Five warning signs of a nightmare prospect

New business sometimes lands you in strange places.  This has never been truer than in challenging times like these.

Winning is everyone’s objective, but every agency has a nightmare client that was once a promising prospect. Our clients often ask if there is a way to assess in advance what prospects and accounts will drain profits and drive you to madness once they become clients. We advocate the use of an active outreach program for screening prospects.  You need a clear understanding of the prospects personality, history, and general objectives for the top prospects in your database.

Agencies don’t take on these clients willingly.  Dysfunctional, destructive or disorganized prospects slip through the cracks all the time pulling you into lose-lose relationships that drain patience, time, resources and profits. The time to confirm and clarify a prospects “nightmare potential” is during the first visit. Doing so can keep you from investing time and energy into loser accounts.

Here are the five warning signs of a nightmare prospect:

1. You are their first agency.  This is a red flag. Take a pass and allow another agency the frustration of training them.
2. The prospect is not clear about what he or she wants, but somehow expects your agency to produce it without detailed input or are too busy to put you in contact with the people who can.
3. The prospect reports having had a lot of problems with their previous agencies.  A pattern of “problem” agencies could be a sign of a problem client.
4. The prospect is ignorant about marketing, advertising, or the creative process and has no competent staff. This prospect often expects you to wave a magic wand, with little understanding of the complexity or expense of developing and producing effective work.
5. The prospect makes it clear that they are looking for a bargain and focuses entirely on cost.

If you have found one or more of these signs, proceed with caution, if at all.  If you decide to attempt to turn this prospect into a client, here are some steps that you can take to minimize the risk:

• Document major concerns in writing in a conference report following the first visit.  In your reports make sure to outline the framework for a successful relationship.
• Maintain constant communication becoming their best friend and confidant. Don’t let problems fester. They are much easier to solve when they are small problems.
• Educate them.  Explain the impact of their behavior on schedules, budgets and deliverables.

Search consultants and Cattle Call RFP’s have made it more difficult to identify a nightmare prospect. Many agencies see only the revenue opportunity and overlook or ignore the signs. To keep a prospect from becoming a nightmare client, you must be extremely clear on what you need from the prospect at each step.  You must communicate as often and as tactfully as possible.  Communicate these success factors up front is the best way to protect yourself.

It’s important to have a detailed contract covering issues that might lead to problems and exactly how payment will be handled if things do not work out. By building a graceful exit into the process, you can protect your most important client – you.