It’s Always About Them

Rule: Opening up a space for the prospect to say “No”… allows more space for the prospect to say “Yes”. In other words, if a salesperson has the courage to embrace “No”, it will give the prospect courage to say “No” if in fact it is a “No”.

We spend too much time chasing people that can’t say “No”. People can’t say “No” because of their own anxiety and they don’t call us back because they don’t want to feel bad. All of these “think it overs”, “I’ll get back to you”, “You really did a nice proposal”, are nice ways to get rid of you without them dealing with their fears.

As a salesperson embracing “No” and going the other way takes a lot of courage, it really does. When one begins to quit fighting “No”, I find that there does not leave room for anything else but “Yes”.

Rule: (Tell me you meant to say “No”)… has taken me to a “Yes” many times.

I had a husband/wife deal where she wanted to buy and he didn’t. At the end he said they would “mull it over”. I said that was not a problem but, usually that means “No” and when I leave nobody ever calls back. Tell me why you’re different.

A long pause took place. (Hint: please don’t talk at this point no matter how long it takes.) I looked at him, I looked at her, they looked at each other… and then she jumped up and said, “Honey let’s get it! I’ll pay for it”. They turned out to be great customers and were very pleased with the purchase.

The wife knew that I was right. This was a canvassing lead I had gotten on a New Year’s Eve about dark. She made me come inside and talk to the husband. I told him right then that I would come back after the Holidays and we would take a look at the new system and if it didn’t look good to him, we would just forget it. He agreed and I set the appointment.

Remember in the beginning of this article they won’t say “No” because it’s all about them. I love to hear a good solid “No”. Give a prospect room to say it. It’s all about you too. Do you have enough courage to embrace a “No”? When you do, you won’t see anything between “Yes” and “No”.

Be careful not to go call crazy and force a “No”. Sometimes prospects aren’t there yet. Just make sure you both agree together what happens next. If not, this is where hide and seek starts, and once you start, it’s hard to stop.