Our biggest customer just gave notice. What should we do in the first two days?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Establish the financial facts before announcing a recovery plan. A major account loss is a cash, capacity, and customer-risk problem, not just a sales target to replace.

Confirm what is actually ending: the whole relationship, one contract, a location, or a project. Review notice requirements, outstanding invoices, delivery obligations, and transition commitments. Have qualified advisers review contractual questions rather than assuming notice means revenue stops immediately.

Build a cash forecast that separates confirmed receipts from hoped-for replacement sales. Identify the contribution the account generated, which costs disappear with it, and which costs remain. Lost revenue alone does not tell you the size of the operating problem.

Give each immediate action one owner and a deadline:
- Verify the customer's decision and effective dates.
- Establish collection and transition responsibilities.
- Identify discretionary commitments that can safely wait.
- Check whether other customers share the same reason for leaving.
- Set the next leadership decision point.

Keep EOS running. Put the central issue on the Issues List and use IDS, Identify, Discuss, Solve, to reach decisions rather than repeatedly recounting the bad news.

Do not assume the account can be saved or that replacement revenue will arrive quickly. Your first plan should work without either outcome. Recovery opportunities can improve that plan later.