Decline Reasons

What it is

A deal can end with a no. Until recently, the record knew that it ended, not why. Decline reasons add the why in one tap, on the side that said no, without slowing the decline down.

The person who says no is asked once, in the offer, from a short list of reasons that sound like their own words. Z asks once too, in the deal room, when a deal dies without a reason. Whatever comes back is filed on the deal record as a short category, with the person's own note kept next to it. See Deal Record.

A reason is always optional. Skipping is a tap, not a form, and the decline goes through either way. A reason picked on the sheet means Z does not ask again.

The sheet a talent sees

Tapping Reject on an offer opens a short sheet at the bottom of the screen. It asks What made it a no? (optional) and offers these reasons:

• Pay is too low
• Not a fit for me
• Crosses a red line
• Dates don't work
• Usage rights too broad
• Not OK with the AI use
• Conflicts with a sponsor
• Approval terms
• Payment terms
• Other

Under them sit two ways out: Skip, just decline, and Cancel. A small line says the answer helps Z bring better fits.

Other opens a single line to type in, marked "One line, only Z sees it". Once something is typed, the button on the right becomes Decline instead of Skip, just decline.

A manager or an agency working for the talent is the talent here. They see the same Reject, the same sheet and the same reasons, and the answer is filed as the talent's. It makes no difference who is holding the phone.

What happens after each choice

• A reason. One tap is enough. The sheet closes, and the decline goes in as it always has: as a line in the conversation with Z, now carrying the reason. Z gives its usual last look, the offer is rejected, and the brand is told the talent declined.
• Skip, just decline. The decline goes in exactly as before, with nothing attached. Because no reason came with it, Z folds one optional "what made it a no?" into its last look, once. See When Z asks.
• Other with a line. The note is kept with the reason and travels with the decline line to Z. The box tells the talent that only Z sees it.
• Cancel, or a tap outside the sheet. Nothing happens. The offer is still there, waiting.

Picking a reason does not add a screen, a confirmation, or a second question. It is the same decline it was before, with one more useful fact on it.

When Z asks, and why only once

A deal can also die further away from the buttons: someone says "I'll pass" in the deal room, or a brand walks away from the conversation. When that happens without a reason, Z asks one short, friendly, optional question: what made it a no. If the person is in the middle of declining, Z folds that question into the last look it already gives, so the reply still asks only one thing.

Z asks the side that said no, never the side that was turned down. If the answer names something known, it is filed under that. If the answer is "no, that's all", or they move on to something else, nothing is recorded and Z does not come back to it.

Why only once: a reason is worth having only if it is given freely. Being asked again on the next turn, and the turn after, is a good reason to stop answering. So the ask is noted on the deal before it is made. A second person on the same side, a second tab, or a later turn cannot ask again. Anyone who skips is left alone.

When the brand walks away

The brand has its own list, shorter and worded the way a brand would put it:

• Price is too high
• Out of budget
• Not the right fit
• Timing changed
• Rights don't cover us
• Approval terms
• No answer from talent
• Other

A brand never sees the talent's list, and a talent never sees the brand's.

The brand's picker is not in the app yet. A brand that walks away today does it in the deal room, and Z asks once there, in the same way. The answer lands under the same categories, with the brand marked as the side that said no.

What gets recorded

• A skipped reason is still a fact. The deal is filed as No reason given rather than left blank, so the count of declines stays honest.
• A note can be more specific than the button. "Other" plus "I'm on tour all of March" is filed as Dates don't work. A note that names nothing known stays under Other.
• The first reason stands. A reason already on the deal is not overwritten by a later one.
• A reason given too early is dropped. If the conversation turns around and the deal goes on to agree, a why that was heard before the decline never happened is cleared. Nobody's deal is marked dead over something said in passing.

How a tap becomes a category

The words a person taps are short. The category saved behind them is the fuller phrase the team counts, so a tap and a typed sentence end up in the same place:

The brand's shorter list lands in the same set: price too high, budget too small, no answer from the other side, and so on. That is what lets the team compare a decline on either side of a deal.

The categories are what the team counts across deals. The notes stay next to them for the detail. The Deals page in admin shows the counts as "Why deals die", so the most common reason is visible without opening a single deal.

What it does not do

• It does not block a decline. No reason is required, and the sheet never stands between a person and the no.
• It does not nag. One ask per deal, on the side that said no.
• It does not change what either side is offered. A talent who names a red line still sees the same briefs for now; using the reasons in matching is a later step.
• It does not go back in time. Older declines that were saved with no reason show as No reason given.
• The brand has no picker yet. Its reason list is ready and its answer is recorded, but the buttons come later.

Related Documentation

• Deal Record — the timeline and the categories a reason lands in
• Offer approval and brand payment — the steps around a decline
• Staged Payouts — what happens to the money when a deal does go ahead
• Offers System Overview — how offers work end to end