A Client Wants to Leave Your Agency. Here's Exactly What to Do.

Aaron Brewer

5d • Fulfillment Q's 🛃

You get the message.

"Hey, we've decided to go in a different direction."

Or worse.

"We're not happy with the results."

Your stomach drops.

And now you're scrambling.

Do you fight to keep them? Do you let them go? Do you offer a discount?

Most agencies handle this moment wrong.

Because they're reacting instead of responding.

They're emotional instead of strategic.

And they're trying to save a client that's already made up their mind.

But what if I told you there are three different stages where a client might leave.

And each one requires a completely different approach.

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Stage 3: The Red Zone (Crisis)

They've made their decision.

"We're leaving."

This is the hardest stage.

Because the emotional decision has already been made.

And most of the time, it's not actually about results.

It's about trust. It's about feeling heard. It's about believing you actually care.

What to do: Book an exit interview immediately.

This is your one shot.

Here's how to frame it: "I totally understand you want to leave. No problem whatsoever. Just to help us improve our service and make sure we get you offboarded the right way, let's have a quick 30-minute call to go over everything."

Pro tip: Include this in your contract from day one. Make exit interviews a requirement before clients can leave. It changes the dynamic completely.

On the exit interview, do three things:

1. Listen to their feedback.

Don't defend. Don't make excuses. Just listen.

Most clients won't tell you the real reason they're leaving at first. You have to dig.

Ask questions. Understand what went wrong.

This feedback is gold. Even if you don't save this client, you'll learn what to fix for the next one.

2. Find the problem and offer a solution.

Once you understand what went wrong, see if there's a solution.

Maybe they're not seeing results. Offer a free trial of an upsell service.

Maybe they need more support. Offer a higher-touch package for 14 days free.

Maybe it's a miscommunication. Show them the evidence and clarify.

The key: Present solutions, not excuses.

3. If nothing works, walk them through life without you.

This is the last resort.

Ask them: "How are you going to get results without us? What's your plan?"

Then offer them a deal: "Give us 14 days completely free. We'll work at maximum effort. If you don't see improvement, you can leave with no hard feelings."

This doesn't always work. But sometimes it's enough to change their mind. Worst case scenario you get feedback on what to do better next time

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Stage 2: The Yellow Zone (Reactive)

Now they're complaining.

"The results aren't what we expected."

"We're not seeing the ROI."

"We're thinking about making a change."

This is harder than the green zone.

Because now there's emotion involved.

They're frustrated. They're doubting the decision they made to hire you.

And they're looking for a reason to leave.

What to do: Don't defend. Don't make excuses. Don't offer a discount.

Instead, validate their concern. Show them you understand. Then show them the plan to fix it.

Say something like: "I hear you. Results haven't been where we want them. Here's exactly what we're going to change this week, and here's the timeline for when you'll see improvement."

Now you're not fighting them.

You're fighting alongside them.

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Stage 1: The Green Zone (Proactive)

This is where you spot a problem before the client even knows it's a problem.

Their results are slipping. Their engagement is down. Something's off.

But they haven't complained yet.

This is the easiest stage to save a client.

Because you're not fighting an emotional decision.

You're just fixing a problem.

What to do: Reach out proactively. Show them you're paying attention. Say something like: "Hey, I noticed your results dipped this week. Here's what I'm seeing and here's what we're going to do about it."

That's it.

You just saved a client by being proactive.

Here's the real insight.

Most agencies only operate in the red zone.

They only reach out when a client is already leaving.

And by then, it's too late.

The agencies that actually retain clients?

They operate in the green zone.

They're proactive. They're watching. They're spotting problems before they become crises.

And they're fixing them before the client even has to complain.

That's the difference between an agency that bleeds clients and an agency that keeps them.

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P.S.If you're just starting out and have fewer than 20 clients, don't stress too much about this yet. Churn becomes a real constraint once you're managing 20+ clients consistently. Until then, focus on getting to that point. Once you hit it, this becomes critical.

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