Why I turn down some clients and why that makes me better at my job
Most agencies take every client they can get. I don't. Here 4 situations where I say no and what it means for every project I say yes to.
Last month I turned down a project worth more than most of my retainers.
The client had the budget. The timeline was clear. The brief was well-written. On paper, it was exactly the kind of project most agencies would take without a second thought.
I said no anyway and it was the right call.
"Most agencies take every client they can get. I don't and the reason says something about how I do the work."
This isn't about being selective for the sake of appearing exclusive. It's about something more practical: bad-fit projects produce bad work, damage relationships, and waste everyone's time and money. Turning down the wrong clients is how I protect the quality of every project I do take on.
Here are the four situations where I always say no and an honest explanation of why.
Why saying no is part of doing good work
An agency that takes every enquiry is an agency optimising for revenue, not results. Every project they accept dilutes the attention, energy, and care available to the ones they should be focusing on.
The clients who get the best work from me are the ones I've specifically decided are a good fit — where I believe I can deliver something meaningful, where expectations are realistic, and where there's enough trust on both sides to actually do the job well. That mutual selection process starts with being honest about when a project isn't right.
It's also better for the client. Taking a project I're not well-suited to, or one where the conditions for success don't exist, doesn't serve them. They spend money, get mediocre results, and conclude that digital marketing doesn't work — when the real problem was the wrong agency taking the wrong brief.
The 4 situations where I say no
When the foundation isn't ready
In this situation, I don't just say no and walk away. I tell the client exactly what needs to be in place first, and I often help them get there — starting with a proper website audit before any marketing spend begins. Our free 25-point checklist is usually the first thing I share.
Once the foundation is solid, the conversation about marketing channels becomes much more productive. Until then, it isn't.
When the expectations aren't realistic
SEO takes time. That's not a limitation of my work — it's how search engines function. I covered exactly why in my plain-English guide to SEO. Clients who understand this going in have better outcomes. Clients who need a guarantee of instant results in writing are going to be disappointed — by me, by anyone honest, and eventually by whoever does make that promise.
I'd rather lose the project than start a relationship built on something I know won't be true.
When the client needs to control everything
This doesn't mean clients have no say. Quite the opposite — my process is collaborative by design. What it does mean is that hiring a specialist and then overriding every recommendation is a recipe for mediocre results that nobody is happy with.
If a client has been burned by previous agencies and feels they need total control as a result, I understand it. I try to address the root cause — usually by being clearer about my process, setting expectations upfront, and building trust incrementally. But where total control is a non-negotiable condition of the engagement, the work will suffer. I'd rather have that conversation before a contract is signed than six months into a project.
When it's not something I do well
In these cases I refer the work to someone better suited. It costs me the revenue from that project. It has, more than once, led to a referral back from the person I sent it to. And it means the client gets what they actually need rather than an approximation of it.
The principle is simple: I only take work I're confident I can do well. Everything outside that boundary gets a referral and an honest explanation of why.
What this means for the clients I do say yes to
When I take a project, it means I've specifically decided that I can deliver something meaningful for this client. Not that I needed the revenue. Not that the brief was vague enough to be inoffensive. That I genuinely believe I're the right fit and that the conditions for good work exist.
It means I've reviewed your situation and believe I can move the needle on something specific. It means I're not going to tell you what you want to hear — I're going to tell you what's true, even when that's uncomfortable. It means you're getting a team that chose to work with you, not one that couldn't afford to say no.
That distinction shows in the work.
The clients I work with best are the ones who value honesty over flattery, results over promises, and a real working relationship over a transactional one. They're also usually the ones who have been let down by agencies that said yes to everything and are looking for something different.
If that sounds like you, I'd like to talk. If you're looking for guaranteed rankings in two weeks and total control over the process — I're genuinely not the right fit, and I'd rather tell you that now than discover it six months in.
If none of those four apply to you — let's talk
Book a free 30-minute consultation. I'll tell you honestly whether I're the right fit for what you need and what a realistic plan looks like if I are.
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