely accepted practice. It is so widely accepted that some supposed entrepreneurs have themselves come to accept it as “normal”, and will say so too.
Although it may not be called by the name I have coined for it, Entrepreneur Abuse™ also occurs in other societies, though less frequently, possibly in milder forms and therefore with less negative long term impact. The fact that I am able to supply links to THREE(3) different articles – written by three well recognised professionals(two based in the USA, and one in Australia: countries which are much more developed business economies than the one I work in), offering ideas about how one can get around (what amounts to) this problem in the forms it occurs there, suggests, to some extent, that what I say is indeed true.
One more thing. Just for the records, I do NOT in doing my work go around looking for people to who I will say “Gotcha! You’re trying to abuse me!”. I am not given to crying wolf either. That’s not what I do, and it is certainly not what I am asking the reader to do. However, because I live in a society where people generally avoid voicing their LEGITIMATE grievances for fear of being “punished” or victimised, I deliberately use my writing/talks to draw attention to what I consider “disturbing” issues or practices, and in the process propose possible solutions that interested persons can adopt for their use.
My Purpose For Writing This Article Therefore Is To:
a). Help entrepreneurs who read my writing learn how to protect themselves from exploitation while trying to meet clients’ needs in a way that makes the latter readily indicate satisfaction, and offer testimonials/referrals in return.
b). Help those who patronise entrepreneurs learn how NOT to behave if they are to avoid being guilty of Entrepreneur Abuse™, which could lead to their being labelled as “Entrepreneur Molesters™” – by “abuse-sensitive” entrepreneurs(like this writer).
As I always say, it’s not these things do not happen elsewhere. They do. It’s just that the frequency with which they happen in MY society is so much higher(believe me, I had the opportunity to operate in a neighbouring country last year, and there was a MARKED contrast!), to the extent that it is hindering the success of people who venture into entrepreneuring – especially – at the micro, small or medium scale business level. And that is the reason why economies like that of my country are still NOT reaping the rewards that can accrue from the proliferation of entrepreneurial activities.
Three(3) Internet Articles That Provide Related Useful Information/Advice
I list the resources below in the order in which I came across them in the course of this year, starting from May 2006. Please note that I am not claiming these writers agree with my perspective on the subject of Entrepreneur Abuse as described in this article. I only refer you to their articles because I believe they offer additional useful information relevant to the topic of discussion.
1. “7 Signs That It’s Time to Fire a Client” by Donna Gunter: I read Donna’s excellent article on May 29th 2006, and found that s/he spoke my mind in many ways on the subject. Not all prospective clients – even though they – technically speaking – fit the profile of our target customers – will be “good” for us. Maybe the following analogy could make my meaning clearer: I don’t know about you, but if I have to run a restaurant with a profit focus, my idea of an ideal customer would NOT be a stinking rich, free-spending but very insultive, and physically aggressive mafia boss!
Article URL: http://www.ezinearticles.com/?7-Signs-That-Its-Time-to-Fire-a-Client&id=196251
2. Make More Profits! Get Rid of Clients! – By Brendon Sinclair, Editor SitePoint Tribune: Brendon shares the story about how a prospective client showed early warning signs that working for him(the client) would not be a PROFITABLE experience. He then goes on to explain why it makes better business sense to aim to have a FEW profitable clients, than to have many unprofitable ones, who typically require MORE account management expense than they will ever agree to pay for.
Article URL: http://www.sitepoint.com/newsletter/viewissue.php?id=2&issue=352
3. “How to Recognize a Difficult Client” by Milana Leshinsky: In Lesson #4 of her “Client AssessmentGenerator” e-mail autoresponder course, Milana voices the same sentiments as I have elsewhere in this article, that finding oneself in the “grip” of a client who makes it difficult for us to do our work, prevents us from ENJOYING doing our work. That’s bad because the “enjoyment” is one of the main payoffs for most entrepreneurs.
She goes on to outline over fifteen(15) of what she called “most common traits of difficult clients”. I highly recommend that you sign up for that online course to learn what they are. By the way, her tag line is “Stop Giving Away Your Time”. I believe ALL entrepreneurs need to take heed of this good advice. Your billable time is too valuable to be wasted catering for the needs of abusive prospects/clients.
To avoid giving away your time, Milana recommends that you conduct online assessments for prospective clients. She calls them “your best friend in screening clients“, and through her website offers you easy to use tools to help you “Create custom online assessments in 5 minutes“.
If the business environment you work in permits working this way(for now, mine doesn’t really) in pre-qualifying your prospective clients, I suggest you try using it. The benefits to be had are obvious.
Article URL: http://www.AssessmentGenerator.com (Visit the site and sign up for the email course).
Protect Yourself: Pre-Qualify Your Prospects And Subject Your Clients To Appraisals
For ideas about how you can pre-qualify your prospects, to increase your chances of choosing the right client, read my article titled “Six(6) Warning Signs That Can Help You Avoid Wasting Time Marketing To The Wrong Prospects!”.
Finally, by appraising clients, you increase your chances of winning long-term business relationships that are PROFITABLE. Here are two ideas you can take away:
a. Check Your Client Account Management Cost & Profits: To check how beneficial your relationship with a prospect turned client is, you can compute what it costs you to continue “serving” him/her. I think some call it Client Account Management or Maintenance Cost.
If you find that you are spending too much time, effort and especially money to serve a particular client compared to what s/he pays you, it could mean you need to review your relationship with that client to redress the situation.
b. Listen To Your Feelings(How Does The Client Make You FEEL?): Consciously check your mood when you have to meet/work with each client. If you find you do not feel excited by the prospect of doing what you love doing for a particular client, THAT could just be a good sign that something in the relationship is not right.
Goodluck! 