Over the years I have noticed that the companies I’ve worked for have been afraid to say no. No to what, you might ask? No to work that they either don’t have room for, can’t do, or just doesn’t fit within the niche that they’ve made for themselves.
I’ve heard this saying over and over: “Don’t ever say no. Take the work and you’ll figure out how to get it done.” Ok, so maybe it’s not a saying and it’s not always said exactly like that, but you get the point. But is this really the best approach to take? Is taking on too much work really going to benefit your bottom line or your business model?
I tend to think not. Currently I am in the process of setting up a new business venture (an internet marketing and website design/development firm, as if the market weren’t already full!), and one of the things I’ve discussed with my partners is that we need to be aware of who we are, what we have, and when to say no. I want to attract clients who are looking for a long term business relationship rather than the “fly by night” companies who would just as soon go to your competitor if the price were $1 cheaper.
It seems simple to me, but I think money tends to play a large role in this. The business owners I’ve worked for see the green and automatically are rolling out the red carpet, even if we have more work than we could handle. There is usually no thought put into whether the project is right for the us, how we are going to get it done, and if it will even be profitable to take on.
One of the other reasons I think business owners are afraid to say no is because they are afraid that all their work will go away as soon as they do. I think they feel that telling someone they have too much work looks bad, but to me that’s probably one of the best things you can say about a company (it means people like what you do and want you to work for them!).
I feel strongly that in order to serve your clients and keep them for as long as possible, you need to be able to say no from time to time to new work that might come in. As we all know, it costs more to find a new client than it does to keep an existing one. I think SEOmoz and others have it right by only taking on what they feel they can handle and will benefit both them and the client.
