The other day, Lewis and I had to politely decline a lead that came from someone I genuinely like – a former client and a friend of Payper's... That made it harder than usual.
The business was a new lending company. Nothing illegal about it, but when we looked at what they were offering and who they were targeting, it felt sharky to us. Vulnerable people in tight spots, being offered credit at terms that weren't going to help them. We didn't feel right pitching that story to journalists I respect, and we didn't feel right putting the Payper name behind it.
So we said no. Politely, but clearly.
Saying no to new business is one of the hardest things to do as a founder. We're ambitious. We want Payper to grow. Every lead that comes in represents revenue, momentum, another name on the client roster. The instinct – especially early on – is to say yes to everything and figure it out later.
But we don't do that. In fact, we turn down roughly 30% of the leads that come our way.
Here's why.
We Don't Think We Can Get You Coverage
This is the big one, and it's the most purely practical reason on the list.
Our entire model is built on results. We don't charge a flat monthly retainer regardless of outcomes – we charge when we land coverage. Which means if we don't genuinely believe we can get a story into the media, taking your money would be dishonest.
It's that simple.
Some businesses come to us with stories that aren't ready yet. The funding round is too small, the product isn't differentiated enough, or the timing is off. Sometimes the story is fine but the media landscape isn't right for it right now. Sometimes the founder wants to announce something that, honestly, isn't news.
In those cases we'll tell you. We'd rather have that slightly uncomfortable conversation upfront than take your money, pitch half-heartedly, and have nothing to show for it.
Which brings me to reason two.
We're Protecting Our Relationships With Journalists
This one is easy to overlook, but it's fundamental to how we operate.
Journalists pick up the phone when we call. They open our emails. They respond to our pitches. That's not luck – it's the result of years of only sending them stories worth their time. The moment we start pitching weak stories, or worse, stories that waste their time, that starts to erode.
A journalist who gets burned by a dud pitch remembers. They start filing your name in the mental "low priority" folder. Do it enough times and you've lost something that took years to build and can't be bought back.
So when we decide not to pitch a story, we're not just protecting the client from embarrassment. We're protecting the pipeline that makes everything else we do work.
We're Saving You From Crickets
There is nothing more demoralising in PR than putting serious time, money, and internal energy into a big announcement – and then hearing absolutely nothing back.
No calls, no emails, no coverage. Just silence.
It's embarrassing. It deflates teams. It poisons the well for any future PR activity. And to make it worse, plenty of traditional agencies will send you a $15,000 invoice at the end of it and call it "strategic counsel."
We've seen it happen to clients who came to us after the fact. They'd been stung, and they were understandably bitter about the whole industry as a result.
We'd rather be the agency that had the honest conversation at the start than the one that took the money and hoped for the best.
Our Values Have to Line Up
This is where it gets a bit more personal.
We have a hard rule: we don't work with oil and gas companies. To us, they're the tobacco companies of our era – industries that know the damage they're doing and continue anyway. We're not going to be complicit in that, regardless of how much they're willing to pay.
I've knocked back similar work before. In a previous business I declined a branding project for an oil and gas company, and I said no to a large irrigation scheme that would have diverted water from the Waimakariri River across the Canterbury Plains. Both were commercially attractive. Neither felt right.
But it's not always that clear-cut. Sometimes it's more subtle. If we don't genuinely believe in what a client is doing – if we can't understand the value their product creates, or we have reservations about who it serves – we won't work for them. The loan company I mentioned at the start is a good example. Nothing illegal. Just not something I could get behind.
Good PR requires conviction. You can't pitch a story you don't believe in and expect journalists – or anyone – to feel otherwise.
Sometimes It's Just Capacity
This one's rare, and honestly it's the most straightforward: sometimes we're full.
We're on a growth journey and we're hiring to keep pace with demand, so this doesn't happen often. But when it does, we'll tell you straight. We won't take you on and then give you a diluted version of what we're capable of.
If we're at capacity and we can't do the job properly, we'd rather refer you to someone else who can. Yes, that means walking away from revenue. But it's the right thing to do.
What This Means If You're Thinking of Getting in Touch
If you've read this far and you're wondering whether we'd say yes to you – just ask. We'll tell you honestly within the first conversation.
If we think your story is strong and the timing is right, we'll tell you that. If we have reservations, we'll tell you those too, and we'll try to help you get to a point where the answer can be yes.
And if it's a clear no – for any of the reasons above – we'll tell you that kindly, clearly, and quickly. Because you deserve to know, and your time is too valuable to waste on the wrong PR partner. Trust me, it's better we politely say no and you save your money rather than having a journalist say no to the story (or more likely just ghost us) later down the track!
Get in touch here and we'll give you a straight answer.