I am really enjoying the articles over at Creative Manager Pro. One article that sticks out to me right now is When to Walk Away from a New Business Prospect by Connie Burtcheard from CSB Consulting. This article is very relevant to me at the moment because it reinforces much of what Kerry recently talked about in his post Difficult Clients II.

Connie’s article explains the importance of only chasing new business that will have a positive return for your studio and that requires skills that you are capable of performing. She goes on to identify the signs that the relationship might not be good for you and offers these words of advice on exiting gracefully once you’ve realized your barking up the wrong tree:

1. Use a calm and quiet voice.
   This will gain there attention and by default create some respect and authority.
2. Don’t complain. No matter how much of a nightmare your experience has been, don’t bring up any negatives or gripes. Keep the conversation positive and even offer to help the prospect find a firm that is “more suited to their needs.”
3. Don’t explain. The fact is that the two of you are not compatible. It happens. But don’t bring that into the discussion. Let the prospect know that what they are looking for is not what your firm specializes in or is not the direction that you are looking at moving into.