Unresponsive Client Playbook

SOP: Unresponsive Client Playbook

Last Updated: May 2026 Version: 1.0 Owner: CSM

Working with Claude on this SOP

Claude can pull the conversation history from Task Tracker + GHL + Fathom for any client and tell you the last time they responded across every channel. Use it to confirm “client is unresponsive” is actually true before you escalate. Easy to think a client has gone silent when they’re actually responding on a channel you don’t check often.

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Purpose

Clients go silent. Sometimes for benign reasons (busy season, vacation), sometimes because they’re disengaged and headed for churn. The CSM’s job is to know the difference, run the right cadence per scenario, and escalate before silence turns into surprise cancellations.

This SOP covers:

• How to define “unresponsive” precisely
• The touch cadence by scenario (work-blocking vs. routine vs. payment)
• When to pause work
• When to escalate to Ops Lead or Nick
• When to consider offboarding

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Definition: What Counts as “Unresponsive”

Don’t escalate on a single missed reply. A client is unresponsive when ALL of these are true:

• The client has not responded to at least 2 outbound touches.
• At least 5 business days have passed since the first touch.
• The touches went to at least 2 different channels (Task Tracker + email, or email + text, etc.).
• There’s no obvious reason for silence in the conversation history (no “I’ll be out of town next week” message, no recent personal event mentioned).

If any of those isn’t true, keep working through the standard cadence. Don’t escalate yet.

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Three Scenarios, Three Different Cadences

The escalation cadence depends on what the client’s silence is blocking. Match the scenario to the cadence below.

Scenario A: Routine Check-In (no work blocked)

The client has gone silent on a casual update or non-blocking question. Work is continuing fine without their input.

Cadence:

Day	Action	Channel
Day 0	First message	Task Tracker
Day 3	Second message, friendly nudge	Task Tracker
Day 7	Third message, slight escalation	Email
Day 14	Phone call	Phone
Day 21	Phone call + voicemail	Phone
Day 30	Escalate to Ops Lead	Internal

If still no response by Day 30, log it as an engagement risk in Task Tracker and add a flag for the next monthly Loom video.

Scenario B: Work-Blocking (we can’t make progress without their input)

The client’s silence is blocking our deliverables. Examples: GBP verification needed, LSA budget approval, COI document needed, content approval, video filming.

Cadence:

Day	Action	Channel
Day 0	First message stating what’s blocked and why	Task Tracker
Day 2	Second message, restate what’s blocked	Task Tracker + email
Day 4	Third touch, more direct	Text + email
Day 7	Phone call + voicemail	Phone
Day 10	Escalate to Ops Lead	Internal
Day 14	Pause non-essential work, document in Task Tracker	Internal
Day 21	Final message stating work has been paused; reset clock	All channels

Key rule for Scenario B: state the consequence in writing by Day 4. Example: “If we don’t hear back by Friday, we’ll need to pause [specific deliverable] until you can review.”

Scenario C: Payment / Compliance Issue

The client is silent on something with financial or legal stakes — late payment, missing COI, expired credit card, fraud-flagged LSA charge, etc.

Cadence:

Day	Action	Channel
Day 0	First message	Task Tracker + email (always both for paper trail)
Day 2	Second message, more direct	Task Tracker + email
Day 4	Phone call + voicemail	Phone
Day 7	Escalate to Ops Lead	Internal
Day 10	Final notice with consequences	Email (formal tone)
Day 14	Pause services, notify client of pause	All channels

Key rule for Scenario C: every message goes in writing (Task Tracker + email at minimum). Do not handle payment issues over phone only. Paper trail matters if the client later disputes.

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When to Pause Work

Pausing work is a serious step. Use it when:

• Scenario B Day 14: work has been blocked for 2+ weeks and we can’t move forward.
• Scenario C Day 14: payment is more than 14 days late and client hasn’t acknowledged.
• Compliance failure: COI expired and client hasn’t replaced it (LSA campaigns must be paused per Google policy if COI lapses).

When pausing:

1. Notify the client in writing across all channels: “We’ve paused [specific service] effective [date] due to [reason]. We’ll resume immediately when [specific action] is complete.”
2. Document the pause in Task Tracker with date and reason.
3. Notify the relevant Specialists (GBP, SEO, LSA, Website) so they don’t continue work.
4. Set a calendar reminder to follow up in 7 days.

Do not silently stop working. A pause without notification damages the client relationship more than the underlying issue.

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When to Escalate to Ops Lead

Escalate to Ops Lead when:

• Scenario A: Day 30, no response after 5 touches across 3 channels.
• Scenario B: Day 10, work has been blocked for 10+ days.
• Scenario C: Day 7, payment or compliance issue with no acknowledgment.
• Any scenario: the client mentions cancellation, asks for a refund, or mentions a competitor.
• Any scenario: the silence pattern feels unusual for the client (e.g., a normally-responsive client goes silent for 10+ days).

The escalation is just an internal handoff. Ops Lead may take over communication, schedule a call directly with the client, or coach the CSM on the next steps. The CSM still owns the client relationship.

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When to Escalate to Nick

Ops Lead escalates to Nick when:

• The client is at risk of churning and the contract is high-value (12-month commitment, multi-location, etc.).
• The client is making a complaint that could become a public review or social post.
• The client is threatening legal action or chargeback.
• The CSM and Ops Lead have tried everything in this SOP and the client remains unresponsive past Day 30 in any scenario.

Nick gets a one-pager: client name, history, what’s been tried, what’s at stake, what we’re recommending.

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When to Consider Offboarding

Sometimes the right answer is to part ways. Recommend offboarding to Ops Lead when:

• Client has been unresponsive past Day 30 across multiple cycles (i.e., this is the third or fourth time they’ve gone silent for a month).
• Payment issues are recurring and not improving.
• Client repeatedly demands work outside the agreed scope without paying for it.
• Client is verbally abusive or disrespectful to the team.
• Client is no longer aligned with what we offer (e.g., explicitly says SEO isn’t a priority anymore but won’t formally cancel).

If Ops Lead approves offboarding, follow csm/offboarding.md.

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Multi-Channel Touch Best Practices

When the cadence calls for “all channels,” send each channel’s message slightly differently. Don’t copy-paste the same text. The client should feel a person is reaching out, not a script.

• Task Tracker: the system of record. Every touch goes here even if also sent elsewhere.
• Email: for the formal version, especially for payment / compliance.
• Text: for urgency and casual nudge. Keep short.
• Phone: for the human moment. Always leave a voicemail with a callback number.

For each touch, document in Task Tracker: date, channel, what was said, response received (if any).

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Documentation Template

Each escalation note in Task Tracker should follow this shape:

Unresponsive client status: [Client Name]
Scenario: [A / B / C]
First touch: [date]
Latest touch: [date]
Channels used: [Task Tracker, email, text, phone]
Response received: [yes/no, summary if yes]
Blocking work: [yes/no, what specifically]
Recommendation: [continue cadence / escalate / pause / offboard]

This makes it easy for Ops Lead or Nick to assess the situation in 30 seconds when escalation hits.

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Definition of Done (Per Unresponsive Client Cycle)

A cycle is “done” when ONE of these is true:

• Client has responded substantively and the underlying question is resolved.
• Work has been formally paused with written notification to the client and all relevant Specialists.
• Client has been escalated to Ops Lead with a complete documentation note in Task Tracker.
• Client has been formally offboarded per csm/offboarding.md.

A cycle is NOT done when:

• The CSM has stopped touching the client without explicit pause or offboarding.
• The CSM has continued working with no acknowledgment for 30+ days.

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Common Issues

Client said they’d respond by [date] and didn’t

Reset the clock starting from the missed deadline. Day 0 of the new cadence is the day they missed the commitment, not the day they originally went silent.

Client responds to one channel but ignores another

Use the channel they’re responding on. If they answer texts but ignore email, switch to text-first. Don’t insist on the channel that isn’t working.

Client is silent but their team / spouse / VA is responding

Confirm whether the alternate contact has decision-making authority. If yes, document and route through them. If not, the CSM still needs to reach the actual client for decisions.

Client says “yes go ahead” but never sends required input

Treat as Scenario B (work-blocking). The verbal “yes” doesn’t substitute for the required input. Send the request in writing and run the cadence.

Client is responsive on Loom video monthly reports but silent in between

Normal pattern for many clients. Don’t escalate based on between-update silence if no work is blocked. Use the monthly Loom as a re-engagement trigger.

Multiple clients go silent at once (seasonal pattern)

Some industries have predictable silent seasons (e.g., contractors during peak install months June-August). Note the pattern in client profiles and adjust expectations. Still run the cadence, but don’t escalate routine-check-in silence during known busy periods.

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Related SOPs & Resources

• csm/onboarding.md — Where client communication preferences are first captured.
• csm/offboarding.md — Process for parting ways formally.
• operations/escalation-ladder.md — General escalation framework across all client situations.
• Task Tracker — System of record for all touches and escalations.

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Version Control:

• v1.0 (2026-05): Initial draft. Three scenarios (routine, work-blocking, payment/compliance), three cadences, escalation rules, pause-work rules, offboarding triggers, and documentation template.