Losing a client can happen to the best of us. We’ve all been there. Sometimes you even know that you’ve been with them for a long time and have a good working relationship providing them with the best, then suddenly-- poof they’re gone!
As a Virtual Assistant (VA) this recent personal experience may be similar to every one of you. You see, I was excited to take in this client a while ago. I’ve set everything up to accommodate them and everything was as smooth as possible when it comes to the processes. I thought we were really going to be perfect!
However, we hit some roadblocks along the way which every first-time client of every VA has. I offered several solutions on how we could best overcome it, but alas they terminated the relationship making all my previous efforts all in vain.
So, what are the stages we need to go through to overcome a setback just like this? Here are the stages that we might encounter:
Shock
This is the first feeling that every one of us goes through first. Oftentimes, it leads to an outburst of emotions such as frustration and anger. However, there are better ways to deal with this stage.
Take a deep breath. Inhale then hold for a few seconds and exhale for a few seconds as well. Do this for at least five minutes and you can feel your heart rate and blood pressure go down allowing you to think clearly once again. This allows you to be more objective and head on to the next stage.
Reflection
You can think of every what-if for as long as you can, but none of that would bring the client back. In this stage, take some time to appreciate all the efforts you’ve made so far. This is because despite losing one client, remember that there are at least five more that stayed with you until the end of their contracts. Remember that not everyone will click with you or like you from the get-go.
Focus on the positives
As mentioned in the previous stage, for every single client that you lose, at least five more will choose to stay with you until the end. So don’t let this minor setback ruin your perception of your entire career! Focus on what you’ve accomplished so far and this will make you a lot happier than sulking over a single loss.
Recover
As a contractor, let’s face the fact that we are easier to let go than tenured employees. However, if we do get fired, we shouldn’t take this personally. Why? Because most of the time the problem wasn’t you at all.
You may have just given them the wrong vibe, disagreed with them, have a different personality, or sometimes the client is simply in a bad mood. Any one of these can be a reason for a client to suddenly terminate a working relationship with you. So. Don’t beat yourself up too much over it!
If you need to, you can share your experience with your VA team. They can give you all the emotional support that you need as they also know exactly how you feel! So share your story with them and hopefully, this can relieve some of your stress and allow you to move forward.
Accept
What’s done is already done. No amount of self-reflection is going to bring that client back. There is no way we can avoid having bad clients entirely. There will always be a bad one in the bunch. So, we shouldn’t beat ourselves up anymore over them and simply move on. Accept what happened for what it is and look forward to a new beginning!
Right now, the only thing you can gain from this is experience and added wisdom. It also makes us appreciate our good clients even more!
In conclusion, don’t beat yourself up over a single loss. Instead, take this as a learning opportunity to improve yourself as a person. Your emotions are valid in this situation, and you are free to express them to let go of your frustration. However, we should not let ourselves get stuck in a depressive spiral over one incident. Always remember that there will always be better things out there waiting for you as a VA!
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