Letting A Client Go Gracefully
A good friend just purchased a foreclosed home and had to deal with the emotional bearings of negotiating exit terms with a family being told by the bank to move by a specific date and time, whether they had a place to go or not. It was a family with a 2-year old boy and the first house they had ever owned.
What I found compelling about this event is that the sellers (the family, not the bank) took it upon themselves not only to hand over the house in the conditions the buyers expected, which most foreclosed owners do not do, but a few days later my friend received a card saying, “We wish you the best in your new home and hope it brings you the same happiness it brought us.” This broke my heart; here is a family that just got kicked of their home because the bank found buyers and they took it upon themselves to wish my friend all the best.
Clients will and do fall off the accounts list from time to time, and this seems especially true for some during these times. I believe that how we handle the relationship at the start is as important as how we handle the end of the relationship.
If the sellers had been you, and the buyers had been the client, don’t you think that when times got better the client would immediately remember you? Most companies lose their clients and say, “To hell with them; who needs them?” This kind of mentality creates a corporate culture which urges you to disregard the clients instead of understanding there are ups and downs in business. Accounts will leave; some come back, some don’t–but fractured relationships never mend.
Nobody likes losing their clients, but it happens. I think part of the measure of how we serve our clients is not just in the acquisition, but also in the loss of one.
A simple handwritten card thanking them for the opportunity of service and wishing them all the best would be a nice and unique gesture, as well as a smart one. I believe this communicates genuine care and exits the business relationship with grace while leaving the proverbial door open.
