Kevin SimpsonCPA Web Books · Founder at CPA Web Books

Under The Covers- Firing Your Customers

15 Jun 2020 · 0 min

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In this brief dialogue, the speakers discuss the concept from The Pumpkin Plan of "firing" customers. They explain that some clients are impossible to satisfy, creating emotional strain and diverting attention from the business’s best customers. Others may simply be a poor fit, forcing the company to remain a generalist rather than specialize and excel at its core offering. While letting go of such customers can cause an immediate revenue dip, the speakers argue that the long‑term benefits—greater focus, specialization, and higher overall performance—far outweigh the short‑term loss. The conversation frames this decision as a courageous, strategic move for sustainable growth.

So let's see what we've got today. If it's garbage or good, what's the question?
So in Pumpkin Plan, you talk about firing customers. Why would I fire a customer?
You have some customers you want to fire. You run a small business yourself. There are some customers that we cannot satisfy. Like no matter what quality work you provide, how focused you are on serving them, they can never be happy. Those customers have an emotional toll to them. Right. We just worry about them and get frustrated and it detracts from serving our best customers. But the other thing too is sometimes customers aren't bad people, they're just a bad fit. And it dilutes our company's ability to become exceptional at one thing. So if you service a large mix of customers with different needs, you you'll be forced to be a generalist. So we need to fire or remove customers that are a bad fit over time. So we become more and more specialized and more and more effective at our one thing. It's probably the most courageous thing a business needs to do is get rid of a customer. Because I know the immediate loss of revenue feels devastating, but the long term gains, so gains. So thank you. You would have blessed my chest. The long term gains so far outstrip the short loss. The that you should fire unfit customers. All right, back under the covers, which is so creepy.