Do You Find It Hard To Say No To Customers?

Saying no keeps you in business.

What does your business have in common with the coolest nightclub in the world?

The most famous nightclub in the world during the 1970s was Manhattan's Studio 54. The owners decided early on that they would rather be empty than have the wrong people in the club. They were the first establishment to famously turn people away for wearing the wrong shoes or not being glamorous enough.

You need to treat your business the same way – as an exclusive club. And just like Studio 54, you must be willing to turn away people at your door if they aren't a good fit – even if they have the money to buy your product or service.

"No" is powerful. It's a word used by people and business that are sure of what they do and who they are for.

Being everything and anything to everyone makes you loose focus on what you're actually here to do on the planet. Your job as an entrepreneur or business leader is to provide a product or service that leave your clients with an uplifted experience.

We only work with 100 clients per year per city.

Everyone beyond that number needs to wait until next year. This is an important principle for your business too, you need to work out the capacity at which you can succesfully service your clients. People say to us "You should work with 200 clients to make extra money".

They don't get it. If we did that, we'll end up with 100 clients who pay us for our service but get left with a bad experience. Our success depends on our clients' success.

Apple purposely choose to produce less iPhones than the number of people who are pre-registered to get one. They want each and every customer to feel a part of an "elite club" of iPhone owners who managed to get one while the rest of the world missed out.

Imagine a cosy restaurant that does great food. It's small and always full. Because people tend to like what other people like, this little hot spot grows in popularity. A normal restaurant would expand their seating to accommodate more customers. A clever restaurant would keep the same amount of chairs and tables.

This will allow a line of people to build at the front of the restaurant or a waiting list to be built. Imagine all the people walking by thinking "I need to go and try the food at this place!". Once people are in, they'll feel special for just getting a table!

This is the uplifted experience you want your product or service to provide.