Have you been screwed over by someone stealing clients from your firm yet?

It has happened to me a few times over the last 15 years…

One lady ran off, set up her own business and took a big bunch of my files with her. If that wasn’t bad enough, she even attempted to un-arrange a meeting she had set up whilst employed by me so she could re-arrange it under her new firm and steal that fee!

It gets worse than that though…

Another time I discovered that one of my recruiters was passing the best CVs over to his friend who ran a competitor recruitment firm. He was sat there using my office and directing potential clients elsewhere! This guy was arranging meetings in his time off and evenings through that firm and not through mine even though I was paying the advertising costs for the CVs and for his wages!

That was pretty nasty.

This is the worse I ever got screwed though…

It was when my business partner and I decided to go separate ways about 12 years ago and wind down our headhunting business (Progression Consulting). We both set up separate firms and we simply agreed that the clients would do business with who they wanted and the staff would work for who they wanted.

No it wasn’t a problem between us, we just had a different vision, we still catch up for breakfast once a quarter.

Thing was, there was a six figure pipeline coming in so we left our bookkeeper in charge of the office to wind things down for 8 weeks so we could both crack on in our new ventures and she could invoice for us, take any calls and pass through messages to either of us.

So this book keeper has all the leads and clients ringing in to her on our old phone number for 2 months. She has all the supplier contracts, all the media contacts, all the client contracts and all of our people databases. Talk about a business in a box, this was warmed up on a plate!

Guess what? Yep, she sets up her own recruitment business in direct competition to us! She nicked the whole lot! Can you believe that? That book keeper completely abused her position and not only took over some contracts and stole some clients, she went and stole our whole business model!

Anyway this isn’t a pity party for old Steve, this is to share with you that sadly, these things can and do happen. Most people are honest and trustworthy but it pays to be cautious and a little suspicion is usually warranted.

Speaking with candidates, clients, buyers and sellers has put me in a position to see and hear many sides of arguments, splits and fall outs. What people do and don’t do to protect against these things.

HERE is some of that street nouse which will help you guard your client book, I just wish someone had bothered to write it for me 15 years ago!

If you have any other tips, thoughts or any similar tales of woe (hopefully you don’t!) then do share them with me.