How to Handle Prospects Who Have No Respect for Your Work

After 15 years in business, Dan and I have gotten pretty good at screening for clients who don’t seem like a good fit. Sometimes it’s a personality or subject-matter mismatch, but more often it’s because they have an unrealistic idea of budget.

When there’s a financial disconnect, we respectfully explain why we can’t write their annual report for $150, and they respectfully listen. And if it doesn’t work out, we go our separate ways and forget about it.

But once in awhile, someone comes along who has a powerfully flagrant disregard for our profession. Someone who has no concept of the effort it takes to write something great. Someone who just really pushes our buttons.

And even though we know it’s not worth getting worked up about … we do anyway. So after this happened recently, we stewed about it for a few days before deciding to at least channel our anger productively and have a little fun with it.

In that spirit, here’s a visual representation of a very real conversation, albeit with a fictional ending. Note: Some identifying details have been changed to protect “Thad” (even though he doesn’t deserve it). 

Thad Big

 

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