Back to Basics: The Power of “No”

A client had a chance to provide significant marketing work for a data analytics company. The owners were very proud of their skills and product but had trouble getting enough customers.

They were referred to the marketing specialist from their business coach and were eager to start changing things and getting results.

As she started to onboard them in her tried and true system, she met with resistance. Their business was special and different, and they demanded that she create a marketing plan that was as special and different as they were. They didn’t want her to use any of her pre-existing tools or skills that she knew would work.

My client was very torn. Should she bring on this new customer or not? They could pay the bills but didn’t seem to trust her method or her knowledge or her expertise in the field.

I had her reflect on whom she wanted to work with. I had her reflect on whether she would be able to do her best work for this customer.

In the end, she decided not to take on this new customer.

She asked herself the right questions. She used the power of “no” to shape her business intelligently.