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Say no to a sales VP's custom feature request
Practice: Getting the tone right. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
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.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Softening the no. AI defaults to warm openers and 'let me explore options', so Greg can't tell if it's a yes or no. Try: Add: "First sentence: a clear no for the March release. No apologies or softeners."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it. Try: Cap each part instead: "4 short sentences, each under 20 words."
- Saying no without a path. The AI declines but leaves Greg nothing to tell the customer. Try: Add: "Give the reason, the 2-level approvals workaround, and the Apr 8 revisit."
- Promising too much. To soften the no, the AI hints at a future date. Try: Add: "Don't promise the feature or any date."
- Formatting an email. The AI adds a subject line, bold and bullets. Greg reads on his phone. Try: Add: "Plain text, short paragraphs, no bold or bullets."
What a strong prompt includes
- Puts the no first
- Offers the workaround
- Gives the revisit date
- Forbids promises
- Sets a word limit
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