Do you say no to work?
“𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐲.”
Words, painful to hear, and no doubt painful to say (for some).
Whenever we hear this, we imagine:
✗ the company is reactive to the market,
✗ has inefficient systems and processes to cater for an influx of demand,
✗ lacks infrastructure to carry out the work effectively; lacks – employees, right mix, skill level, structure etc.
Don’t get us wrong, sometimes we need to say no to prevent:
✗ over committing,
✗ under-delivering or
✗ under-performing
All of which are valid reasons.
All of which are valid reasons.
But saying NO is not a problem any 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 business owner wants to say.
Take control of your destiny.
Here are some suggestions on how to take control:
Always qualify leads. Don’t just say no straight away.
What if the job is worth $100k of Sales and 70% GP? Would you be quick to say no then?
Take the time to understand the opportunity, the client and their requirements.
The client may have ongoing work for your business – and not be a once off sale.
Determine whether the job can be postponed.
If you take the time to talk to prospects, you may find that they are willing to wait.
Also, some of your existing clients may be flexible and may accept slightly delayed deadlines.
Or there could be a possibility of some work being ahead of schedule. Always check with the team.
Strengthen your workforce through efficiencies, automation and process improvement.
There are many ways to make a company run smoother.
Improve your processes through automation and operational efficiencies. Reduce those bottlenecks and daily fires so you can spend more time working on improving your business.
Outsource work to preferred contractors.
Have a list of trusted contractors which can assist during busy periods which can alleviate some of the pressure – even if it is short term.
Any outsourced work should go through a rigorous Quality Control process prior to the demand peak.
The responsibility of workmanship must lie with company delegating the work. Never presume it is accurate or complete – always check.
Hire more employees (short term, long term or contractual).
Hire employees after an extensive interview process. Always hire slowly – it will cost more in the long run if you don’t.
Understand what is needed for your business to stabilise during this growth.
Only hire after a review of your systems, processes and automation opportunities have been exhausted or implemented first.
Have strong Quality Control reviews within the company.
Delegate the review process to someone other than the business owner.
Being busy or tired can result in a higher likelihood of errors or sloppy work.
This can be costly for a business through the repeat of work – by fixing mistakes, or worse giving the business a bad reputation where clients do not return.
Be consciously aware of the YES’s that are committed.
Where is the company focusing its time and energy?
Reassess and alter accordingly.
Be deliberate in what work is taken on.
