No. One word, two letters, yet incredibly difficult to say in front of a customer. 'Just say no' may work as a slogan for America's anti-drugs campaign, but it's rarely adopted by businessmen eager to make a sale. After all, the customer is king, right? And doesn't good customer service mean bending over backwards to satisfy his every whim?

Not necessarily. These days, it's important to have clear positionings so customers know exactly what to expect from you. There are three main ones. The first is undeniable, out-and-out quality; the second is perceived quality, often created by clever marketing; the third is value for money - a euphemism for low cost.

So you have The Ritz at one end of the scale and the budget motels at the other. A Rolls-Royce and a Robin Reliant, a Mont Blanc and a Bic. The trick is to be single-minded in your marketing and develop a reputation for one thing in particular. Being a jack of all trades is not only a negative concept, it also confuses the consumer.

Ask ten people to name a budget airline and most will say Ryanair or EasyJet before they think of BA's low-cost subsidiary. Why? Because that's what they're known for and BA isn't. Tempting as it is, you can't be all things to all men.

Of course, most people in business find it difficult to say 'no' to a chance to make money. It cuts right across a basic ego desire to be popular and busy. However, if you want to be really successful, you need a nailed-down strategy with a specific set of criteria. If you try to broaden your customer base with a wider range of products or services you may enjoy higher initial sales but you'll almost certainly diminish the focus that both existing and potential customers have of you.

Sharp Electronics is a great example of a focused company. For years, it struggled to compete with other electrical giants in every product area. Its problem was that it wasn't the best, the most advanced or the cheapest. Then, a few years ago, it realised that flatscreen televisions would be the boom market and concentrated its efforts on that one product. Today it's a market leader through its development of Aquos LCD televisions and the fortunes of the company have been turned around. Sharp asked itself this simple question: "Can we be all things to all consumers and still be successful?"

And the same is true for you as an individual in terms of 'positioning' yourself.

Sometimes you've just got to take no for an answer.



Philip Hesketh is a professional speaker on the psychology of persuasion and the author of 'Life's A Game So Fix The Odds'.