Clients can be the most rewarding part of being a Fractional CFO… but they can also be the most frustrating. 

You know, when they do things like… 

• Push boundaries

• Have crazy expectations

• Show up for meetings unprepared

• Text you, Slack you, Voxer you, and DM you

• Refuse to communicate with your team (aka always contact YOU)

I don’t know about you, but these are among my top frustrations.

But here’s the thing, as frustrating as these are, I’ve found that the root cause is typically ME - not the client. And it usually stems from the fact that I haven’t been clear with the client about what to expect and what to do.

Dave Ramsey says that “being unclear is being unkind.” If you fail to set clear expectations at the outset of a client relationship, you’re missing an opportunity to care for your clients. And you can hardly blame them when they frustrate you. 

Good news:
There’s a simple solution.
Proper expectation setting is the key to getting rid of all of these client frustrations. 

In today’s edition, I’m going to give you 6 tips for eliminating the most common causes of client frustrations.

#1. Introduce Your Full Team at the Start

Unless you’re a brand-new solopreneur, you have a team. Maybe it’s only your executive assistant. Maybe it’s ten other teammates. Either way, introduce your client to every member of your team that they’ll interact with regularly.

This isn’t complicated. Go around the room (or the Zoom room) and give names and titles: “You know me already, Michael King. I’m your Fractional CFO. I want to make sure you know Ben, my Executive Assistant. And this is Mistie, our CBO.”

#2. Tell Them Who to Reach Out To

Fractional CFOs who remember step 1 still drop the ball here. After you introduce your team, tell your client who to reach out to for each type of need or question they’ll have.

 If you don’t do this, you’ll get one of two bad outcomes (or both):

1. The client contacts you for everything, because you’re The Important Guy—even stuff that your team could handle independently.

2. The client contacts everyone for everything, which means your team members will waste time wondering, “Is this email for me? Oh, no, moving on. How about this one? Yeah, probably.”

Explain the role of each member on your team. Give examples of when it would be appropriate to contact each of them. 

Some fCFOs fail to do this from a misguided notion that the client will feel pushed away, as though you’re trying to restrict access to yourself because you have a gigantic ego. But your client won’t feel insulted if you frame it correctly. You’re not saying, “Leave me alone.” You’re saying, “Contact me about any subject in my zone of genius—and direct the rest to my team.”

#3. Share How You Communicate (and How You Don’t)

Back in Ye Olden Days (aka 2010), “digital communication” meant email. Now we suffer from a deluge of options. We regularly find ourselves searching through a half-dozen communication platforms to find a single message: email, Slack, Teams, text messages, DMs on social media platforms, and more.

When you text a client that you got the email they forwarded from their teammate with a question about the report you posted in Slack… it’s no wonder messages get missed. 

Tell your client the best way to reach you. They will not get mad. You aren’t restricting access, as though only VIP Clients get the privilege of texting you. Rather, you’re owning up to your own preferences and limitations, so your client can be confident you’ll see their message and get them a timely reply.

Do you love texting? Hate Slack? Live in your email? Ignore your voicemail? Tell your client! 

Are you worried you’ll offend your client by making a channel off-limits? Try humor. “Look, I’m a horrible texter. I have like 54 unread text messages right now. Your questions are important to me, so if you want to ask about CFO stuff, send me a direct message on Teams. I’ll always see it within a few hours.”

#4. Review Scope of Work

You explained the scope of your services during the sales call. (At least I hope you did!) But your client is no elephant: Don’t count on perfect recall. 

People get hyped up during the sales process. They’re so blown away by the cash flow forecast idea, they forget the details of exactly what’s going on. So review the scope again—on your onboarding call, on your recap email, even on your invoice.

This step heads off so many future misunderstandings (and so much frustration). Many clients assume “CFO” means everything finance-related. (You’re an Official Finance Person!) So they ask you about bookkeeping, payroll, or even tax prep. Or they try to pull you into weekly ops meetings or recurring calls that were never part of the deal. 

Many of these efforts are well-intentioned on the client’s part: “Oh, Michael should know about this change to our payroll process! Let’s invite him to the meeting!” But we (I) end up frustrated because we feel obligated to attend, even though it’s not a good use of our time and doesn’t really benefit the client either.

 Be proactive. List out what’s included in your scope, and then clearly state what’s not. For example:

• Included: financial modeling, cash flow management, budget reviews.

• Not included: bookkeeping, payroll processing, or tax return prep.

#5. Lay Out the Timeline

Have you ever signed a client, and 24 hours after the proverbial ink dries on the contract, they're emailing you to ask:

• “When will the forecasts be done?”

• “When will the 2-year financial strategy be ready?”

• “When do you plan to have our margins increased from 3% to 30%?”

You feel frustrated because they’re expecting immediate magical results. But… consider it from their point of view. 

Your client just paid you $5,000–$7,000 for onboarding. (That’s what we charge at Civil CFO, by the way. It’s not crazy.) Plus the first month’s payment. So they may be out $11,000 or more on Day One. No matter how much they like you, the loss-aversion part of their brain will be flashing a red alert. That’s why they’re sending you so many emails and asking for deadlines on everything.

Your client doesn’t actually want all that stuff “by yesterday.” They just want to know what’s next & how soon.

You can calm down their loss-aversion alarm by laying out a clear timeline of the next few milestones, like:

• Host an orientation call

• Get access to QuickBooks, etc.

• Begin work on first CFO Report

• Schedule a Report Call within 10 days

• Transition into monthly CFO Cycle

We’ve all gotten that client email that just says, “What’s next?” Good news: If you share the timeline early (and repeatedly), you don’t have to get that email ever again.

#6. Set Standards for Meeting Behavior

Have you ever had a client join a CFO Call from their iPhone while driving down the interstate? I have. It’s frustrating. The CEO is not fully present and not paying attention, so I feel like the insights I share are getting devalued. 

Beyond that, the CEO isn’t going to get much value out of the call, because he’s devaluing it in his own mind. He won’t extract much value because he’s busy trying to make sure the Ford F-250 that just cut him off doesn’t get to the exit ramp before he does. “Screw him, I’m getting back in front! Oh, what was that about our gross margins?”

Your clients want to get a lot out of your CFO Calls. But sometimes they show up, and you can tell they’re not fully present. It may be for an obvious reason (driving down the interstate), or for a not-so-obvious reason (you can just tell something unspoken is weighing on them).

Clients attend your CFO Calls in between putting out fires and running the rest of their business. It’s unavoidable that they’ll occasionally show up distracted, unprepared, or late. But you want that to be the exception, rather than the rule.

I know that the Fractional CFO clients who succeed are the ones who show up ready, attentive, and eager to extract every drop of value. So I consider it part of my responsibility as their Fractional CFO to guide them toward productive meetings. 

That means you should address issues like:

• How much time do they need to reserve on their calendar? If other commitments are likely to make them arrive late or leave early, what’s acceptable and what requires a reschedule?

• Do you expect them to have their camera on? What about other members of their team?

• What kind of environment should they be in? How quiet and isolated should it be? Is a coffee shop okay

• What about at home with their kids in the next room?

• What should they review ahead of the call? And what kind of questions should they come with? 

Conclusion

Your clients really aren’t trying to make your life miserable. Most of them want this relationship to succeed just as much as you do. They’re likely tired, overworked, and overwhelmed. They spend all day making decisions and answering questions for everyone else. So, you can actually help them by fully owning your area of expertise. Unexpectedly enough, even “high-powered CEOs” tend to be grateful when you explain how they can succeed with a Fractional CFO. Most will gladly abide by the standards you lay out. 

Some days we feel frustrated. It’s part of doing business. But frustration with clients shouldn’t be your normal state, and it doesn’t have to be. If you wonder why there’s tension and confusion in your FCFO relationships, work through these steps. Expect to be pleasantly surprised by how well your clients respond.