As someone who has worked with a wide variety of clients over the years, I’ve seen just about every type of agency-client relationship.
Some work like a well-oiled machine, while others become expensive exercises in frustration.
This story, though, falls into a category of its own. It’s a perfect example of how business can be filled with irony and unexpected plot twists—and how, even when you think you’re in control, things can take a sharp left turn.
This client had been struggling with their marketing efforts for a while. They ran a successful business but had recently launched another company that wasn’t performing as well as expected.
To get things moving, they hired a full-service marketing agency that promised to handle everything from digital ads to content creation to website optimization. You know the type: “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of everything. We’ve got this.”
Fast forward eight months, and nothing had changed.
Worse, my client was paying $7,500 a month to this agency, and the return on investment was non-existent. They had no new leads, no meaningful traction, and frankly, a lot of frustration.
When we met dinner one night, I could tell the weight of this situation was getting to him. It’s one thing to waste money, but when you’re bleeding cash without seeing any results, the frustration multiplies.
My client explained that they were feeling stuck, unsure whether to continue working with the agency or give them one last chance to deliver.
I’ve been in situations like this before, both personally and with clients, and I knew what had to happen. “You’ve got to fire them,” I said bluntly. It wasn’t the most diplomatic advice, but sometimes the truth isn’t easy to hear. The fact was, this agency wasn’t delivering, and my client was paying for essentially nothing.
My client hesitated. It’s a tough pill to swallow, especially when you’ve invested a lot of money and trust in a company. But I pushed a little harder: “If a consultant or agency isn’t doing their job, it’s better to cut the cord sooner rather than later. You can’t keep throwing good money after bad.”
We went back and forth for a while, discussing the pros and cons. My client was understandably reluctant to make such a drastic move.
He wanted to give the agency a second chance, maybe extend the contract a little longer. But I knew this was just delaying the inevitable. Eventually, I convinced them that firing the agency was the best decision.
I left that dinner feeling good. I had saved my client $100,000 a year.
But the story doesn’t end there. The next morning, I received an email from my client. He told me that before he could fire the agency, they had beaten him to the punch. The agency had fired him!
I couldn’t believe it. Whether they had overheard our conversation (thank you, smartphones and their ever-present microphones) or they’d simply realized they weren’t living up to expectations, the agency had decided to cut ties. It was an ironic turn of events, to say the least.
The agency that had underperformed for eight months, taking a chunk of my client’s marketing budget, decided to fire the client.
In the end, the result was the same—my client no longer had to work with a service provider that wasn’t delivering.
But the twist was undeniable. I thought I had saved my client from a bad situation, but it turns out the agency took matters into their own hands.
So what’s the lesson here?
I’ve seen this happen time and time again: clients hold on to underperforming agencies or consultants far longer than they should. There’s always that desire to give them “one more chance.”
But in reality, the quicker you can recognize when something isn’t working and make the necessary change, the better off you’ll be.
Business is unpredictable, and this story is a reminder of that. But it also reinforces the importance of being decisive when things aren’t going in the right direction.
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