Every prospective client will tell you that they are looking for a long-term partner, whether that is true or not. It sounds better, and gives you the impression that they are worth investing in disproportionately to the actual value of the client’s business.
But all clients of professional services providers are on one of four trajectories. Some clients are on a long trajectory, some short, but they will all follow one of the following:
- Take it in-house
- Move to another provider
- Kill the program [that requires the professional service]
- Stay forever
Many clients will eventually take steps to do the work you’re providing for them on their own. If they are ambitious, committed to growth, and having success with your service there will come a point when they outgrow you. Outgrowing a client requires multifaceted investment and attention from senior resources. Clients on a trajectory for in-house will hit the inflection point where you can’t argue the cost-benefit ratio – it’s just a matter of when.
Many clients will eventually move their business to another provider. If they are ambitious but find excuses and blame their problems on others, there will come a time when the going gets tough. You will take the fall when that happens. Even if you owned your services at or above the industry standard and the client’s issues contributed to the hiccups, the client will fault you for the lack of foresight that they expected from a provider. Clients on a trajectory for another provider have track records of turnover and mediocrity.
Some clients will kill the program that requires the professional service they hired you for. If they are not ambitious and take responsibility for failure, but do not experience success with you, they will bring an end to things. This could mean shutting down a business, but more often than not means shutting down the area of business that necessitated your existence. Clients on this trajectory tend to find their way there within 6-12 months and operate rationally.
Some clients stay with you forever. If they are ambitious but busy, they will tolerate varying degrees of success and even temporary decline. It is imperative that you are generally working on their business and earnestly caring about their success. Clients on this trajectory lack the will to stomach switching costs. They rarely sustain breakout growth but rarely make dramatic moves.
Knowing what trajectory your clients are on will help guide you to make better investments in clients and into services. Helping a client move along their trajectory faster will improve the relationship, increase the business they do with you and reduce missed expectations on your end.