I’m sure you’ve been there… you’ve got a solid day booked full of meetings or coaching calls… your whole day mapped out, and the phone rings.

It’s your client who you were meeting at 11am… they need to cancel your meeting.

Yesterday you spent some time planning for the meeting, and you’re already half out the door heading over there this morning.

Frustrating isn’t it?

There are times when a late notice client cancellation is a godsend… you know those days where you have so much to do, that you’re grateful for being given the time back.

But either way, your client’s flakiness has cost your business… so what can you do about it?

Set clear direction:

When you take on a client, do you send them a welcome agreement? Are your clients made aware of your terms and conditions up front?

And in those terms and conditions, do you include a section telling clients your cancellation policy?

Setting your boundaries up front is good practice.

Listing them out clearly in your Client Agreement, and requesting that they return the document to you signed as agreed BEFORE you start work, will make it easier for your clients to know what is… and isn’t acceptable to you.

Upfront payments

If you’re working with clients over a series of sessions, have them pay you upfront for all of the sessions.

If they realise that a last minute cancellation means they will lose that session, they will be less likely to cancel. And if they do cancel, you’re not out of pocket.

This is another example of you setting boundaries upfront, and your clients being clear on what is expected of them. You don’t need to be harsh about this… coming from your feminine energy you are caring about the results they get with you. And to get results, they will need to commit to attending every session.

Allowing clients to cancel at late notice won’t help their results in the long term.

Address issues directly, calmly, and consistently

If a client does breach one of your conditions, drop them an email with the section of your Client Agreement, and remind them of the commitment they made to you.

Depending on the circumstances surrounding the breach, you might want to let it go this time, but to gently remind them that next time you will impose the condition.

Having clients sign the agreement upfront removes any ambiguity on either side, and allows you to refer back to your original agreement when you need to.

Have you created your Client Agreement yet? Do you send it to every new client as a matter of practice? If not, I invite you to spend some time this week mapping out what your business rules are, and create your own agreement.

Ladies: Joanna will be in London on the 24th of September to deliver her very special, and hugely popular “Feminine Way To Wealth” workshop. Attending will give you the chance to meet Joanna, and hear firsthand how she built her own successful business based on sound business knowledge and strong personal values.

If you’re a woman in business, or you want to be a woman in business, and you want to learn feminine strategies for marketing, sales and other core business skills, check out the details for the
Feminine Way To Wealth and book your place now

 

How women will Change the World Through Business: To help business owners do what they love and earn the money they are worth, I am participating a free tele-summit on Thursday 19th September. Click here to register for the Tele-Summit