Friday, September 21, 2012

Saying “No” to Make a Profit


The customer is always right and saying no is a sure fire way to end your business success.  So saying “no” creatively is a vital skill and it is crucial to closing deals and increasing sales.


Life is a helluva lot more fun if you say yes rather than no.
Richard Branson


The answer after all is always yes because yes allows a way forward.  Can the client have everything they want at a lower price?  Yes, they usually can.  In my business (I have a staffing company) clients send me all types of requests and many of them are asking for my staff at reduced rates.  My answer is usually “Yes, if you can guarantee volume”. 

Clients sometimes want to meet the temp staff that I will provide for them before the event date and my answer is “Yes, and I will forgo the usual five hour minimum and only charge for one hour of their time to make this meeting happen.”  My other option would have been to say no. 

This meets a client’s request with a profit opportunity for my company.  It also prevents the burn out that goes along with satisfying every client request without proper compensation or terms.

I challenge you to always say yes while always setting your own terms.  From spouses, to clients to your own children it is a great example to set, because face-it, you don’t like to hear “no” either.


A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble. 
Mahatma Gandhi


When your back is against the wall though and in your heart the answer is ‘no’ and you have no way of saying ‘yes’ than a clear ‘no’ is in both parties clear interest.  Saying “yes” and not meaning it is far worse than saying “no”.

Here are some great web articles on how to creatively say “no”.



Some Great No Language and Some Funny One Liners: http://thehalfwaypoint.net/2010/02/fifty-ways-to-say-no/


By Cameron Toth, Owner of Toth Event Staffing http://www.totheventstaffing.com