Magnus Marketing Blog

So, following my post before regarding the end of my longest client relationship...I thought I would write some pointers on how to end business relationships. Much has been written about ending client relationships, so let's focus on the obverse.

Particularly when the situation is NOT due to performance, such as the case, it is important to end a relationship with some mutual benefit. Also, be sure to review the contracts in place to ensure that termination clauses are adhered to. Show some compassion, if you are a key client - work with the person to make sure that everything is in order and taken care of, provide feedback to help the vendor or company to do a better job in the future.

At the time I engaged with JobMachine, I had two clients and losing one would be particularly impactful - so I ensured that a two week notice clause was included to plan financially and/or for biz dev. I did not have a strong relationship with the VP of Sales, sure it is easy for him to terminate me - no relationship. However, I would have taken the news much better had it come from Shally. He easily could have called me up before he went on vacation or after he came back and told me what was going on, why, and would support me for future endeavors with him or other companies. That is much more appropriate then, "You are a vendor and cash is tight and I don't see why you need two days so let's end it today" - that was the gist, and of course, that it isn't a performance issue which was appreciated.

I have a current client who I think is incredibly smart and very astute business-wise. He and I worked on a 3 month go-to-market last year which was not successful. I dealt with someone else in his organization, yet we had a meeting where I summarized the results and observations. He ended the initiative and stopped the engagement. In April of this year, he contacted me with another engagement - I have been working with them since and the initiative this time is 10X more successful - in fact, I feel really great because I generated enough potential business to cover his costs on the first engagement AND this one. Hopefully, he make his expenditure on me back and profit. That is how you end a relationship.

The only time I really never work with anyone again is if they do not pay me. I have had clients who ended relationships and thought they were also entitled to stiff me on the payment. Then, we end up in court and we are done forever - good riddance.

There are reasons why business relationships end, usually it IS for the better for both parties. How they end is more important than the fact that they ended. Why they end also is important for growth and learning, particularly if it is performance. The world is not really that large, relationships transcend those between the company and the vendor involved. Many resources like myself are not commodities - people like me aren't really a dime a dozen and should never be taken for granted.