When to Fire a Client
Knowing when to walk away protects our profitability, our reputation, and our team. Some clients cannot be helped, and continuing to try damages everyone involved.
Why Walking Away Matters
Every hour spent on a doomed engagement is an hour not spent on a client who can succeed. Every failure on an impossible brief is a reputation risk. Every toxic interaction is a team member closer to burnout.
The decision to exit is not failure. It is professional judgment that success is impossible under current constraints, and continuing would be malpractice.
Red Flag: Refusal of Transparency
Client refuses to share essential data
No margin data or COGS visibility. If they do not know their profit, we cannot manage contribution. This is a hard stop.
"We can't share margin data." Then we cannot make commercial decisions on your behalf.
Red Flag: Blocking Critical Fixes
Refuses to implement tracking or feed fixes but demands better performance
If they only trust platform ROAS and refuse to look at blended or contribution metrics, bad decisions are guaranteed. We cannot outperform bad data.
"Just hit the ROAS target, don't change anything." Optimisation without change is not optimisation.
Red Flag: Demanding Unsafe Scale
Demands aggressive scaling against known bottlenecks
Stock cover is 10 days and they want a 40% spend increase. CS is already backlogged and they want record volume. Scaling into known constraints is malpractice.
"We need to hit this revenue target regardless." Regardless of stockouts? Regardless of customer experience collapse?
Red Flag: Unsafe Cash Runway
Business has <30 days cash left and is gambling ad spend to survive
Unless VC-backed with explicit runway, payback periods exceeding 90 days without financing is a cash crisis waiting to happen. We are not here to accelerate insolvency.
"If this campaign doesn't work, we're done." Then you need restructuring advice, not PPC management.
Red Flag: Scope Abuse & Toxicity
Abusive communication or persistent scope creep without payment
Returns rate exceeding 15% on hero SKUs means scaling ads just scales the bleeding. Fix product first. Abuse of team members is never acceptable and triggers immediate exit.
The relationship has moved from professional disagreement to personal hostility.
The Professional Exit Protocol
Exiting badly damages reputation. Exiting professionally protects it. Follow this sequence:
Step 1: Formalise the Risk
Document exactly why constraints make success impossible. Put it in writing. "We cannot succeed under these conditions because [specific constraints]."
Step 2: Propose a Remedial Plan
Set hard deadlines. "If [data/fix] is not provided by [date], we must pause service." Give them a clear path to resolution.
Step 3: Disengage Cleanly
Hand over all assets. Maintain professionalism. Remove team from toxic communications immediately. Leave no loose ends that could be disputed later.
"The goal is not to win the argument. The goal is to exit cleanly and protect future opportunities."
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