How to talk without saying anything short of obvious

Today I went back to Confex. I was thinking about doing so again, having been Tuesday, and a call from a colleague taking the day off work to do it swung it. We wandered around, got food, wandered more then attended two seminars. The second (on how to increase sales in the current climate, and using this quiet time to create new, more efficient processes) was genuinely useful if a bit obvious, but put together in an extremely accessible way. Fine. It's just the first seminar which we both came out of looking at each other going "huh?"... It was meant to be on 'How To Fire Your Client'.

Want to see my notes? Here they are:

6-8 months recovery when wrong staff taken on
Not so clinical on client end
How big are they, how often do they want to work with you
Focus on clients that can be nurtured
Is that your best price
Apply to client when checking for chemistry with client
If chemistry is strong enough with client, silence game
shouldn't need to be played when negotiating
Lifetime value of a customer - will bringing in new clients
cause neglect to existing ones
Take time out for small session with client e.g. coffee and
sandwich
Target during quiet spending/buying cycles
Aim into three or four options on the methods of marketing
which suit your style
To grow business get closer to those that really matter
that it will have an impact with
Open and honest conversations with top clients
Specific timeframe on each area
Half hour slots
Schedule week specifically
Time sheet is for self only, use red for faffing about -
use bento for this mixed with calendar
Half hour windows and mark up once each half hour is
complete
Choose clients only that you want to work with

Please, if you can, find something in there that isn't immediately and totally obvious to you as a working bod.

What it is, is a list of things that lead to pertinent questions.

How do you identify clients which will be a hindrance to resources/time/morale? At what stage? How can you not sound impertinent asking the establishing questions to work this out? How do you go about asking your workforce which clients are more trouble than they're worth? How do you create an atmosphere where that's a viable question to put to your workforce, that won't scare employees into thinking it's a trick? Is this something you can find a way to discuss with an identified problem client? How could this be done? How do you 'fire' your client without legal ramifications? Or, frankly, without damaging your reputation?

One thing, and one thing only was genuinely useful - creating a faff schedule, something as a freelancer I will put into action for obvious reasons. I just want to see what I do with my day.

I've always been a firm believer in notes. I listen and pick out important points, then phrase them on paper in my own voice as the discussion goes on. Usually they're rough, stuccato affairs, where I fill in the blanks later with what I didn't have time to note down. Above you'll notice this isn't the case. What's up there is almost exactly what he said (from the negotiating part down it's pretty much verbatim, above that works backwards into my initial sketch-style notes), but with less pointless waffling on. I had time to zone out and write the whole thing down out of boredom, whilst he continued on revising the same points again and again without moving onto the actual process he was discussing itself.

The notes also reveal I'm using Bento at the moment.

I can only say I was very, very bored. And that my mate and I came up with a puffickly her-YUGE list of questions which would have made a useful and interesting talk. More than what's above. The two of us on stools ranting about it would have had more impact and been more relevant. Even if I say so myself.

Anyway, time for bed. Loooooong day, and a longer one tomorrow. Joy. Night.