How To Say No—and Make People Thank You - Friday Forward

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1. As discussed, a lot of people simply don’t respond to cold emails because they don’t want to take the time, feel bad about saying no or are irritated by the nature of request. These are the same reactions that can lead to professional and personal ghosting—people just find it easier to do nothing than to say no gracefully. “And, thanks to AI, these follow ups will increasingly be sent automatically.” In contrast, if you respond with a simple, polite note, then the loop will be closed and, in many cases, the asker will remove you from their outreach.

   In AI SDR agent autonomy levels

2. But while ignoring spam phone calls or shady emails is a good strategy, this is usually not the best approach for many unsolicited requests. If you’ve ever done cold outreach, one of the first bits of training you received was probably to always follow up when you don’t get a reply. And, thanks to AI, these follow ups will increasingly be sent automatically. “In contrast, if you respond with a simple, polite note, then the loop will be closed and, in many cases, the asker will remove you from their outreach.” Plus, my team and I have received many appreciative responses from people we’ve declined. Every time I get a note along the lines of “Thank you so much for responding, I totally understand,” it’s a positive outcome to an irritating situation.

   In Disqualification messaging

3. Understandably, most people simply ignore these messages, often because replying takes time, and there may be genuine guilt in saying no. Inevitably, this leads to several follow up messages, which leads to more agitation. “There’s a better way to manage this inbox mess that I started doing years ago at the advice of others: create standard templates to decline frequent requests.” I have numerous templates—a few of which I’ll share later in this piece for the first time—stored in my OneNote to politely reject all the most common requests I get, including:

   In Handling declined introduction requests

4. Plus, my team and I have received many appreciative responses from people we’ve declined. Every time I get a note along the lines of “Thank you so much for responding, I totally understand,” it’s a positive outcome to an irritating situation. “It’s always worth it to be polite and honest, rather than bitter and evasive.” Effective Templates

   In Handling declined introduction requests

5. Plus, my team and I have received many appreciative responses from people we’ve declined. Every time I get a note along the lines of “Thank you so much for responding, I totally understand,” it’s a positive outcome to an irritating situation. “Templates help you avoid annoying follow-ups and help you do your part to stop professional ghosting, which is a growing problem in the workplace.” Effective Templates

   In Handling declined introduction requests

6. Plus, my team and I have received many appreciative responses from people we’ve declined. Every time I get a note along the lines of “Thank you so much for responding, I totally understand,” it’s a positive outcome to an irritating situation. “It’s always worth it to be polite and honest, rather than bitter and evasive.” Effective Templates

   In Reply handling

7. Understandably, most people simply ignore these messages, often because replying takes time, and there may be genuine guilt in saying no. Inevitably, this leads to several follow up messages, which leads to more agitation. “There’s a better way to manage this inbox mess that I started doing years ago at the advice of others: create standard templates to decline frequent requests.” I have numerous templates—a few of which I’ll share later in this piece for the first time—stored in my OneNote to politely reject all the most common requests I get, including:

   In Reply response templates

8. Plus, my team and I have received many appreciative responses from people we’ve declined. Every time I get a note along the lines of “Thank you so much for responding, I totally understand,” it’s a positive outcome to an irritating situation. “Templates help you avoid annoying follow-ups and help you do your part to stop professional ghosting, which is a growing problem in the workplace.” Effective Templates

   In Reply response templates