Here’s why you can — and should — walk away from a toxic client
The Leaderboard: real-world advice for women who lead with grit, grace and good grammar
There’s a silent badge of honour in comms that too many of us wear without even realising it: putting up with difficult clients.
If you haven’t experienced it directly yourself, are you sure you work in comms? There’s the subject matter expert who puts nonsensical edits and cryptic comments on a press release at 11pm when they know it’s supposed to go out the next morning. Then there’s the CEO, who treats you like a personal assistant and expects that when he says “jump” you’ll say “how high?” Oh, and what about the marketing VP/director who ghosts you for weeks when you ask for input, but still demands a next-day turnaround on a new project that’s not even anywhere on the content plan?
I know you know all of those people.
There’s a difference between a demanding client and a toxic one. And if you’re working with the latter — whether you’re working freelance or agency-side — you absolutely can and should walk away if there’s no likelihood they are going to change the way they work with you.
Yes, walk away even if they’re a big-name brand. Even if they do pay well. Even if you're worried about the reputational repercussions of ending the relationship.
Because here’s the truth: toxic clients don’t just drain your time. They make it harder to do good work that makes a real impact, because they waste your time by constantly changing the goalposts on you. They drain your confidence, your wellbeing, and your long-term career potential. They chip away at the kind of work you want to be known for. And in a field as people-centric as comms, that matters.
What exactly is a toxic client?
A toxic client isn’t just one who’s merely hard to please or operates in a high-pressure sector. Here’s how you can spot them from a mile away:
Toxic clients disrespect boundaries. They expect immediate responses at all hours and don’t honour your working hours or scope.
They undervalue your expertise. They micromanage or override your advice constantly, often with little understanding of your craft.
They also tend to blame you when their plans don’t get results. You’re always the scapegoat when the thing they insisted on doing doesn’t go perfectly — even when you recommended against doing it.
Toxic clients create unnecessary stress. They make you dread meetings because they are unreasonable and combative. You feel constantly anxious or depleted. You second-guess yourself more than usual.
They usually don’t pay on time — or at all. They constantly question the “value” you bring to the table and disregard the hours you’ve put in to justify why they won’t pay on time.
Sometimes it starts small; maybe a few aggressive emails or a last-minute audacious demand that creates a panic. But over time, it builds into a pattern, and that’s when it becomes toxic.
What are the red flags to watch for?
Whether you’re scoping a new client or reviewing an existing one, pay attention to these four early warning signs:
Vagueness about goals or budget
If they can’t tell you what success looks like, or keep dodging fee conversations, run.
High agency turnover
If they've burned through several different agencies or freelancers in the last couple of years, that’s not just a coincidence.
Power imbalance
Do they talk down to you, or expect you to be endlessly grateful for the “opportunity” to work with them?
Bad vibes
100% trust your gut at all times. Don’t second guess yourself. If something feels off during the pitching phase, that feeling is probably only going to get worse when you actually start working with them.
When to walk away — and how to calculate the risk
Not every tough client relationship requires a dramatic exit. Sometimes you can intervene and put more boundaries in place to stop it from getting out of control.
But if you’re asking yourself “is this still worth it?” more than once a week, it’s time to re-assess.
Try this simple formula:
Is (Time + Emotional Cost) > (Money + Portfolio Value + Relationships)?
If the stress, hours and frustration outweigh the pay, the exposure, or the relationship-building potential, it’s probably time to part ways. Especially if staying means compromising your values, overworking your team, or under-delivering to other clients.
Your energy is a finite resource, and your profitability is based on the number of hours it takes you to complete a task, which is paid at a certain rate.
You should never, ever be overservicing your clients. You’re selling yourself short and giving away billable time just to keep a bad client happy, but guess what? Bad clients are never happy, even if you turn yourself inside out and upside down to please them.
Just because you're capable of pushing through doesn’t mean you should.
How to avoid mismatched clients in the first place
Prevention is always better than the potential drama of having to part ways with a client. Here’s how you can vet new clients before saying yes to make sure you don’t get burned:
1. Ask the right questions in discovery
What’s your comms goal for the next 6–12 months?
Have you worked with freelancers/agencies before? What worked, what didn’t?
What’s your approval process like?
How would you describe your company culture?
The answers will tell you almost everything you need to know about expectations, processes and alignment.
2. Be clear on boundaries up front
Spell out your availability, revision limits, and turnaround times in your onboarding pack or proposal. People who push back early when you start setting these boundaries? Red flag.
3. Follow your own values
If your clients are aligned with your way of thinking about how to do business, it can cause some serious issues.
For instance, if you care deeply about ethics, don’t take on clients who seem like they play fast and loose with the rules. If you’re committed to DEI or sustainability, say no to those who treat it as a tick-box exercise. If you deeply believe in the effectiveness of strategic planning, why work with someone who only wants to see quick wins and won’t invest in a long-term plan?
Don’t let short-term FOMO override your long-term brand.
What to do when a good client starts going bad
It’s also worth pointing out that some toxic client relationships don’t start that way right off the bat. They can turn sour over time, especially if you let little things slide too often.
Here’s how to reset when a once-healthy dynamic starts slipping:
1. Take the temperature regularly
Monitor the status of your work with the client against agreed KPIs at regular intervals. This will keep their expectations on track, especially if they have the kind of brain that makes a lot of brilliant people change their focus from one moment to the next and don’t remember what you’ve agreed to previously.
You should also give your client the opportunity to have their say about the work you’ve been doing - consider offering clients a short survey questionnaire on a frequent basis that might flag up any potential issues in time to do something about them proactively.
2.Have a “boundaries reset” conversation
If you’ve noticed the dreaded “scope creep”, it’s always best to tackle it head-on as soon as possible. Frame it professionally. Maybe say something like this: “I’ve noticed we’re drifting a bit from the way we agreed to work together. Can we revisit how we’re collaborating and align again on expectations?”
Sometimes people don’t realise how much their demands have shifted from the original agreement. A gentle reset can go a long way.
3. Document everything
Keep written records of key decisions, approvals and timelines. If things go south, it protects your boundaries and helps to keep things clear.
4. Set a review period
If things don’t improve, set a formal notice period for ending the relationship. Freelancers should have this baked into contracts. Agency-side? Escalate internally and advocate for reassignments or phased exits.
What you can do if you’re an account lead or manager in an agency
Your line manager may not always agree that it's necessary to walk away from a toxic client, but you still have the power to speak up and make others aware if you believe that the situation is unsustainable.
If you’re managing juniors, you have to protect your team. Shield them as much as possible from abusive or undermining behaviour. Step in on tough calls. Raise it internally and tell the leadership that that kind of behaviour is unacceptable.
If a client is underpaying and overusing the team, make a case for resourcing changes to senior leadership. Back your complaints up with solid data to show them how much profit they are losing.
And finally, ask the question of your leadership: “is this account worth losing great team members over?” if you think talented people on your team might go elsewhere rather than have to put up with a toxic client indefinitely.
Walking away can be the toughest, but smartest, kind of leadership
I’ll end off by reiterating that setting boundaries and reinforcing them isn’t a sign of weakness. Walking away from bad work is one of the strongest moves you can make, especially if you're building a business or a leadership reputation. And yes, it’s such a hard decision to make when you’re really relying on that contract.
The right clients — the ones who respect your time, your expertise and your values — are out there. But they can’t find you (and you can’t find them) if you’re stuck drowning in pointless work for the wrong clients.
As the writer and philosopher Ayn Rand puts it:
“He is free to evade reality, he is free to unfocus his mind and stumble blindly down any road he pleases, but not free to avoid the abyss he refuses to see.”
So keep your eyes open. Walk the other way before you fall head-first into the abyss.
Your future self will thank you.