We’ve all been there — you get a call from a salesperson pitching some amazing-sounding marketing or advertising service. It sounds compelling, and they make a convincing case for how it’s going to transform your business. So, you say yes.
But fast forward a few months, and you realise it didn’t deliver the results you’d hoped for — because it wasn’t aligned with your business strategy to begin with.
In a recent video (which you can watch on this page), I shared how I’ve seen this happen with a couple of clients late last year. They bought advertising services – not because they had identified a need, but because a salesperson had pitched it so well that they felt they couldn’t say no.
The Problem with Impulse Decisions
When someone cold calls you with a sales pitch, their goal is to make a sale — not necessarily to figure out if their solution is a good fit for your business. That’s the core issue. It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of a persuasive pitch, but if it’s not aligned with your broader business and marketing strategy, it’s unlikely to produce the right results.
We’ve been guilty of this ourselves in the past. We’ve spent money on services that sounded good at the time but didn’t actually contribute to where we were trying to go as a business. That’s why we’ve adopted a default position: “No.”
Why “No” Should Be Your Default Position
When someone approaches you with a sales pitch, your first reaction should be to say no — not because you’re being negative, but because you need to give yourself the space to assess whether it’s truly a good fit.
Here’s what you should ask yourself before making a decision:
- Does this align with our business strategy?
- Will this directly help us achieve our business goals?
- Are we already addressing this need with existing resources?
If the answer to any of those questions is “no,” then you probably don’t need the service — no matter how good the salesperson makes it sound.
Make Strategic Decisions — Not Impulse Ones
The key takeaway here is to approach business decisions with strategy, not impulse. Starting with “no” gives you the breathing room to properly assess if a product or service actually makes sense for your business.
So, next time you get that call — take a step back. Ask yourself the hard questions. If it fits, great! If not, you’ve just saved yourself time and money.