Every engagement ends, and most people handle the ending badly — slow replies, a rushed handover, a quiet resentment about the budget that disappeared. It is a strange place to be careless, because the ending is what people remember.
Offboard deliberately
- Hand over everything: files, access, credentials, documentation. Cleanly and promptly.
- Write a short summary of what was done and what you would do next.
- Say what happens if they need you: rates, availability, how to get back in.
- Ask for the testimonial and the referral now, while goodwill is at its peak.
That last one has a narrow window. Two weeks after a good project, people are delighted and will happily write three sentences. Two months later they are busy with something else.
Ask why, and listen
If they are leaving for a reason other than the work simply being finished, ask directly and do not defend. "What would we have needed to do differently?" gets an honest answer surprisingly often, and one honest answer is worth more than a survey.
Win-backs are cheap
A client who left on good terms is the warmest lead you will ever have. Circumstances change — budgets return, the cheaper vendor disappoints, the in-house hire leaves. A friendly note twice a year, with something useful in it rather than a pitch, is enough to be the person they call.
Try it
List every client from the last two years who ended well. Send two of them a genuinely useful message this week — something you noticed about their business, no ask attached.