Never say NO to business

I believe your should never say NO to business. Read the following two vignettes that prove my point and will teach you two important business-life lessons.

VIGNETTE ONE: Let’s say you own a translation business and someone contacts you with a request for a translation from Amharic (the native language of Israel's Ethiopian community) to Yiddish. What do you tell the prospective client? You say YES! to the job.

Because there can only be three results to this scenario:

Number one: The job never materializes.

Number two: The client misunderstood the brief and the translation is actually from Italian to Yiddish – a piece of cake!

or

Number three: The job description is accurate and you get the gig.

And then five translators and three weeks later you deliver a word-perfect translation to the Inbox of the client.

And here is your first business-life lesson: Create cooperative agreements with sub-contractors. Line up – today before the next job comes in - freelance translators for (nearly) every language on earth, you must vet the translators and create an understanding with them vis-à-vis work conditions.

Now there are only two outcomes to the above scenario:

Number one: You become the go-to business for all this client’s translation work and

Number two: You have the greatest business-war story that is:

original – no one else has this story

upbeat – you have a ‘can do’ attitude that is contagious

and memorable – because that is what marketing your business is all about: telling your business story in an interesting, relevant and unforgettable manner.

VIGNETTE TWO: Let’s say you own an interior design business and someone contacts you with a request to redesign and renovate their clothing store and they need the project carried out immediately. You are already working on two projects and don’t have the manpower-time equivalent of “bandwidth” (= you are too busy to take on the job). What do you tell the prospective client? You say YES! to the job.

Because as we learned in our first vignette, there can be only one of three possible scenarios:

Number one: The job never materializes.

Number two: The client ‘suddenly’ realizes that she/he cannot carry out the project at this time because their cat became ill/their daughter is about to give birth/there is a really great sale in Castro; and so the project will be delayed for at least three to six months.

Number three: The job really does need to be carried out on time and you get the gig.

And here is a second business life-lesson: Create relationships with other businesses in your industry who share your values and vision and can either share the workload with you or do jobs solo when you are unavailable. Learn to work and share with others in your industry. Obviously you want to work with people who will not tarnish your reputation or steal your clients. And as in the first vignette – you must - in advance - vet them and create an understanding with them vis-à-vis work conditions.

Now there are only two outcomes to the above scenario:

Number one: The client loves your work and you can proudly display your name in their store window and

Number two: You have learned that (1) both small and large businesses work with subcontractors to get the work done and (2) you have forged a relationship with others in your industry that benefit both of you. And that is one of the most important ways to build a successful business.

Now the next time a prospective client calls – remember your first word (ok, second after “hello”) is YES – now what’s the request?

Do you feel stuck in your present business mode? Do you feel you are not moving forward? You need my strategy and brainstorming services. Contact me today to discuss your business needs.

Do you want to open yourself to a more successful business? Are you lost in the social media jungle? Let me help you re-energize your business and rediscover your passion in your profession. We’ll work together to improve your online exposure and find the perfect target markets for your business.

Contact me today to schedule a free introductory meeting. Yochi Eisner | 052-3413249

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