Today, I told 4 clients that we couldn’t meet their price or contract terms. I hate saying no to money. I really really do.

But as I’ve understood the value we provide and how much we help our clients, I’ve had to become more comfortable saying no.

Ultimately, our business will be huge not just because of sales but by minimizing churn aka retaining customers.  And while sales is sexy as is immediate cash flow, retention is key.  And retention happens when we’ve gotten a prospective client convinced of our value.  When they are convinced of that value and the time we’ll save them, the deals they’ll find because of us, etc, the negotiations are easy and retention rates are higher.

Moreover, the cost of bringing on a new customer remains the same (training, initial support, etc) so reducing price or term squeezes us on both ends.

Saying no to money is hard, and it’s something I’d never have done earlier. But sometimes it’s the right thing to do.