BizNet OnLine Magazine, When To Say No To A Customer.

Can I Help You Out...
Which Way Did You Come In...
Or, When To Say No To A Customer.
By: Mike Lipshultz
Mike@biznetonline.com

One of the hardest things for a businessperson to do is to say no to a customer. As business people we work hard to build a good reputation and to maintain that reputation. In saying no you can risk that reputation. Why?, because no is not a word a customer wants to hear. A customer that hears no from a business is not going to speak well of that business...

So what’s a businessperson to do? First you need to understand that at times you have to say no! Ever have a customer that no matter what you did, you could not make them happy. You did a good job, did everything to make them happy, lost time and money on the job. Was it because of the quality of your work or the customer? If it was a case of the customer, you would have been better off to just have told that customer "NO!", when they first approached your company.

One businessperson we know refers to these individuals as "People who do not qualify to be a customer". Over the years he has come to recognize a potential customer that has unrealistic expectations of his services. If his attempts to bring their expectations into the realm of reality fails, he will not do business with them.

The hard part of saying "NO!" to a customer is not the loss of business, its the potential loss of goodwill and reputation that gives most business persons the problem.

So lets see if you can come up with a way to say "NO!" to a customer and make it sound like a "Thank You".

You know your business better then I do so you will have to look at your business and customers to find a technique that works for you.

To jump-start the thought process lets look at some examples.

You're a high-end printer; a customer comes to you by referral. In talking with them you know this job is too small for you and too much trouble. It’s nothing personal; it’s just that you're not one of those quickie print shops, and that’s really where they should go... But they came to you on referral so you do not wish to say no, so, educate. Don’t say ‘NO!", say I can do the job for you. However, I believe that as you only need basic business cards, and my operation is a little bit of overkill, I think you should go to a small print shop. If you wish I can recommend one, but thank you for giving me the opportunity to try to help you. Now instead of saying "NO!", you have said "Thank-you". Another example. You're in a service industry; your fee structure is lower then most of your competitors. A potential customer comes to you. In talking to them you just see nothing but trouble. A customer you just want to run from. What do you do. You thank them! You thank them for giving you the opportunity to earn their business. Then you explain that customer service and satisfaction is very important to your company. You then tell them based on what they have told you, their needs would best be served by a more full service agency, (the reason some companies charge more) and you thank them for the opportunity to have talked to them.

Some other reasons:

You are not able to get to the job right away, so you can’t meet their time needs

The machine you need is being repaired or is down for "maintenance" right now.

Whenever possible make that "NO!" sound like you care; that you are saying ‘NO!" not for your benefit, but for theirs.

So take a look at your business and your customers, and get ready for those times when you just need to say "NO!".

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