By Viren Sean Noronha
I fully understand the urge to say ‘yes’ to every brief or work request that comes our way. Especially when we’re still growing as an advertising agency. It’s an “If I say no now they’ll never come back to us with a brief in future” kind of thing. Valid.
But I think of ‘no’ as an act of radical transparency with a client. In their shoes, would I appreciate an agency that says ‘yes’ when it knows it’s not in a position to deliver? Sure. But would I respect an agency that says ‘no’ precisely because it knows it can’t deliver the best? Absolutely.
Taking on work way beyond their capacity is a chronic mistake many ad agencies make. Both agency founders and clients are guilty of being passive witnesses when this happens. I don’t fully understand it, but I get it. It’s as if saying ‘no’ makes your agency look like it can’t do something—no agency wants to look like that. No founder wants to admit that their agency can’t do something.
But think about the body of work you’re trying to curate, the culture of people you’re trying to foster, and what your agency is setting out to do. Your ability to say ‘no’ to clients directly translates to furthering those goals.
Here’s a simple parallel: you’re an athlete who’s brilliant at sprinting the 100 metres dash. You’re even more brilliant at the 200 metres. You absolutely suck if you’re made to run both at the same time. So, what’s worse than admitting you can’t do something? Going out there anyway and trying to prove you can. The work suffers. Your people definitely suffer. And the clients make you suffer, through no fault of their own.
As Seth Godin beautifully puts it, “If you’re not proud of it, don’t serve it. If you can’t do a good job, don’t take it on. The short run always seems urgent, and a moment where compromise feels appropriate. But in the long run, it’s the good ‘no’s that we remember.”
A judicious ‘no’ respects the work, which at the end of the day matters more than keeping your client happy. And respecting the work goes hand in hand with respecting your team. So again, think of no as a shield for the brand of creativity your agency represents. Think of no as a shield that protects your team and their boundaries. Think of no as a way to show respect to the client themselves, assuming you’re saying it because you want to go above and beyond, but you can’t right now.
So, no. Not this time. But, maybe next time? In this business there’s always a next time.
Viren Sean Noronha is the co-founder of The New Thing.