How to fire a client/customer

Marc Simms was two years into his sales and marketing consulting business in 2009 when a client — nearly one-third of his revenue — began to exhibit some questionable behavior.

One example: The client was about to fire an employee he believed was underachieving. Simms recommend another route — not an outright firing. But the client persisted and asked Simms to be there for the termination. Simms was there, and after what he called a grueling 35 minutes, the employee was fired and left the office. “The client then pulled a loaded Glock out of his pocket, put it on the desk and said, “‘I’m glad I didn’t have to use that,’” Simms says. “I knew right then I had to let him go.”