Sometimes “No” is The Best Answer

A few months ago I had to remind myself of the  “Not Everyone is a Client” Rule and turn down someone who was interested in working with me using both my website design and local SEO services.

A man called looking for a web designer and SEO person to help him with his new business. He found Turek Design on Google, saw the positive reviews and that motivated him to call. I spent time learning about his business and looking through his website. The site had just gone live and had good content, layout, and service pages.

Client Expectations

We met. He was a pleasant man, full of great ideas, hard-working, and ambitious. However, it was clear he was expecting too much too quickly.
He was upset.
His business was new and he was trying to break into a competitive, well-established market. His website was about a couple of weeks old and had not provided him with any new leads. And his site did not appear when people searched for keywords relating to the business. That was the reason he started looking for SEO help.

I looked at the site and it was okay – not perfect – but above average.

I knew I could help him.
The issue was that his expectations were way too high. He wanted to get a Google ranking in a highly competitive market in a short period of time.

SEO Reality

I told him that what he was asking was not something that I could fulfill. I tried to explain but he had different ideas. The meeting ended in an odd way when he insisted that I help him while I tried to explain that his expectations were unreasonable and not achievable.

I take my job seriously and always respect my clients. If I can make a website better I say it, but if what they have is not doable, I tell them that too.

I told him what I could offer.  He listened but kept repeating his expectations for ranking faster on Google. There are solutions to get to the first page quickly (like Google Ads) but I do not offer that service. What I could provide takes time and patience, but would achieve results.

Is it OK say NO

• I like to help people. 
• It is my business.
• But I don’t like to disappoint or promise and not fulfill.
• I also don’t like to tell people that I can’t do something.
• But many times hopes and reality are different.
• I know what I do and I know how long it takes to see results.
• This man trusted me but did not want to listen to me.

I had to tell him that I could not accept him as a client because sooner or later he would be disappointed in not seeing the fast results he had hoped for.

I felt badly refusing to work with him, but in the long run it was for the best.

Not everybody is a good fit for my business.
My services do not fit every client’s needs. 

Being a solopreneur has the advantage that I can choose who I want to work with and who to partner with. Working with clients who are not a good fit drains my energy because we don’t have the same priorities and – in turn – cannot work towards a common goal.
I take my time to get to know clients via personal meetings or phone calls. My clients are all hard-working, passionate people with whom I can share mutual respect.

We all have to learn from experience when to say no. It’s worth much more to focus on those few people who you can work with easily and respect. Those are the people who boost your energy, those are the people who appreciate your opinions, and you can feel happy helping them to succeed in their businesses.

Respect yourself (and your clients) by choosing the people you know you work well with.