Off Boarding Clients
We can talk about great efficient processes until we are blue in the face. However, the most important process that growing businesses need is the client off-boarding process. Growing companies that are overburdened with underpaying clients have burnt out owners, slowed growth, and they lack capacity for improvements and new clients.
Having too many clients stops you from being able to help others that really need and want your help. And yet, so many companies avoid creating an exit strategy for clients that just don’t fit the firm anymore.
Off boarding is a strategic planning solution for advisors either working with too many clients or working with clients who no longer fit into a firm’s ideal client profile and degrade the brand and drain a firm’s capacity to provide quality service.
As businesses evolve and future directions come into clear view, it becomes apparent which clients work and which don’t. Perhaps the client isn’t a good fit because they are seeking services you no longer provide (or don’t want to continue providing). Or, a client may be a “not-fit” because they require too much of your time and energy and, additionally, aren’t contributing much to your revenue. Whichever the case, it doesn’t take much more than a “gut” check and a little math to decide who to transition out of your client base.
If you want financial techniques to clarify the monetary impact of not-fit clients, review the Off Board Clients lesson within the Business Finance Course.
Benefits
This process, when done properly, involves transitioning clients from your own firm to another firm or service provider who can better cater to your clients’ needs. The benefits of doing so are felt by everyone involved including yourself, your staff, and even your other clients. In the end, you will have:
- Less stress on yourself and your staff.
- Ability to improve use of resources and, therefore, profitability.
- More capacity to onboard more profitable, less needy, clients.
Exercise
If you are a Redtail CRM user, and would like our Off Board Client Workflow Template transferred into your Redtail CRM, click the DOWNLOAD REDTAIL button. Otherwise, click the Excel button. Both version are editable.
Reflect and Prioritize
It takes mental courage to start drafting a client off-boarding process and script. You need to start with ideas such as where you will send these clients and how you will break the news. Remember to take breaks, revisit this process weekly, and soon enough you will become comfortable with your offboarding process and the verbal words you will say to those clients.
Please remember to add any new epiphanies and ideas to your Master Plan of Ideas and Initiatives.