Embrace the Power of ‘No’: 9 Polite Ways to Decline New Clients

No is a complete sentence. To activate my own ‘No’ muscle, I had to write it on a post it note and pin it on my monitor, cause I always naturally wanted to help. This would result in crazy unhealthy situations, like staying up till 1am at night fixing client work, which they never appreciated or valued. (Sounds familiar?)

Boundaries are important. And a silly little trick like a bossy post it note, can help when you get caught off guard, and accidentally fall back into your old habit of saying yes to everything.

Here are 9 ways to say you are currently not accepting new clients:

1. “I am not currently accepting new clients.”
2. “My client list is full.”
3. “We are at capacity and unable to take on new clients.”
4. “We have reached our client limit for now.”
5. “I am not taking any new clients at the moment.”
6. “Due to high demand, we are not accepting new clients right now.”
7. “I am fully booked and unable to take on additional clients.”
8. “Our practice is currently not onboarding new clients.”
9. “We are not taking new clients at this stage.”