The Cost of the Shortcut
In the early stages of a business, the temptation to land every potential client often leads entrepreneurs to overlook a glaring red flag: a lack of respect for the process. Whether it’s pushing back on boundaries, questioning every step before it starts, or attempting to skip essential phases, these behaviors are early indicators of a fundamental lack of trust. While it’s tempting to believe that providing more clarity or “working around” these issues will fix the relationship once the project begins, the reality is that a client who doesn't respect your experience during the sales conversation will rarely respect it during delivery.
Protecting the Vision
Ignoring these warning signs inevitably leads to a project that drains your resources more than it’s actually worth. When the process is compromised, the result is almost always scope creep, constant revisions, and deeply misaligned expectations that leave both parties frustrated. Respecting your own process is not just about being rigid; it is about ensuring that you and your client are fully aligned in the work being done. Ultimately, you have built a business where you have the power to choose who you work with, and exercising that choice is essential for maintaining the integrity of your brand.
The Real CEO Hack
Walking away from a “difficult” client isn't about an inability to handle challenges; it’s a strategic move to ensure mutual success. If a partnership isn't the right fit for you, it is highly likely it isn't the right fit for the client either, and forcing the connection only delays the inevitable regret. The true “CEO hack” lies in the courage to walk away when the alignment isn't there, making space only for those who value your expertise and your methodology. By enforcing your boundaries early, you protect your time, your team, and the quality of your final results.
Previous Episode: https://iamceo.co/iam2728-how-to-turn-website-visitors-into-customers/
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Transcription:
Gresham Harkless 00:00
I've worked with a lot of clients, candidates, people over the years, and there's one red flag that shows up early. And every time I ignore it, I instantly almost regret it. When someone doesn't respect the process, they want to skip steps. They push back on boundaries. They just sometimes just ignore exactly what you tell them. They question everything. Sometimes even before it started, it could show up in multiple in different ways. But at the end of the day, it's getting back to that, not respecting that process.
If you're building something meaningful, you're in the right place. This is the I Am CO podcast. I'm gresh, and for over a decade I've had the honor and the privilege of Learning directly from CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners just like you on how to build. After recording more than 1600 episodes, one thing has become clear. Success isn't about following someone else's blueprint. And as I like to say on the show, if you run your own race, you can't lose, even when you feel the journey should be a straight and linear path. What I've come to find out is success is a lot more like a plate of spaghetti. So in this special segment and episode, I'm starting to curate and share some CEO hacks and CEO nuggets that I've been dying to share. Drawn from thousands of episodes with phenomenal guests that have provided awesome value on the show, but also my 10 years of business experience as well too. These lessons are designed to strengthen the foundational principles that every business is built on and guided by a simple equation that we always go back to with our content. Visibility plus resources times connections equals success. This is practical wisdom you can apply almost immediately, so be sure to check out the show notes for more resources and next steps on how to level up. And of course, enjoy this special episode of the I Am CEO podcast.
Gresham Harkless 01:51
I've worked with a lot of clients, candidates, people over the years, and there's one red flag that shows up early. And every time I ignore it, I instantly almost regret it. When someone doesn't respect the process, they want to skip steps. They push back on boundaries. They just sometimes just ignore exactly what you tell them. They question everything. Sometimes even before it started. It can show up in multiple in different ways, but at the end of the day, it's getting back to that, not respecting that process. And honestly, I used to think maybe they just need more clarity. Maybe once we get going, it'll be fine. We'll figure it out, I'll work around it. But ultimately, this is what I learned. If someone doesn't trust your experience during the sales conversation, they won't trust it during delivery either. And I think what ends up happening is it turns into scope creep, constant revisions, misaligned expectations, and a project that drains more than it's actually worth. Now, I tried to actually pay attention to that red flag, and if I see it, try to walk away. And of course, it's not because you can't handle difficult clients. We actually try to work with people that actually have been burned and haven't had a great or an ideal experience in the past. But it's because I've built the business where I get to choose who I want to work with. I get to make sure that we're aligned in the work that we're doing. Not just for myself, but for the client as well, too. Sometimes you're not the right fit for everybody. So do exactly that. Make sure they respect your process, but make sure you also respect your process and try to only work with people that respect it too. And I know in the beginning, a lot of times it's like, I just need to get this client, just customer to get this going. But in reality, if it's not the right fit for you, it's probably also not the right fit for them. That's the real CEO.