Use No To Get To Yes

Published on Sunday, 11 October, 2020

"Will you please get this done by the 15th instead of the 20th"

• Start with "NO".

"We agreed on the 20th. What has changed to make this more urgent?" Knowing the client's context might allow you to propose a better solution.

• "I resourced this project to be completed on the 20th based on our discussions."

If there is NO chance that the project can be done earlier, don't give them any false hope. That will only make things worse down the road.

• "We can ship a smaller feature set on the 15th than what we agreed to be delivered on the 20th. What features are less important?"

Use this discussion as an opportunity to figure out what is important vs urgent. Find a way to turn this request into more business by way of an extended engagement or higher per-hour fees.