by Deborah Wunderman, AIW Board Member

I have worked as a freelance proposal writer for 10 years in the Washington, D.C., area.  During this time, I have encountered many wonderful clients and some not-so-wonderful ones.

The economic crisis has demanded much tightening of budgets and doing more with less.  It has also brought to the surface in many areas of business the not so savory side of people.  Perhaps the best known icon of this phenomenon is Bernie Madoff.  He and others like him also try to get more from less, but are willing to compromise others to achieve their personal goals.

Following are some of my experiences in encountering such people as clients, and the importance of letting go of such unsavory clients sooner, rather than later, to avoid wasted time and unpaid invoices.

Beware the client who:

• Uses overly dramatic words and tone to try to engage your emotions. Rather than dealing in a professional manner, such a client wants to elicit an emotional response from you, and the matter soon begins to looks more like a feuding family rather than a professional business relationship.  Often applying logic to solve differences only enrages such a client, and you may get a response such as one client sent to me, “It’s as though I work for you, or I feel that you perceive me to be a hostage where you call all the shots.”
• Touts him- or herself as a savior, and nobody would be anywhere without them. Case in point, a client once said, “I just came back after almost five years of being away from the day-to-day operations, and what I have learned, and the money I raised in two months is mind boggling to most people.”
• Uses guilt to manipulate you to do something that benefits them, but rarely benefits you. Case in point, a client said, “Until now, I thought it was about the mission of our organization.  But, was it ever about us, or was it only about you.  I fought against the former Executive Director and even the board when everyone but me wanted you gone, and now….”

Crotchety clients can be smooth talkers face-to-face.  They are great guests at parties – very animated, but they often resort to using convoluted correspondences as a weapon to get their way.  For instance, they rarely respond promptly to e-mails or phone calls – even when money or a deadline is at stake.  This type of client responds only when it suits them, and then their response can be so twisted, it can be hard to recognize what they are responding to from the original correspondence.

Sadly, in my experience and line of work, these clients are often revealed over time to be hiding things such as embezzling grant monies for personal use or using designated funds for non-designated purposes.  They are more times than not late in making payments on invoices, if they make them at all.  One cantankerous client took eight months to pay over $8,000 dollars owed, and another client simply declared a completed project incomplete and refused to pay.

The hassle, stress, and lost time on your part as a consultant are not reimbursable, so dump these clients early before they drain your pocket book and spirit!  One quote from an old-time radio show called the ‘Shadow’ that for some strange reason brings me solace when encountering clients and people such as these is this one – “Who knows what evil lies in the heart of men.”

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Deborah Wunderman has 20 years of experience in non-profit management and fund raising with close to 15 years specializing in foundation, government, and corporate proposal writing.  She first became a member of AIW while broadening her consulting practice in 2000 and served a year and a half term on the board in 2002.  Her work has brought in $7,635,669 dollars for non-profit and for-profit organizations that work locally, nationally, and internationally.  She has a BA from College of the Atlantic in Human Ecology with prior work experience in education, marine science, and the arts.