Who Says “No” To A Million Dollars?

How regularly do you turn down business?

What if I told you we had a client who, last year, turned down more than a million dollars in business?

You think he’s crazy, eh? Lots of people in his business category – a home service industry – agree, I’m sure.

I say it makes him crazy like a fox. I also say it makes me love Patrick like a brother.

Do you know why his company turned down that cool mil? The reason will shock you.

Because people didn’t actually need the work done.

See? Crazy.

And the reason I say lots of business people in his category think Patrick’s nuts is because, well, let’s just say “people not actually needing the work done” isn’t a real limiting factor for most people in his home service industry.

Patrick would rather tell someone, “nope, actually, your roof will be fine for another five (or six or ten) years,” than force her into an early and unnecessary and expensive roof replacement.

Patrick thinks once you sell your integrity, you can never buy it back, no matter the price.

Patrick thinks he’d rather earn a customer for life with honesty than a one-time $20,000 job that didn’t need doing for another several years.

Patrick’s built a great business on the foundation of this core value. Can you see why?

How about you?

At your next sales meeting, why not go around the table and share stories of when “no” was the right answer, of when turning away the business was in the best interest of the customer and in the best long-term interest of your company.

Why not hand out that award each quarter? Whoever shows the most integrity on behalf of the customer and the company.

Call it the Patrick Award.