Saying No In Business
I had a great 1-to-1 with a newish member of our networking group this week. We learnt all sorts of fascinating things, and also got to understand each other’s approach to business and clients.
One thing we agreed on is that understanding what you’re really good at and sticking to that is a great business strategy.
Whereas allowing yourself to be dragged off track constantly because you’re too worried to say no to anything in business is a terrible strategy!
It reminded me of a business that was part of the BNI chapter I used to be in many moons ago (yes, I admit it, I used to be a BNI member, but it’s OK, I’m fully recovered now 😉). This was a marketing business who used to very proudly share their approach to business as … “whenever a customer asks us if we can do something for them we say yes, and then work out how to do it later.”
Now in my book, that’s NOT great service, it’s exactly the opposite. Because the customer doesn’t get the expertise they probably need, and the supplier is off at a bazillion tangents trying to be all things to all people.
It’s a great strategy if your business sells headless chickens or blue ar**d flies, but otherwise it’s a recipe for overwhelm, distraction and unfocused mayhem.
Most of the time it’s easier to say yes than to say no though, isn’t it?
Maybe you don’t want to offend a customer, or don’t want them to think that you can’t fulfil all their needs. Maybe you’re naturally helpful and see it as letting people down if you say no. Maybe you already know you don’t have time for those extra 27 meetings, or that piece of work that you would have loved 3 years ago but you’ve totally outgrown now.
But you worry about how to say no without looking like a big-headed, arrogant, unhelpful, bleeeep?
Let’s just pause for a minute though and think about this obsession with ‘yes’ and this feeling that it’s the only positive response. Because the truth is that until you learn to say no in your business, you’ll inevitably stifle your own growth.
By saying yes to customers who are really too small for you or who ask for things that aren’t your sweet spot you’ll limit your capacity and your profitability.
And wouldn’t it actually be better for those customers to work with somebody who’s really passionate about that type of client or that type of work? What if saying no more actually created more of the classic win-win scenarios that we’re constantly seeking.
Aaaaand it freed up your time and brain space to focus on newer, juicier clients who are now the perfect fit.
Learning to say no to the right things in business is actually a winner for everybody.
Which is why this week’s tips video shares some of my favourite advice about learning to say no and recognising that it’s in everybody’s best interests.
Of course, if you know you need to set stronger boundaries and become more assertive in your business, then I’m here to help. Why not book in for a 15 minute chinwag so we can talk about how that could work?
