Clients Turned Energy Vampires
Have you ever had a conversation with a client and immediately felt emotionally drained? This could be a warning sign that you could have an energy vampire on your hands.
WHAT IS AN ENERGY VAMPIRE?
Energy vampires are people who are always taking up emotional space - They require a lot of your time although you're not finding yourself billing very many hours. When you speak with them you are frazzled, distracted, and often take too much time to recover and get recentered. They also might often change their requests last minute, cross your established boundaries, and usually don’t stay very consistent in their own business and with you.
HOW TO AVOID ENERGY VAMPIRES IN YOUR BUSINESS
Another key to avoiding these energy vampires in your business? The discovery call. The discovery call and contract process are a very important part of your VA or OBM business. As most of us are striving to grow our business we are always excited when a potential client agrees to meet with us (yipee!) However, when you get on the call and the client is late, they have no organization to what they need or how they expect you to get it done, and they often are looking to negotiate your time for a lower rate. You most likely will get off this call and feel very uneasy.
Energy vampires come in all shapes and sizes, and I think it’s important to note that not all energy vampires will underpay you as your clients. Another red flag to look out for is that even energy vampires can and will pay you what you’re worth. Don’t get into “golden handcuffs” mode. Working with energy vampires just isn’t worth it.
HOW TO DEAL WITH ENERGY VAMPIRES IN YOUR BUSINESS
Let me tell you, I’ve had my share of vampires throughout the last few years of my business! Here are my biggest learning lessons and pieces of advice:
When you say no to someone, you say yes to someone else. When you free up your time from energy vampires, you create the time to work with your true ideal clients.
Energy vampires can’t exist without our enabling them, It’s up to us to know what our non-negotiables are. It’s so important to set boundaries from day one. It’s really tough to correct these client behaviors if it’s not addressed from the beginning of the engagement.
BE PROACTIVE WITH SETTING BOUNDARIES
Lucky for us, there are things we can include in our proposals and contracts that can really help us proactivly set clear boundaries while onboarding new clients. For example, making sure you are outlining when the client can expect to hear from you, your preferred method of communication, and clearly communicating your turnaround times for projects and tasks.
DO YOU HAVE AN ENERGY VAMPIRE ON YOUR HANDS?
…..Bust out your garlic and walk away!
There are so many awesome clients out there waiting to work with you, and it's important for you as a business owner to protect your emotional space if you want to continue to grow and find freedom you crave and deserve your business.
