“No” Isn’t Your Enemy

Yes is best, but no is a perfectly acceptable answer.

When I’m bringing the sales opportunity to its conclusion, I’m going to do everything in my power to close the deal.

But I’m also going to do everything in my power to remove the excuses, justifications, and objections to get a final decision with my prospect right in front of me, even if that final answer is no. Having sales closure is something overlooked in our industry.

One thing I talk about a lot is human nature, especially the role it plays for us (or against us) in the sales process. We’ve talked about how human nature is very fickle, how prospects tend to minimize their problems, and how they tend to struggle with parting with their money, finding some justification to keep it even if they desperately need your product or service.

Now, think about how your own human nature may be working against you in the sales process.

“Maybe if I just wait long enough, the prospect will talk themselves into a yes.”

Hope can be a good thing, but I don’t recommend letting it guide your decisions and, therefore your career. You’re simply not going to get a yes on a consistent basis just because your fingers are crossed.

You can’t build a career as a top producer on callbacks.

Here are three reasons I believe it’s a fatal blow to your income to leave sales opportunities without a definitive answer:

1. If you leave a sales call with an unresolved answer, your next sales call will be preoccupied with hunting for mistakes you think you made on the last one or the “What if…?” mindset. It’s like you’ve gambled your paycheck on a football game, and you’re constantly refreshing your phone to see if there’s been a score. Your brain will start counting phantom commissions, removing urgency and pressure on the next few calls. This could cause you to squander opportunities and leads.
2. Salesperson-client relationships only get weaker with the passage of time. The relationship with your prospect will always be at its peak at the end of your sales presentation when you are looking them square in the eye. The relationship never gets stronger after you leave. It usually turns into the prospect avoiding the salesperson altogether while they shop your price or check out a competitor. If they end up doing business with the competitor, you’ll hear countless excuses for not calling you back.
3. Once the call is over, it’s over. Think about the biggest loser you know. Where does he spend his conscious thoughts? I can tell you with the utmost confidence that he lives in the past, retelling stories where he’s the victim, or he’s the unseen hero. There’s no easy way to fit the past into current sales. Callbacks are not the way ahead. If they were, they’d be named “call forwards.”

On the other end of the spectrum, there are the insecure neurotics who live their lives worrying about future events that will probably never happen. Meanwhile, you’ve got the successful winners living in the present moment and focusing all their energy and effort on capitalizing on today’s opportunities and responsibilities.

Why?

Because that’s what winners do. So when the sales opportunity is over, take the lessons from it (or the commissions) and let it float into your past, but don’t let your conscience go with it. Once you leave your prospect, something else will grab their attention, and someone else will most likely build a better relationship with them and earn their business if you haven’t.

Now, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t follow up. If your customer tells you to call next week, you call them next week. But you can’t call with the expectation it will turn into a deal. You also have to let go of any fear of being disliked if you’re going to be successful in sales.

To become a top producer, you’ve got to have a strong sense of self. You need to be able to perform under tension and stress. You need to become self-confident enough that you’re not desperate to be liked. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable.

And don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions.