Beware of the red flags

Posted by Jeremy L. Knauff | February 3rd, 2009

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When your phone rings and you get that potential client on the other end who seems to have gone through so much, you can’t help but feel a little sorry for them. When they woefully tell you their story about the 9 other vendors they’ve used this year who just couldn’t manage to do anything right, you can’t help but empathize with them. Most of all, when they rave on about how you seem so different than everyone else that they’ve worked with and how they’re looking forward to the opportunity, you can’t help but agree with them.

Before you get too excited about this new prospect though, take a careful look at what you may be getting yourself into. When something seems too perfect, it almost always is.

Set your ego aside for a second and ask yourself, why is this person so excited to work with you? You may be good, but there are thousands of other companies that do exactly what you do, so it’s not like you’re their only option. Has this prospect burned bridges elsewhere and you’re one of the few companies that she hasn’t taken advantage of yet? For that matter, let’s look at simple statistics. She told you that she worked with 9 other vendors and none of them could do anything right. What (who) is the one common denominator?

If you keep your eyes open, you can avoid these type of nightmare clients. Here are some of the most common red flags:

• They complain excessively about the other companies that they’ve worked with.
• They tell you that their previous vendors won’t return their calls or emails.
• They are in a rush, which usually means that someone else fired them as a client, that they have unrealistic expectations or that they are unprepared.
• They urge you to begin a project or ship products with no contract in place or without a deposit.

It’s better to pass up potential revenue from these type of clients because it often leads to more trouble than they’re worth. Pay attention and trust your gut and you should be fine.

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