“i need a routine to get rid of customers” — field manual for strategic subtraction
less volume, higher margin. purge politely.
cold open
thirteen words that convert “customer service” into controlled demolition. drop them in a quarterly
alignment call—watch account managers reach for headsets, not handshakes.
the anatomy of calculated churn
“i need” — survival imperative, not suggestion.
“a routine” — process, scalable as regret.
“to get rid of” — efficiency through eviction.
“customers” — revenue drag disguised as loyalty metrics.
growth hacks sell. churn hacks save.
customer acquisition addiction vs. curation courage
brand cults preach “always be closing.” profit cults preach “always be pruning.”
the phrase slices vanity metrics—reminding the board that not all revenue
is created equal and some ARR should stand for accelerated removal roadmap.
29 % – average margin lift after cutting the bottom 15 % of accounts
11 hrs – weekly support time freed per “red-flag” client removed
1 – angry tweet required to drain a day of CSM bandwidth
exit-interview protocol
send the polite break-up email: “our priorities have shifted.”
double the price for rush support. invoice on receipt, not net-30.
if they stay, they upgrade. if they leave, you just upgraded.
we don’t scale headaches.
we firewall them.
footnote on selective scarcity
churn isn’t a leak; it’s a filtration system. sandbag the dam
and the whole river rises.
closer
say it once. watch support tickets sigh. then decide whether to automate the purge—
or sharpen the axe and swing manually.