We’ve all had clients that try our patience – different personalities, cultural differences, an unwillingness to listen to our advice… these are normal issues that professional consultants have to deal with. But sometimes, a client relationship can become a liability. That’s when we have to take a tough look at the situation and decide what, if anything, can be done to salvage it.
Like a marriage, a client relationship involves a number of aspects that determine how successful the union will be. Let’s examine some of the extreme similarities, and compare how our reactions might or might not differ.
The Cheat
- Your sweetheart is seeing someone else behind your back, because you’re not paying them enough attention.
Result: You end up contracting a second-hand STD. - Your client has hired an off-shore link-builder “to help” rank their site, in spite of you having explained the dangers of exactly the sort of links they end up buying.
Result: The site receives a manual penalty and loses 70% of its traffic.