Not all clients who come your way are a good fit. Maybe they don’t have the budget to get the job done properly. Perhaps they don’t have a clear vision for what they want and keep changing their minds. Or maybe they’re looking for services you can’t provide. If any of those is the case, it can be better to politely decline than head down a road you will regret.

Whatever the reason, if a client isn’t a great match at this moment, it doesn’t mean he or she can’t be a valuable resource for your business.

Room for Improvement

If a client declines your services, it’s a good chance to find out why. What services aren’t you offering that potential clients might be looking for? What could you have done differently during the sales process?

“I’ll ask, ‘What direction are you going?’ or ‘What additional information could we have provided to earn a different outcome?’” says Lisa Stacholy of LKS Architects in Atlanta. “I find that asking questions and appealing to someone’s good nature to help us get better for the next prospect helps the prospective client tell us good, useful information we can use to better our service presentation.”

Lend a Hand

Helping to create connections can build bridges for future work. If you’re not able to meet the needs of the client but you know someone who can, make the introduction.

“If I receive an inquiry from a client who would be a good fit but just isn’t ready yet, I try to be the person to introduce them to the architect they’ll work with,” says LuAnn Fabian of LuAnn Development in Redondo Beach, California. “Then I’m able to follow up with them in a couple of months because I have something to talk about.”

Keep in Touch

Not everyone who calls or emails is ready to take the leap, and that’s OK. Having a strategy to keep in touch with those clients will set you up for success. The efforts you make now can reap rewards later.

“When anyone calls in to make an inquiry, we get their contact information and they receive our monthly email newsletter,” says James Crisp of Crisp Architects in Millbrook, New Jersey. “Oftentimes these people convert into customers. It’s two years later, they’re ready to build a house, and they think of us because we’ve kept in touch.”

What are some ways you handle clients who aren’t a great fit? Share your ideas in the Comments below!

This story was written by the Houzz Industry Marketing team.