The Consequences Behind a Lack of Communication

Recently, we had to suspend a client due to nonpayment. In episode 202 of Journey to $100 Million, Erik explains this painful situation that left the Array Digital team perplexed.

This was a priority 1 client, meaning that they were top tier. Erik recently had a long face-to-face meeting, as he does every quarter, with this client and felt that he and the owner really connected. Three weeks after this meeting and this client had not paid their invoice. They were 35 days late and the next invoice had already come around.

Erik called both of the owners multiple times, left voicemails, sent emails, and even left messages to the administrative assistant that she said she had been passing along. Erik never heard back – not a word. So he ended up suspending the client’s services. One week later after the suspension, the client ended up paying the bill and their services were turned back on, but this situation left Erik on edge. He felt the lack of communication was peculiar, especially when we’d been forced to suspend their website and marketing initiatives.

The key takeaway here is this: if someone is trying to get in touch with you, just respond. No one wants to wait around for an email for 5 days until you have all the info you need to respond intelligently – they will think you are ignoring them. It is best when you get an email or phone call, even if you are not ready to have that conversation, to just let them know you got their message and you will get back in touch with them later. Just return the communication in one fashion or another. People appreciate it.