First published 25 July 2022 on Your Best Year Starts Here with Nigel Risner.
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I pulled Nigel up at the start of this one. That was McDonald's again, three episodes out of the last ten. His excuse was something he'd read that day. When McDonald's get it wrong we still go back, but when a small local restaurant gets it wrong we're straight on TripAdvisor.
Then he told me about a call he got on holiday from one of his biggest clients. They wanted to move a speech to a date when he was already speaking in Manchester that morning. The new one was in Bath that afternoon. For five or six seconds he really wondered if he could pull it off (we got as far as helicopters and helipads). He couldn't. So he rang back and said it was never going to happen. Minutes later the Manchester client called to say they'd got their date wrong and could he do the day before instead. Sorted.
That's where I brought in what I call an expectation hangover. You build a picture in your head of how something's going to be, it doesn't match, and you feel flat, even if it was actually great. So put yourself in your customer's shoes. Do you want them walking away feeling like that?
It works at home too. Nigel used to land at seven and promise he'd be home by half seven, which is impossible when the taxi alone takes half an hour. Now he says eleven and walks in at half nine looking like a hero. And no is a full sentence. You don't always have to explain it. But if there's something you can do instead, say so. No, I can't speak at half nine in the morning, but if the event's still going at five, I could be there by then.
The short version
- Tell the client the truth early. Nigel's no freed up the date he needed within minutes.
- Overpromising to win the job just leaves you hunting for excuses later.
- Pad your timings. Say eleven and turn up at half nine.
- If something's going to take three weeks, say so, and ring them halfway through to let them know you haven't forgotten.
- You can just say no. If there's an alternative, offer it.
So even if it was awesome, it's not as awesome as you expected it to be, so you still feel flat.
Neil Martin
It has taken me a long time to be able to say to a client a really difficult word, no.
Nigel Risner
