Quite often a lot of companies get into trouble by saying “Yes” to situations that they really should avoid. It is harder to say “No”, as we’re wired to please, to accept a challenge, to “Get ‘Er Done”. However, if you stop and think about the situation before you react, you might save yourself a lot of valuable time, money and effort that could be wasted on unfruitful orders. It’s counter-intuitive, but the word “No” just could be your best friend one day.
Here are some tips to help you make a good decision:
- Do you have all the facts? Quite often, by thinking about the order and writing down everything you’ll need, including a timeline of deliverables, you’ll uncover a hidden challenge that could tip your decision one way or another. Be sure to ask thorough, detailed questions.
- Are you sure you have the expertise? Accepting a job that requires a skill that you don’t possess is just asking for trouble. Learning on the job is a great way to travel down the road to ruin at breakneck speed. Either factor in the cost of bringing in an expert to help you with the lacking skill or just say no to the deal.
- Do you have an exact idea on all of your costs? If you are the guy that just marks everything up by percentage, without understanding all of your production costs, this could mean trouble. Sometimes extra labor, materials, or other factors are needed to complete a job and if you don’t do a good job on the estimating step you could be working extremely hard, for free. What’s the point of that? Use a pricing matrix or schedule (that is built on actual data based on your company) and stick to it.
- Do you trust your customer? There are some clients (you know you have some) that are less than truthful with you about things. There are just some things about them that would make a used-car salesman proud. If that’s the case, tread lightly when accepting a deal from them, or someone like them. Sometimes a polite “Sorry, we can’t handle that order” is better than taking an order that is going to blow up in your face.
- Can you fit this order into your production schedule? Do you even have one? Hopefully your shop is busy enough that coordinating the jobs and orders requires some planning. When handed a challenging order request though, if you don’t have a production schedule that you can easily refer to you may be in trouble. Salespeople are notorious for blindly taking jobs and not worrying about the repercussions. After all, there not the ones that will have to pay the overtime. Here’s a follow up article I authored on building a production schedule – http://impressions.issshows.com/shirt-printing-business/How-to-Build-an-Accu-1469.shtml
- Is there even enough time to do it? If you know your capabilities per hour, you can deduce how long it will take to run the job. Unless you can print the job on more than one press or bend the laws of time and physics, sometimes it’s best to pass. This request is usually centered on a rush job. Here’s a follow up article I authored on tackling rush orders – http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/impressions_201302/#/46
So how do you say NO and not lose your customer or send the wrong message? Here are some ways you can gently break the news or turn down the order:
- Be firm, but not overly defensive or apologetic. Be honest about the situation, and explain that the project isn’t in your wheelhouse and you are concerned that you will let them down.
- If you really would like to do the project, but circumstances are preventing you from agreeing to the proposal, rephrase the challenge by saying “I can’t do this…but I can…” Rephrase the topic into what you need to be able to accept the deal. Maybe it will work out in the end.
- You can also say NO in the present state if you need more details on how the work might have to be performed. Have some good notes or research ready and be prepared to explain what you need or what details are unfocused. You may end up turning down the deal as offered, but your client will be impressed that you thought of an entire series of points that they haven’t contemplated.
- How about saying NO to only part of the project? Maybe you could produce part of the order, and they could contract another part to another vendor. This could be a good solution if you have some other companies that you share business with from time to time.
- Don’t forget that there are only so many hours in a day. Accepting something that you know you should say NO to, may have a domino effect on other business. Can you adjust your production schedule accordingly? If not, explain to the client and show them that you value all of your clients and have a responsibility to them. After all, they wouldn’t like their order to get bumped if you accepted something else…right?
- Another way of saying NO is giving them the cost and time estimate for you to do the work on your terms. This way, if it does come in you will get paid for what you are worth and have the correct amount of time to produce the job.
Saying NO is hard. As apparel decorators we are hard wired into thinking that we have to accept every job that comes along, as every company has been through some dry spells. However, some orders just plain stink. You can tell they are going to be problems from the moment you hear or read about them. Sometimes that voice in your head that says DANGER! is right.
