Identifying Red Flags in Potential Consulting Clients

When I first started doing this work, I’d just do what the Client asked for. Until I had this case: We once had a Client invest $XX million in a company where the Client wanted to go fast and only focus on red flags - a basic check list to get the deal over the line. Six months later, all hell broke loose: - Payments delayed with flimsy excuses - Partners complaining about breach of contract - Promises of buying inventory that never happened Turns out, this company had a history of fleecing partners. And now our client was tied to the mess and had to clean it up. What I learned: A track record of burning bridges won't show up on a check list approach. Sure you might be able to find some litigation in the public record, but the company could chalk that up to the normal course of doing business. To catch these problems, you need to dig deeper: 1) Reference checks with past partners, not just the cherry-picked ones 2) Litigation searches for contract breaches, judgements, complaints. Where litigation databases are not available, do the manual records retrievals (despite some taking up to 2 weeks). Where even that is not available, do discreet source inquiries! 3) Forensic analysis of financials for cash flow issues or payment inconsistencies Real investigative due diligence means vetting how a company operates inside and out, and preventing surprises from showing up. #dealintelligence #duediligence #PrivateEquity #mergersandacquisitions

Enthusiasm fades. Red flags stay red. Just because a project lands in your inbox doesn’t mean it’s worth saying yes to. We get it. When someone says “We love your work,” your first instinct is to lean in. But after a few too many fire drills, last-minute proposals, and ghosted follow-ups, we’ve learned to look for the red flags 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺. Some are loud and obvious. Others sneak up mid-call. Either way, spotting them before the kickoff saves time, energy, and your team’s sanity. Here are a few of our favorites (or least favorites, depending on how you look at it): 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀: → Not the kind of work we do → Wrong platform → Completely unrealistic timeline (“𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴”) → They clearly want someone else, but we’re in the pitch for “comparison” 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗳𝗳: → “We’re bringing you in late, but need a proposal by tomorrow.” → They fired their last agency 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵. → Bad at showing up, worse at following up. → Ask questions you just answered. → Team structure makes no sense. → CEO has “big personality” energy that screams micromanager. → Been around forever, want a total overhaul, and think it’ll only take 6 weeks. The biggest red flag? Letting enthusiasm override your instincts. The best projects don’t just pay well, they 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. And that starts with the right client fit. --- Follow Michael Cleary 🏳️🌈 for more tips like this. ♻️ Share with someone who struggles to spot red-flag clients early.

The 1 unscientific thing I do to weed out bad potential clients: The "vibe" check. Early on, I said yes to projects I knew would be a pain. I justified it: “Maybe it won’t be that bad.” “It’s good money.” “I’ll figure it out.” Every single time, those early red flags turned into bigger problems later. Now? Nah dawg, I trust the "vibe" check. Filtering out bad fits before they sign saves more time, energy, and sanity than trying to fix a bad project after it starts. Here are the red flags I look for: 1. They negotiate pricing. This is going to sound weird but 80% of my process has nothing to do with landing pages. - We map out the buyer's business case  - We build landing pages that you don't turn off  - We build a testing roadmap There's a lot the client can use long after I'm gone. That's the value. If there's a lot of haggling, I usually tell them we're not a fit. I want both sides to feel good about the arrangement - them about the value, me about being paid my worth. 2. They want immediate (and the wrong) results. Hi, we're in B2B where the average sales cycle is 3 months. If they think a few "hacks" or conversion rates going up are going to fix all their problems, then this is a bad fit. Long-term pipeline > short-term form fills. 3. They expect us to rush. I don't mind expediting timelines but when I sense a "hurry up and wait" - everything is urgent on the call but then no responses after, it's a bad vibe. Another one is when they want to cut in line and be prioritized over other clients who are already mid-process. 4. Too many stakeholders. If there’s no clear champion and 10+ people want to weigh in, the project almost always delays or gets muddy. Debra in Accounting can sit this one out. 5. They want too much customization. If they can’t work within a proven process and want everything done their way, it’s a nightmare waiting to happen. The reason this process exists is because I've put in the reps (helped manage strategy for 400 websites in my in-house career and with 25 companies with the business). The reason they're here is because clearly what they have been doing has not been working. Be open to a different and new process. 6. They aren’t…nice They could have the budget, the philosophies down, and fit the process but…if they aren’t nice, it’s a no. Marketing is serious work but it’s also supposed to be fun. We’re all still humans trying to do our best work. We don’t need that energy. --- If you're thinking - "but it's so hard to say no to the money". Yes, it can feel like that. But every "no" has brought in a better, more profitable "yes" very shortly after.  Either way, it's something far more powerful: The "vibe" check is learning to trust your judgment and protect that peace. (Dedicated to my fellow women and minorities who especially feel like we have to say yes to everything to feel accepted)

Working with the wrong clients can sink your agency. Here's the 5 most common red flags I see from prospects during the sales process that are dead giveaways of trouble to come. 1. During The Pitch "Just Get To The Price" Code for: "I don't care about any of the work you put into this deck and you can't show me any value, all that matters is price" 2. We've Been Through 15 Agencies In The Last 2 Years Typically issues with product market fit in a big way here, or unrealistic expectations/sporadic decision making & thinking. Run away from these people. 3. We Need, At Minimum, A 6x ROAS This client usually has like a $19 AOV and .0012% conversion rate) Living in a fairytale, these businesses will die and you don't want your time & energy to die with it. 4. We're Looking For A Marketing Partner That's Willing To Profit Share Until This Takes Off (I.e. work for free until who knows when) I don't believe in doing free work outside of example assets in pitch decks or during your outreach process like an audit, example piece of creative, etc. In short, people who respect what you do won't ask you to work for free. 5. Complains Why Past Agencies Were To Blame For All Their Marketing Woes Zero accountability. Even if agencies have burned them in the past, they still hired them. Watch for entrepreneurs who believe everything is someone else's fault. At the end of the day, everything is their fault as CEO. Same goes for you as an agency owner. Have you ever heard these on a sales call? 

🚩 10 Biggest Red Flags of Nightmare Clients (run away if you see any of these) You think these are red flags: ❌ Needs instant results ❌ Asks for discounts ❌ Wants guarantees But these are actually just obstacles. Who doesn't want to get value: ✅ Faster ✅ Cheaper ✅ Guaranteed I do, and you can totally sell around these. But I'll show you some actual red flags. Because over the past 15 years, I've: • managed thousands of accounts • built hundreds of partnerships • grew dozens of businesses And every time I ignored these red flags, 👉 the pain followed. So, never take clients that: 🚩 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 They spy on your methods or undermine your work. General contractors are fine if they're upfront about it. 🚩 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 They overwrite your recommendations, wanting your results their way. 🚩 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 They need something outside your expertise, or don't want to do their part of the work. 🚩 𝗖𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 They stall every step and take forever to decide. They're never sure about anything they do, either. 🚩 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱 They drag out timelines by going silent, then expect you to deliver overnight. 🚩 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 They refuse to own mistakes or setbacks, turning you (and others) into their scapegoats. 🚩 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟮𝟰/𝟳 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 They expect nonstop attention, ignore boundaries, and create endless emergencies out of thin air. 🚩 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 They operate unethically or do something you fundamentally dislike or disagree with. 🚩 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 "𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿" 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 They've burned through multiple good agencies and now demand miracles from you (classic). 🚩 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 They have no clear goals or expectations, so you can never meet a standard they haven't set. 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘆. P.S. Have you ever picked the wrong client? Let me know 👇 ♻️ Repost if it was helpful. ➕ Follow Lian for more insights.