6 STEPS TO STOPPING THE PANIC WHEN YOU'VE LOST A CLIENT
Losing a client isn’t something we look forward to, is it?
I remember the first time a client ended their agreement. They were one of my first social media clients and instead of telling me they didn’t want to continue, they stopped responding to my emails and failed to pay their invoice that was due.
I felt like a failure.
With hindsight, this says way more about them that it did about me.
As is the nature of running a service based business, there will always come a time when your client doesn’t renew their agreement. Sometimes you’ll see it coming, other times - much like when the pandemic started - it’ll be a complete surprise.
When you’re prepared, you have the opportunity to start lining people up to replace them. However, when it’s a complete shock, instead of logically looking at what you can do to replace them, you’re more likely to fall into panic mode. And you can’t take the right actions if you’re panicking.
Here are 6 steps for stopping the panic when you’ve lost a client:
Learn how to create a steady stream of consistent enquiries and discover 17 delightful ways to get dreamy clients without sacrificing your soul on social media here.
1: You’ve signed a new client before, you can sign one again
Losing a client means you signed one in the first place (you go Glen Coco) and if you’ve done something once, you can do it again. Anchor yourself into this mindset and spend some time thinking about what you did previously to sign that client.
2: Step back + self care
I know you feel like you need to jump into hustle mode to secure a new client fast but trust me, taking a step back will serve you so much more. You need a minute (or day) to process things, especially if it was a shock. If it’s a client you love, it can also feel like a betrayal so you need to allow yourself to sit with those feelings, have a little cry if you need to and take some time to care for yourself.
Go for a walk in nature, watch some Netflix, have a nap, do a yoga class - anything that makes you feel good, supported and helps you to clear your mind so you can think straight.
3: Acceptance + awareness
However sad you may feel or tough it may be to get notice from a client, you need to accept your journey together has come to an end. This doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. It could be the start of a beautiful new chapter for you (more on this in a sec).
Once you’ve accepted that you’ll no longer be supporting this client, become aware of what you’re making this situation mean about yourself. Are you telling yourself that they’re leaving because you’re not good enough? Stop that.
It’s easy to feel like a failure when someone no longer chooses to work with you but you need to take the emotion out of it. It’s just business.
Be kind to yourself and if you notice any negative thoughts cropping up, switch them to something empowering.
4: Look for the opportunities
Instead of thinking about the negatives or focusing on the loss, shift into looking for the opportunities this could bring you. If we look hard enough, we can find an opportunity in almost every situation.
Does this give you space to realign your business to what you really want?
Is it a chance for you to raise your prices and sign a higher paying client?
Could you welcome in an even better client?
5: Get out your journal
Journaling is one of my favourite confidence boosting exercises because it helps you to step out of your current thinking and into more expansive thoughts. Open up your journal and ask yourself this:
“What would my most confident self do now?”
Use this prompt to help you shift into positive, empowered thinking and out of the panic.
6: Write an empowerment list
If you’ve been in my community for a while, you’ll know how much I love an empowerment list. In fact, I recently wrote one myself “40 ways I could receive £400 in cash in the next 7 days” and by the end of the week I’d received £359.
This exercise works much like journaling - it helps you to expand your thinking, come up with creative ideas and discover solutions that you can’t find when you’re coming from a place of panic.
Write this one out and if you find it too easy, make it 30, 40, or 50 things:
“20 Things I could do this week to sign a new client”
The key here isn’t to take action on every single one. It’s to choose one or two things a day that you can do to help you sign a client without hustle, overwhelm or panic.
To recap, the 6 steps to stopping the panic when you’ve lost a client are:
Remember that you’ve signed a client before, you can sign one again
Step back + take care of yourself
Accept it’s happened + create awareness around what you’re making it mean
Look for the opportunities it could bring you
Journal prompt: What would my most confident self do now?
Empowerment list: 20 Things I could do this week to sign a new client
If this was helpful, leave me a comment below to let me know your key takeaway.