I’ve had a client I’ve worked with for over three years now. When I first met him, Andy, the owner, had one crew that he personally ran, and I was the only outside support handling SEO for him.
Fast forward to today, and Andy has people door-knocking, cold calling, managing social media, and running paid ads. It’s been pretty amazing to watch his business grow. I joke with him that it’s all because of SEO, but the truth is, he’s one of the hardest-working guys I’ve ever met.
So why does this matter? Almost everything I just mentioned is now handled in-house for him, except one thing: SEO. That’s still me.
A big part of that comes from the partnership we’ve built and the fact that we’ve grown together, which I’m genuinely thankful for. Recently, though, he brought up the idea of my coming in-house. The pay sounded good, and the benefits would definitely be nice, but I’ve worked at an agency before, and the main reason I left was that I wanted to own my own business.
I want to turn the offer down, but I also don’t want it to damage the relationship. I realize he may eventually bring SEO in-house as he has with everything else, but is there a way to decline the offer without ruining the partnership?
How do I turn down my clients offer without ruining the relationship?
byu/AtlasSEOGuy inEntrepreneur
Posted by AtlasSEOGuy
2 Comments
go for retainer
Imo the relationship is cooked. He already crossed a major line asking you to work for him. At best he sees your struggling or thinks it’s a win win. At worst he doesn’t respect you as an entrepreneur. Regardless focus on your plan of action and plan for all outcomes. Goodluck.