How to say no to a job without burning the bridge

Most trades are far better at doing work than at turning it down.

So the job that's too far, too small, or too obviously trouble doesn't get refused — it gets left. No reply, no call back, until the person gives up.

That's the worst option available, and it's the most common one.

Why silence costs you

The person you ignored doesn't think "he must be busy". They think you couldn't be bothered.

And they tell people. Not maliciously — it just comes up. "I tried him, he never got back to me." That sentence has cost more local trades more work than any bad review, because it spreads in exactly the conversations you rely on.

A clear no takes thirty seconds and leaves you with your reputation intact. Sometimes it leaves you with a recommendation, because you were the one who at least replied.

Say it quickly

The cost of a no goes up the longer you leave it. Someone told on Tuesday can ring somebody else on Wednesday. Someone told a fortnight later has lost a fortnight, and knows it.

If you know it's not for you, say so that day.

Give a reason, but keep it short

You don't owe anyone an explanation. But a reason turns a rejection into information, and information is what people remember.

"Thanks for thinking of me — that's a bit outside what I take on, I mostly do X."

"I'm booked up until March, and you'll not want to wait that long for this."

"Honestly, that's a specialist job and you'd be better with someone who does them regularly."

Short, true, no apology needed.

Pass it on if you can

The single best thing you can do with work you don't want is hand it to someone who does.

"Not one for me, but try Dave at ___, he does a lot of these."

Three people benefit. The customer gets sorted. Dave gets a job and remembers. And you become the person who helped, which is a much better thing to be remembered as than the person who was busy.

Trades who do this get work back. Not immediately, and not from the same person, but reliably.

Don't price yourself out instead

The classic dodge: you don't want the job, so you quote something silly hoping they'll say no.

Two things go wrong. Sometimes they say yes — and now you're doing the job you didn't want, for a customer who'll expect a lot at that price. And if they don't, you've told the whole street you charge daft money.

If you don't want it, say you don't want it.

The ones worth saying no to

Not a rule, just the pattern most people arrive at:

• Too far to get back to if something goes wrong
• Too small to be worth the travel, unless it's an existing customer
• The bits you don't actually enjoy or aren't quick at
• Anyone who's already haggling before you've seen it
• Anything where you can feel the argument coming

That last one's the important one. Trust it. Nearly every trade can name a job they took while ignoring exactly that feeling.

Saying no is how you get better work

Every hour on a job you didn't want is an hour unavailable for one you did. That's the whole argument.

You cannot be the person who does everything for everyone within an hour's drive. The trades who do well locally are usually the ones known for something specific — and being known for something specific means saying no to the rest.

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Who do you pass work to? Everybody should have two or three names.