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Do You Have Any Idea When To Say, “Yes?”

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I was never a really big Seinfeld fan. I just never watched much TV at the time that his show was popular, so, really, a lot of cultural touchstones from the era of Friends, Dawson’s Creek, etc…are completely lost on me. But one that I do somehow figure I allowed to seep into my consciousness was the Soup Nazi! And, the reason why I am writing about the Soup Nazi today is so that I can highlight the need to be able to intentionally say “yes” or “no” to business.

How does “No Soup For You” influence you?

It is actually a smart concept to understand because if you are in business, you can’t serve everyone and you can’t do your best work for just anyone.

That is why the ability to say no is so important…

So how do you know when to say no?

1. Does this project or client allow you to deliver on your value proposition?

Over and over, I talk about value proposition and understanding the value that you deliver to your clients. Yet, in the real world, demands happen…and we sometimes need to take on work that will pay the bills and/or presents itself at the opportune time.

Hopefully you can manage your pipeline well enough that you can make a decision on whether or not certain business makes sense to you.

The best way to judge that is by looking at your value proposition and asking if the work being requested is the best fit for you and your growth strategy?

2. Is this work going to take away from your ability to do more or better work going forward?

Living in the real world, I know that it is incredibly difficult to walk away from business. I get it.

But the truth is that you often have to say no to something to say yes to something else.

So you need to judge your opportunities against the concept of is this work allowing you to grow?

If it is, great! If it isn’t, you need to take a hard look at whether or not this project is a really good fit for you.

3. Ask yourself why?

Sometimes we just do things:

We say yes to a project.

We take a lot of crap from a low paying client.

We can keep doing things and never stop to ask ourselves why we are doing anything.

So stop and ask yourself why…

Is it due to the prestige of the client?

Is it due to the fact that this buyer can act as a tremendous referral resource?

What is it and why is it important?

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