496 - How to Say No Without Ruining a Relationship

0:00Marie Forleo:Now today, I want to talk about a tiny two-letter word that can trigger big-time anxiety and fear in the hearts of many. You guys, y 'all know what it is? Ooh, B-O? F-U? We? Us? Commitment, phobe. No, the answer is N-O, a very important word that can be both tough to say and hear. And add to that all of this conflicting advice out there, right? You've got this really powerful quote from Warren Buffett that says, the difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything. And personally, I can kind of get behind that one. But then you start reading Shonda Rhimes' New York Times bestseller, The Year of Yes, and you start thinking to yourself, yes.

0:53Marie Forleo:Saying yes is so powerful, I need more yes in my life. So then you start saying yes a lot more often. And you know what? At some point, overwhelm starts to kick in, and then you remember the good old classic. No is a complete sentence. Hey, Jams, are you coming to my birthday party? No. What a f***? Now, for the record, no is not a complete sentence. Not unless someone is attacking you or asking you to do something that is just outrageous or plain wrong. But being able to say no when you need to and being able to do it with class and compassion, now that, my friends, is a powerful life skill. Because we love you guys so much and it is so important to get this right, we've also created a brand new downloadable cheat sheet called The Ultimate Guide to Saying No.

1:53Marie Forleo:Not only does it have links to all of our past episodes on this topic, but it also hands you some word-for-word scripts for how to say no gracefully and compassionately in a variety of situations. And you can download it for free on our blog. But before you snag that, I want to talk about a situation that we haven't covered until now, and that is saying no to your boss. Now, Now I've seen this question come in a few times lately, and even if you don't have a boss, I guarantee you this will help you with anyone that you're collaborating with or anyone who's in a position of authority. So how to say no here really depends on your reasons for saying no, and the nuances do matter.

2:31Marie Forleo:So I'm gonna give you two of the most common reasons that you might need to say no to your boss and suggestions for how to do it right. Now reason number one is this. You don't have the time. Okay, so let's say that your boss is trying to add to your workload and it's just too much given the timeframe. I mean, you know that something's either gonna fall through the cracks or the quality of your work is just gonna go down the tubes. Your no might sound something like this. I hear how important this is. You know what I love? Can we take a look at my current priorities together? Because there's a lot in motion right now and I want everything to be done right.

3:06Marie Forleo:So I'll either have to press pause on other projects or we'll need to find someone else to take this on. Reason number two for saying no, you don't agree with what's being asked. So let's say your boss is asking you to, I don't know, implement a marketing strategy or a pricing strategy that you don't think is going to work. It's not unethical, there's nothing in that range, but you just don't think it's the best choice for your customers or your company. So your no might sound a little something like this. I don't feel right about this strategy and I don't think we should move ahead. Are you open to another perspective?

3:40Marie Forleo:I'd love to show you an alternative that I think will be way more effective and leave our customers happier. Now remember, if you're taking a strong stand against something, you need to explain why and have fact-based reasons to really prove your case. Plus, remember this, you better really have a well-thought-out alternative to propose because you just can't say no no without offering something else to say yes to instead. Now, as I shared earlier, you can get all these scripts and a whole lot more in our ultimate guide to saying no. Because here's the deal. When you know how to say no with kindness and compassion, life just gets a whole lot better.

4:20Marie Forleo:And if you ever forget, remember this tweetable. No might be a complete sentence, but a few more words can make it a kind one. Let's talk money. Most people are just one good offer away from an extra quarter million dollars this year. They just don't know how to build it. So I made an app that does it for you. You enter a few details about your business, then boom, the app generates over 20 killer high-converting offers. You pick one, the app validates it, shows you market risk, market demand, and the three customer segments most likely to buy. Then it builds everything. Your sales page, pricing, bonuses, guarantee, and seven high-converting emails ready to send.

5:05Marie Forleo:Everything's editable. Everything saves automatically, and it's designed to help you hit$250 ,000 without the guesswork. Best part? It's$47. Go to marieforleo.com slash 250k. That's MarieForleo.com forward slash 250K.