Profitability is a client-fit signal

An apparently successful client can consume more effort than the fee supports. Frequent revisions, fragmented stakeholders and urgent requests may turn attractive revenue into poor economics. This is not always a pricing failure; it can reveal a mismatch in how the two organisations work.

Review contribution after direct delivery costs and the commercial effort needed to win and retain the account. Include coordination, unpaid preparation and rework. Do not allocate every general overhead arbitrarily and then pretend the resulting figure is exact.

Look at causes before drawing conclusions. A new service may be expensive because the firm is still learning. An under-scoped project may be the supplier's responsibility. A client with legitimate complexity may need a different engagement design rather than a label of "difficult".

Where the pattern is persistent, discuss it. Consolidated feedback, a single decision owner or clearer approval stages can improve both client experience and margin. Raising the fee without addressing the operating friction may simply make an unsatisfactory relationship more expensive.

Some low-margin work has a deliberate purpose, such as developing a capability or entering a market. Make that investment explicit and time-bounded. Otherwise every weak account acquires a strategic justification after the fact.

The objective is not to serve only easy clients. It is to understand what makes work economically and professionally sustainable, then select and design engagements accordingly.