{"id":"pm-decline-sales-feature-request","audience":"product-managers","category":"writing-emails","track":"writing","technique":"tone","title":"Say no to a sales VP's custom feature request","free":false,"task":"Greg, the VP of Sales, asked you to add a custom approval workflow for one big customer by the March release, and the answer is no. Write the reply in under 100 words, plain text, with the no in the first sentence and no apologies or softeners, then the real reason from your notes and the workaround and revisit date he can offer the customer. Don't promise the feature or a ship date.","materialLabel":"Greg's email and your notes (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"From: Greg Hollis (VP Sales)\nSubject: Need this for Brightwater - March release?\n\nBrightwater Logistics ($48k ARR) wants a 4-level approval workflow for purchase orders. Their ops director says without it they \"might look at other options.\" Can we get this into the March release? I told them I'd ask you. This is a big account!\n\n---\nMy notes (Pam, PM):\n- Q1 plan is locked; leadership signed off Jan 9. Adding anything means cutting something already committed.\n- Eng estimate for 4-level approvals: about 6 weeks.\n- Only Brightwater has asked for more than 2 levels. Nobody else in 14 months.\n- Workaround they can use today: 2-level approvals plus the Slack notification on each approval step. CS (Ines) can set it up with them this week.\n- We'll look at multi-level approvals at April planning (Apr 8) if 3+ customers ask.\n- Brightwater renewal date: Jun 30. Not an immediate churn risk.\n- Don't promise dates. Last time sales quoted a date we missed it by 2 months.\n- Greg likes it short. He reads email on his phone between calls.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":100},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Softening the no","why":"AI defaults to warm openers and 'let me explore options', so Greg can't tell if it's a yes or no.","fix":"Add: \"First sentence: a clear no for the March release. No apologies or softeners.\"","checks":["r0","r2"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it.","fix":"Cap each part instead: \"4 short sentences, each under 20 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Saying no without a path","why":"The AI declines but leaves Greg nothing to tell the customer.","fix":"Add: \"Give the reason, the 2-level approvals workaround, and the Apr 8 revisit.\"","checks":["r1","r2"]},{"title":"Promising too much","why":"To soften the no, the AI hints at a future date.","fix":"Add: \"Don't promise the feature or any date.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Formatting an email","why":"The AI adds a subject line, bold and bullets. Greg reads on his phone.","fix":"Add: \"Plain text, short paragraphs, no bold or bullets.\"","checks":["plainText"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Puts the no first","patterns":["first sentence","lead with","start with","clear no","say no","no (apolog|sorry|soften)"]},{"label":"Offers the workaround","patterns":["workaround","2.level","two.level","slack notification"]},{"label":"Gives the revisit date","patterns":["apr(il)? ?8","april planning","revisit"]},{"label":"Forbids promises","patterns":["no promise","don'?t promise","do not promise","no (ship )?date"]},{"label":"Sets a word limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)"]}],"hint":"A good no is clear, gives the reason, and offers a path. Tell the AI the no comes first, what the workaround and revisit date are, and what it must not promise.","rubricLabels":["The first sentence clearly says the custom approval workflow will not be in the March release (no hedging like 'we'll try' or 'let me see')","Gives the real reason (Q1 plan is locked and it's about 6 weeks of work that only one customer has asked for) and offers the 2-level approvals plus Slack notification workaround set up by CS","Mentions revisiting at April planning (Apr 8) if more customers ask, without promising the feature or any ship date, and contains no apology or softener (no 'sorry', 'unfortunately', 'I know this isn't what you hoped')"]}