If you’re like any (honest) self-employed service provider, you’ve experienced this before, probably many times. I know I have over years of signing on clients. Sometimes, for some reason, the brand new client decides to back out and not go forward with working with you, even BEFORE starting the work. There’s nothing more frustrating.

Do you let them just walk away, or do you DO something about it? In my opinion, how to respond is directly related to the reason they’re backing out. Once you know, you can respond accordingly.

It’s important to examine what’s REALLY going on and get down to the real reason why they’re not going forward with working with you. In my experience, it often boils down to the following:

They may simply not be your ideal client (admit it, you knew this deep down inside, but you decided to take them on anyway, just because you needed the money).

They’re not convinced of the VALUE of what they’ll get from working with you.

They bring up money as an issue (I’m sure you’ve heard this one).

Sometimes, clients have limiting fears that keep them from moving forward, even though they really NEED your help.
What do you do? Let’s look at the different scenarios and talk about solutions for each:
They may simply not be your ideal client: In this case, let them walk away. Trying to CONVINCE someone who isn’t right for you in the first place is only going to create problems later. Trust me, I’ve done it. It comes back to haunt you.

They’re not convinced of the VALUE of what they’ll get: You’re probably talking too much about processes rather than about the results they’ll get from working with you (remember, it’s always about RESULTS, RESULTS, RESULTS). If your prospect isn’t clear they’ll get solutions to the problems that keep them up at night, they won’t plunk down their credit card to work with you. Change how you talk about what they’ll get and it’ll make all the difference.

They bring up money as an issue: This is usually an excuse hiding the real reason, probably that they aren’t convinced of the value you’ll bring. Let’s face it, we’ve all met people who really want to work with you, but for whom money can be an issue, and the difference in their approach is a big one. You can tell right away, because they’re the prospects who will TRY to find a way to find the money. They’ll ask about payment plans, they’ll start to save, etc. If the prospect isn’t scrambling to find a way to afford your services, then it’s usually a question of not seeing the value. In that case, refer back to #2.

Sometimes, clients have limiting fears that keep them from moving forward: Sometimes it’s fear of failure, sometimes fear of success, and it’s happened to me too.
I’m sharing this with you because I know I’m not the only one but few people will let themselves be vulnerable enough to talk about it. Well here’s the scoop. It’s been my experience, many times, that I’ve limited myself and gotten in my OWN way, just when I was starting to take a fantastic step towards the goals I so wanted to achieve. I stopped myself and essentially got in the way of my own success, and I’ve seen this happen over and over again with clients too.