The Best “No” I Ever Heard

Most salespeople spend their days doing everything they can to avoid having people say “no” to them. And of course this makes sense; we’ve all been taught that in sales you are going for a “yes,” not a “no.” As a result, many salespeople come to view “no” as a failure and as the end of the process.

Promotional Consultant Today shares this insight on the word “no” from the feature article in the June issue of Promotional Consultant digital magazine. Instead of actually fearing and avoiding “no,” salespeople should learn to view it in a totally new light and start to value it. Here’s one way to take on a new perspective of the word “no.”

Opportunity.
It may sound cliche but it’s true that when one door closes another opens. Getting a “no” has the potential to open you up to entirely new opportunities. We recently surveyed several sales professionals in a sales group on Linkedin.com, and everyone had a story about how a “no” actually benefitted them. One person reported back saying, “A client said no, but gave me a lead that turned into one of my best sales ever.” Another person told a story about how he had cold-called a large company. It turned out the company was in a contract with another supplier. The salesperson asked them about other people they knew who could use his product, and he was referred to a location just down the street where he signed what he described as “a nice long, profitable agreement.”

Most salespeople operate from a place of fearing or avoiding opportunities to get a “no” and, in avoiding rejection, what could become the greatest opportunities are actually lost. When you can see the value in it, things will start falling into your lap that you never planned or expected.

The overall lesson here is when you value “no,” you truly do learn its value. You’ll create more opportunity in your business and your life. For more ways to value “no,” read the complete article in the June issue of Promotional Consultant, delivered directly to your inbox.

Source: Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz are the authors of Go for No!, a short, powerful story written specifically for sales professionals in every industry who must learn to harness the power of “no” to be successful. They are also the creators of the DVD docu-movie, Yes is the Destination, No is How You Get There!