This is the sixth in a series. As an SE, if you read any of the blogs in this series and wince, ask yourself if maybe there is room for improvement. Are you wasting your time, or worse, are you wasting time and you don’t realize it! Do your teammates do the same thing? If so, perhaps your team should consider acquiring professional guidance to improve your skills.

SE Sin #6: Can’t Say No. Some SEs have a real hard time saying “No”. “No” to their sales rep. “No” to their customer. “No” to their channel partner. “No” to their manager (just kidding). They try to please everybody, and in the process, their calendar fills with tons of pointless activities. But the SE’s job isn’t to submit to everybody’s whim, their job is to sell something. Saying “No” is an important skill for an SE in prioritizing and managing control over their valuable time.

Of course, they should say “No” in a diplomatic manner. “No, and here’s why”. Invariably conflicts will arise. Attempts will be made to overrule the SE’s attempt to prioritize their time. Management should have a well-defined escalation procedure in place to address such conflicts. Both sales and SE management should trust the SE’s judgment in managing their time.

At the end of the day, the SE has to learn to just say “No”.