Short Spark: How to Say ‘No’ While Helping a Friend
Photo by Gaetan Lee.
If you have an online audience of any size you are often going to be asked for help and advice. You might be at the point where you can assist everyone who asks, but if your audience keeps growing this state will eventually pass you by.
Or, you might already be finding it difficult to help everyone and regularly forced to say the dreaded ‘No’ word. You worry: are you losing a potential customer or client in the process? More importantly, are you making someone feel crappy?
There is a way to turn the experience into a positive for both people. Next time you have to say ‘No’, recommend someone else to help.
Make this someone you know online (or offline) or someone you would like to get to know. Not only are you giving the person a helpful recommendation, you’re potentially sending a new client (or reader, or viewer) someone’s way. Do this enough and they will want to start repaying the favor.
Just remember: ask for a “tell him/her I sent you.”
It’s a neat form of networking and a good thing to do.
This makes great business sense, keep your audience happy by providing them a resolution, save yourself time AND create great affiliate business relations too. Win win.
Indeed.
Yup, what I do when I don’t want to help people because i’m fed up or unhappy.
This seemingly simple suggestion show up something wonderful about the web: that it’s cooperative and not adversarial. We stand on someone’s shoulders to get to the next level - and then reach down a hand to pull them up beside us…and so on.
[...] Short Spark: How to Say ‘No’ While Helping a Friend - Do you find it hard to say no to your readers? [...]
Excellent advice! It really helps to foster an atmosphere of cooperation when someone asks you for help, and instead of just brushing them off with a “no” , you steer them in a direction where they may find the help they seek. I really like what Mary/GoodlifeZen said in her comment. :-)
Great advice! Thanks for sharing… Much appreciated.
Jonathan
I run an “about WordPress” blog in Italian, and I receive so many support question that I can’t deal with…
So I prepared a default “Sorry can’t help” email where I explain why I can’t give my support (..the blog is done in my free time… it’s not my work… etc ) and where I point the reader to the best resources I have on the blog itself (most of all “beginner stuff”) and to the best italian WordPress forum where they can find help.
Many time I send out this email I get even some “thank you for you great advice” email from the reader!
Stefano
This tip is perfect for those who are on top or near the top of their a ladder. After climbing it, just don’t pull it up. Instead help others and allow them to come up.