Fifteen reasons why we shouldn’t work together

We were coaching a client recently who had a gut feeling that a project he had been asked to work on may go sour. Obviously we discussed the scope of supply, the terms, the commercials, but he seemed nervous about the personality of the client. So, jokingly (half-jokingly?) we suggested he should write a blog article ‘ten reasons why we shouldn’t work together’.

Have you such a list? Would you be brave enough to compile one and blog about it?
Do you have clients you wish you could fire?

We’d love to see your list. We had to stop at 15 reasons… 😊
If you are reading this, don’t worry, you’re safe, we’re all good. High five…sorry fist bump it’s 2021 after all.

Here are the 15 reasons why we SHOULDN’T work together…

1. You sent an interesting CEO a connection request on LinkedIn and he didn’t reply.

Did you offer him any value or did you go straight in for the ask? We are huge believers in relationship building and giving what you can for free, Far North is in this game for the next 30 years. Therefore, follow this rule and you will succeed. Yes, we hug trees too.

2. You run unattributable marketing and you’ve never ran a Facebook ad as they don’t work.

You hire billboards and adverts on buses because social media can’t work for B2B.
What platform do you think the employees of company X are checking 14 times a day?
We love real data, not a guess of how many times a bus is seen per day.

3. Your boss read an article on Techcrunch that said Social Media doesn’t work.

Enjoy thumbing through the yellow pages. It still exists, right?

4. You’re shopping around for the cheapest price.

Buy cheap-buy twice has never been truer than in business. Of course, when you find this out, it is often too late. Far North will never offer the cheapest service. So, our MD (Ian) and staff put in far more time, focus, and energy than they promise to. This is our USP.

5. Your nephew is a web designer and would do it different.

Web design is so much more than a good-looking website. There is conversion optimisation, social integration and the user experience to take into account plus so much more that goes into a design. Ensure you are thinking holistically.

6. Your suppliers keep under-performing/quitting.

Unfortunately, you may have accidentally chosen unwisely, it could just be bad luck. However, if this keeps occurring it is possible your expectations may not be achievable, or if it’s the way you work, we may not be a good fit for each other.

7. You’re too busy to be involved.

We don’t need you 24/7 on the end of a phone but will need your input initially and for you to periodically check-in and comment on project progress. So, without communication, we will ultimately fail.

8. You aren’t a fan of deadlines.

If you aren’t able to keep to deadlines this will affect our project. It will also impact further projects we are both working on or due to begin. Communication and respect of each other’s time is paramount.

9. Your 22-year-old life coach advises against a business coach.

There is no substitute for experience. Five years of your ‘adviser’ doing it as a millennial doesn’t cut it. Sorry.

10. You think what we do is easy.

If it is easy we will tell you. Instantly. If we tell you it isn’t, trust us, we’re not looking to inflate the hours needed to earn an extra buck, Far North wants you as a long-standing client and for you to refer us.

11. You don’t want to grow your enterprise.

Everything we do is with growth in mind. For instance, we are results driven and we need you to have similar aspirations.

12. You’re more concerned with Cost Control than Return on Investment.

If marketing is the first thing to be cut when the sales pipeline is drying up you won’t like what we recommend.

13. You don’t know if you want to work with us.

Check out some of our case studies, testimonials and LinkedIn recommendations. Feel free to ask to speak to one of our clients. Subscribe to the Far North newsletter to get a feel of how we roll. We love 100% of our clients, seriously we do (stop blushing). We want to keep this stat, if you think we aren’t a fit, go with your gut, Far North does.

14. You thought of Uber first.

An idea is just that unless you execute. Far North only works with people who are willing to take action.

15. You can’t remember the last project you enjoyed.

You’ve probably noticed by now we LOVE this stuff and like to work with partners with a good sense of humour. Above all, if you aren’t passionate about your business and think smiling is only for the weekends, move along, nothing to see here.

Feel free to comment below and let us know some of your reasons 🙂

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Ian Farrar

Managing Director at Far North Ltd

Sales & Marketing Professional
Ian is also podcast host at www.IndustryAngel.com