Saying No.
No is a word with a negative connotation. In modern society we’re often taught that saying no is ‘impolite’ or ‘rude’ because. In fact, we always try our best to emphasise positivity in relationship building. I’m guilty of this as well. Heck, even I sign off my blogs with a saccharine ‘Stay Positive!’ (seriously though, you need to stay positive to survive this difficult world). No is a bit of a ‘bad word’ for lots of new business owners. Many new business owner will say yes to any offer, if it means they can make a bit of money. Many more will say ‘yes’ to terms that aren’t favorable to them, just to appease that client. I’m guilty of this too.
As I mature as a business owner, I begin to understand that my time is precious. So precious that I can’t be saying ‘yes’ to every opportunity that comes knocking on my door. My time is valuable – too valuable to waste on people who don’t respect it. When a business owner has a lot of demands on their time – the most powerful thing they can do is to learn how to say ‘No’.
Saying no isn’t negative
Staying positive is important for all business owners. You are fighting a constant uphill battle while dealing with challenges from all sides. Hence having a positive outlook helps preserve your mental health so that you can remain disciplined and motivated. It is important to remember that staying positive does not mean you cannot say no.
Quite the opposite – by knowing when to say no, you establish healthy boundaries between you and your stakeholders (clients, suppliers, partners etc.). These healthy boundaries denote the value of your time. Setting healthy boundaries helps build POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS between you and your stakeholders. These boundaries clearly denote things that you will or won’t do for your stakeholders. It also prevents you from getting pushed around or made to accept unreasonable engagements.
How to say no
Well, I mean, open your mouth and say ‘no’.
Ok, seriously though – saying no can be difficult. Often there is a lot riding on a conversation – your reputation, your relationship with the other person and your future growth. So saying no can be a hard thing to do. Let’s take an example:
Chani has just started a web development business. She has a few successful jobs under her belt and she’s looking at acquiring two more clients before the end of the month. Chani has been in talks with a prospect who is keen on getting some web development work done. Chani clearly states her going rates, and gives the prospect a figure for the project. The prospect seems offended by the figure and goes on to say that other web developers will do it for cheaper. They then try to negotiate for a lower price.
Classic cheapskate client scenario – what should Chani do? At this stage, a few things are going through Chani’s mind:
- “Gosh, are my prices REALLY unreasonable? I mean, I know other people do it for cheaper, but my time is not worth THAT little!”
- “If I don’t keep this prospect happy, they may turn around and bad mouth me to other potential prospects! That’s not good for my business!”
- “If I agree to their rates, I might get burned out knowing that I’m putting in a lot of effort for very low pay,”
These are things that will go through most business owner’s minds when facing this situation. It is also normal for things to look more dire in our minds than it would in real life. So before you say ‘yes’ to what is obviously a bad deal, remember that:
- Your prices AREN’T unreasonable – so long as you’ve done your market research and have had a few happy clients serviced at those rates, you MUST stick by your value.
- Your happiness is more important than the prospect’s happiness. Never agree to a bad deal just to keep the other party ‘happy’.
- Your time is precious. By saying no to a difficult prospect, you free up time to work with more positive individuals in the future.
Chani gathers up her courage and politely says: “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I will be able to deliver that level of service at the price that you want,”.
At this stage, most prospects will take the hint and leave you alone. Some will wheel and deal and try to keep haggling. Some may even become abusive and hurl insults at you (in which case you should hang up/remove yourself from the situation). In any case, if a client persists in being troublesome – recommend them to your competitors. This has the effect of showing that you still ‘care’ about the prospect’s needs AND you can potentially saddle your competitor with a bad client – double win, WOOHOO!
Saying no is good for you
It is. Having the confidence to turn down bad engagements is liberating. It gives you self-confidence. It also projects what your services are worth to all your future prospects. More importantly, it gives you more time to focus on building up the relationships you have with good clients.
Saying no is also good for your personal life as well. In our lives we may be asked or pressured to take on things we don’t want to. Remember that you can always say no.
Say yes to saying no!
And remember –
Stay positive!