How To Say NO to clients and why it’s important to your success

How To Say NO to clients and why it’s important to your success

Everybody wants to build a client base they’ll love.

Everybody also wants to feel like they have an abundance of business and don’t have to scramble and scrape to agree rates, onboard clients, and succeed.

However, it takes a lot of time and skill to achieve this, and most importantly, you have to be good at saying NO.

We will break down how you can say no to clients (and how this will be invaluable to your success).

Do you know the power of no?

A bit of a tongue twister, but do you know what the power of no can hold? 

Setting boundaries and establishing what you’ll accept from clients and candidates evolves and can also be affected by market changes and how your desk grows.

Understanding the power of no allows you to set these boundaries quicker and ultimately climb the ladder of success more effectively.

So, I’ve got a quick exercise for you to do—it’ll take you 5 minutes.

Write down what your 3 key boundaries are; they could look something like this:

• I refuse to work any roles that are less than 18%

• I will only work exclusively with clients from now on

• I will only work with clients who respect my time (turning up to meetings, not cancelling calls etc)

You’ll see that all three of these things involve you saying no. You can then start putting this into practice and saying no to clients more often.

Do you know how to say no?

‘No’ is a full sentence, but it can also feel very harsh to say a flat-out ‘no’ to someone on the phone. 

In the words of Arran Collymore: “You can be a nice human about it! You don’t have to say to a client, ‘you’re wrong for me, don’t call me any more!’ It should be about having a conversation.”

Saying no comes from having confidence in your relationship-building skills, so we’re going to equip you with a few ways you can say no (e.g., politely decline whilst also keeping a relationship there!)

Here are some examples of saying ‘no’ to respect the above 3 key boundaries reflected in section 1.

~

~

It’s all about reframing what your boundaries are and then communicating why ‘no’ is happening! Additionally, it also encourages the client to decipher whether the pain is big enough for them to actually take action. 

Especially for things such as working exclusively or on a retained basis, saying no will really test a client’s commitment. 

Of course, you don’t want to shoot yourself in the foot by consistently saying no because your fees are ridiculously high. Instead, focus on saying no to the things that matter and being open to negotiation (on the non-negotiables).

Another great way of saying no is simply eliminating the options that you don’t like.

If you don’t like working on roles that aren’t exclusive, rebrand and market yourself as an exclusive-only recruiter.

The same goes for retainers. You can call the shots when it comes to your services.

Just like designer brands (which charge £5,000 for a bag that really only costs around £200) have always branded themselves as luxurious. 

Take Hermes for example - their bags are some of the most expensive in the world. 

They are also only accessible by the best of the best - despite the bag probably only costing a few hundred or thousand pounds to make. 

They invested in the power of saying ‘no’ to customers, creating a new level of demand for bags that can be sold for upwards of £25,000.

Why is ‘no’ important to your success?

#1 - Maintaining Integrity and Reputation: Sometimes, clients may have unrealistic expectations that could compromise the quality of your service. By saying no, you protect your professional integrity. This helps to build trust and a strong reputation in the industry.

#2 - Protecting relationships: While it may seem counterintuitive, saying no can actually strengthen your relationship with a client. It shows that you are committed to their long-term success and not just focused on short-term gains. This honesty can lead to a more trusting and productive partnership.

#3 - Resource Management: Recruitment involves time, effort, and resources. Saying no to a client when their demands are not feasible helps you prioritise your resources effectively. 

#4 - Setting Boundaries: As mentioned, establishing boundaries with clients is crucial for maintaining a healthy work-life balance and ensuring that you don’t burn yourself out.

If you get good at all of these things, you’ll see your job-to-fill ratio sky-rocket, you’ll experience less ‘highs and lows’ and you’ll feel more in control of your pipeline.

In summary, saying no to clients is a strategic decision that protects your integrity, ensures quality placements, strengthens client relationships, and maintains ethical and professional standards!

If you want to check out the full episode with Arran, where these quotes were taken from, you can listen to the entire podcast here.

P.S. Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

#1: Do you listen to my podcast? I release a weekly episode with either a top-performing recruiter or recruitment entrepreneur to find out how they achieved their success so you can learn directly from their journey Check out my latest episode and subscribe to the show.

#2: Promote your brand to over 4,277 recruitment professionals by sponsoring this newsletter (bookings available from May 2024).

#3: Want to learn how you can leverage our all-in-one training platform to take on the heavy lifting of upskilling your team whilst you spend more time working on the business? >>>> Book A Meeting With Me Here