I feel like I’ve read it all when it comes to the paradigm between saying ‘yes’ versus saying ‘no.’ 

“The most important word in the world is the word ‘no’.”

“If you want opportunities to be present in your life, be open to the power of saying ‘yes!”

Without naming names, both pieces of advice have come from successful people.

While I haven’t settled on a verdict of preference, I do believe that the answer is somewhat circumstantial. 

Let’s walk through a few scenarios, briefly.

If you’re a salesperson looking to generate opportunities, you would probably be foolish to say ‘no’ to 90% of your prospects, waiting for the perfect opportunity to come around.

A salesperson should be willing to say ‘yes.’

Inversely, if you’re a technician, saying ‘yes’ to meetings will clutter your schedule and inhibit your ability to produce. ‘No’ would be a strong word for you.

As for me, I tend to lean on the ‘yes’ end of the spectrum.

One instance of ‘yes’ may have led to a new business niche opportunity for our company.

About 18 months ago, a client prospect came across our table. 

They were in the manufacturing space and needed help with some basic marketing. It was a referral from a current client, who insisted we take a meeting with this company.

Though I was skeptical about the potential partnership, we moved forward. 

In a world where a marketer should be hyper-focused on the task at hand, I willingly did the opposite. I said yes.

Turns out, this manufacturing business was in the bee space.

It was a space — beekeeping, or more technically, apiculture— that I knew some about, but I was not an expert. Not by any means. 

However, after learning about our client’s product, I felt an extreme conviction. I remember thinking to myself, “We can help this company. We really, really can help them grow. Their product is so good.” 

Without diving deep into the honeycombs of this business, the last 12 months have produced tremendous fruit for this company. They are selling hundreds of thousands of units of their product and slowly, through strong content, engaging email, and powerful social media targeting, are becoming an industry leader. 

Where they would largely credit our marketing for the business’s explosion, we would in turn credit the true quality of their product and the drive of the team members. 

However, after learning about our client’s product, I felt an extreme conviction. I remember thinking to myself, “We can help this company. We really, really can help them grow. Their product is so good.” 

They’ve been an absolute joy to partner with. 

As a result, we’ve been knee deep in honey, soaking in all of the intricate elements of the beekeeping world. 

What we’ve learned is that the apiculture market itself is massive (an estimated $7 to 9 billion industry). Quality marketing, by and large, is lacking.

Our client is so proud of the results. 

In fact, we’re a regular topic of discussion when they talk with partners, vendors, and other associates. It’s led to a handful of client prospects in the industry, which we intend to explore in the near future. 

It has us thinking: What if we became complete industry experts and applied our skills in marketing to this space?

Voila — a new industry niche for Fisheye Marketing.

Saying ‘yes’ has set Fisheye on a journey of exploration. This exploration will lead us further into this sweet industry to discover how we can continue to sharpen our knowledge base.

By knowing the vernacular, the messaging, and the dynamics of business, we’ll be able to resonate with companies in this industry in a way that other marketing agencies cannot. It will provide us an edge.

And once we apply our marketing skills to their business, they will experience growth. 

I’ve learned something:

Be open to opportunity. Be(e) open to saying ‘yes.’