When You Say “No.”
The consequence of continually turning down prospects
I’m sitting at my desk — a smooth board atop a height-adjustable metal frame, easily adjustable, with the option of raising it from a normal to a standup position— in a room with about eight other desks, each in various stages of organizational decline. The stimulating drug of most designers is sitting beside me in the form of dark roasted espresso and frothed milk, combined to form an outstanding cappuccino, purchased from the coffee shop down the street. Currently, my inbox is overflowing with Dribbble work inquiries, sub-contracting proposals, and similar job offers. In other words, “I’m kinda...busy.”
The combination of these components can leave you stunned for a few moments — probably a result of the strong espresso — but also because of the pressure that is unconsciously placed on you when you receive such requests, regardless of whether you know you can or cannot accept it. The reason this pressure is, or at least should be placed on you, is because you have a responsibility to exercise a level of respect towards those who reached out to you. This brings me to the point of the discourse; what happens when you say, “No.”
A few days ago, I was standing behind the bar at a local gathering — serving coffee, of course — and exchanging pleasantries with the various people who came up for a drink. Most of them I knew, including one of the men who happened to approach, and after the appropriate greetings, proceeded to ask me the simple question, “How is work going?”. Naturally I stuck to the simple answer, “Going great, staying real busy lately.” But then, for some reason I added, “I’ve actually had a lot of inquires for jobs and positions that I’ve had to turn down.”
We talked for a while about this, and the conversation gave me some ideas on to handle an overload of work offers. Most of us receive more job inquiries than we can handle every day, so here are a few thoughts on how to handle them, and what happens when you say “no” too often.
When You Say “No”.
A potential client reaches out to you for something they need; a service for which they do not have the ability or capacity to execute on their own, but you do. When you receive this communication you’re booked for life — or at least the next few months — and therefore will not be able to accept the offer. Now there will certainly be times when out of necessity, or a lack of resources, one will be placed in a situation where it is obligatory or at least understandable to turn down an offer — if it goes against a fundamental belief or personal way of thinking — but hopefully this isn’t a regular occurrence.
During the conversation, the man I was speaking to said it well when he stated:
From the first time that you say “No” you begin to build a wall which, over time, becomes a maze of walls and passage ways, each with their dead ends and dark corners, and before you know it, you’ve shot yourself in the foot, and built a tower of negativity around you, so that no one is inclined to even ask you anymore.
So from this we see that the first option is not the most conducive because a little way down the road, you realize that you have had to say “No” on a few too many occasions. Soon you have a reputation, that unbeknownst to you has spread quite rapidly. There’s a pithy saying by the wise and often comical Charles Spurgeonm, which you probably haven’t heard before, and which goes like this:
The beard of reputation once shorn is hard to grow again.
Now, whatever your preference may be regarding facial hair, the point is made loud and clear. Reputation, once lost, is extremely difficult to regain, and will probably never reach it’s former magnitude. Now, returning to the analogy we were using above, you were approached by an individual or company and ‘had to’ turn them down. Therefore, when someone this individual or company happens to know needs your services, the group you turned down probably won’t be inclined to referring you.
1. Take on a Beginner.
When I began in the field of design, I was able to work alongside a designer who was amazing at what he did, with one downside; he was extremely busy. What began as a sort of internship, and blossomed into a full-fledged work experience, was an opportunity to work with someone who had been in my position, not all that long ago. He was not only able to tutor me through the beginning stages of my career, and be there to show me the bridge over the troubled waters of the busy design world I had entered, but soon enough he was able to give me the real life projects that he did not have time for.
This experience changed the way I worked, and certainly helped me gain a practical working knowledge of what I was doing, so that years after this first relationship was formed, I was able to use the same structure in my workflow. I brought on other young designers who wanted to learn, and handed them real projects, for real people. Of course I had to manage them and there was certainly some clean up for me, when they were done, but that was expected. This not only makes you a teacher and a mentor, but it builds a reputation that is not based on naysaying. I’m not saying that this will work for everyone, you may hate the idea, but it’s something that certainly helped me and has helped many others I’ve talked to.
2. Grow Your Network.
Grow a network of individuals who you know and trust, and can pass off these work opportunities to. Use services like Juiiicy, or manage the communication yourself. In the end, the idea is to get the client’s proposal in front of a capable person who you know will take good care of them.
This way, you can also choose how big or small you want to go. You know that design firm or creative agency that you’ve always dreamed of starting, but never had the right connections? Well, now there’s a few more people in your contacts that just may be the right ones. Or perhaps you just want to keep calm and freelance on, and that’s all fine, just don’t leave those clients hanging.
Finale
People see our work online. They see our self glorifying bio’s with links to our websites and favorite cat GIFs, which are undoubtedly quite attractive. However there is a human behind this facade. Therefore, communication is key in our business since it’s one of the only signs that we’re real people. So care for those clients you can’t take on by passing them along to competent hands. It will definitely pay off in the end, not only by helping you, but it will leave them much more satisfied than if you dumped them in the back alley of “No” Street.
