Does ever make sense to turn down business?
It is a difficult situation for many companies to handle, particularly when you're constantly scrambling to find new customers. The reality is that turning down or walking away from business can sometimes be a smart move. In some cases, a potential customer can do more harm than good by eating up time, energy and resources that could be better deployed elsewhere.
Jodi Echakowitz, who runs Echo Communications , a public relations agency in Toronto I've worked with, says rejecting business is a challenge because you never know how long your existing customers plan to stay with you, and when new prospects might be coming through the door. She adds, however, there are situations when it makes sense to say “no thanks.”
For her, these include:
• If the potential client is not a fit for the business. For example, if a restaurant came to us looking for PR support, it's not an area of expertise for us so we would rather refer that new business to another agency that can better serve that market niche.
• If we don't feel we can be successful for a client.
• If their expectations, both budget and results, are unrealistic.
• If the potential client has a reputation for being extremely difficult to work with.
• If we don't have the bandwidth to provide them with the level of support they need.
• Some companies may have a history of not making payments on time.
For Ms. Echakowitz, one of the ways to effectively deal with turning away business without hurting a relationship or your goodwill is to provide the interested party with recommendations or suggestions about other suppliers that might be able to better meet their needs.
“It goes a long way in relationship-building – after all, it is a small world and you never know where or when your paths may cross again,” she says.
Special to the Globe and Mail
Mark Evans is a principal with ME Consulting , a content and social media strategic and tactical consultancy that creates and delivers ‘stories' for companies looking to capture the attention of customers, bloggers, the media, business partners, employees and investors. Mark has worked with three start-ups – Blanketware, b5Media and PlanetEye – so he understands how they operate and what they need to do to be successful. He was a technology reporter for more than a decade with The Globe and Mail, Bloomberg News and the Financial Post. Mark is also one of the co-organizers of the mesh, meshUniversity and meshmarketing conferences .
