Can you give NO as an answer to your client?

The client is always right! They pay us and we are obliged to listen to them! Clients are always right! Now, if you’re planning to run your business with this notion, I’ll have to start today’s article with a negative thought – you can’t go

too far with that attitude. I’m sorry but that’s true! I’m not even sure who came up with those bogus phrases and why a majority of the human population blindly follow it.

Firstly, we need to acknowledge that they pay us. True; there’s no denial on that. But they pay us for a reason – in exchange of our work, our service and. We don’t get simply paid because we’re part of a charity. They pay us for our

expertise. And when we collaborate for a cause, bringing in our expertise, there needs to be a veto on what you provide. Collaborations happen for a reason and when you move with the intention to use your expertise and

experience in building your client’s brand, it has to happen from the perspective that has the skills required to pull things off.

For instance, imagine you’re client runs a coffee shop – one fancy hangout spot that desperately requires a coffee connoisseur. You’ve been approached to take care of the coffee and you’re all set to start off with preparing coffee

orders, the person who you work with comes in and intervenes. He or she asks you to try adding milk to an espresso order to see if it works. Will you? Will you still go ahead and add milk to an order of espresso and claim that your client

is paying you and you can’t give no for an answer? That would kill the business, right?

Precisely the point! Accepting ideas and strategies that won’t work is as futile as not accepting ideas when they have to be accepted. If you know your business of preparing the best coffee, you do not let another person from doing your job. That will save the business. Doing this doesn’t mean you are acting against your client’s will or being arrogant or egoistic, it simply means you know what works and what doesn’t.

So, break away from such stereotypical call-centerish notions and work towards adding value – a value that will reflect in the years to come; those that will save your client’s business from tides and survive the test of time. While money is

important, it’s also important to stand for what works and making your client understand of the consequences. In the end, it’s about the fate of a business you’re dealing with. Just do what’s right. Your client will realize your worth soon.

Remember, it’s okay to give no as an answer.