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Your Client Has Said ‘No’, Now What? Part 2 of 3

10 steps to take after your prospect says ‘no’.

In last week’s ENS on Sales, we said you would probably rather endure a root canal than hear your prospect say, “We like your presentation but……”

But understanding why a prospect says no is one of the most valuable steps towards yes in your entire sales process.

In this issue, we’ll explore the first five of the 10 Things You Can Do After Your Client Says No, not counting taking hostages until they say yes.

Step 1: Never Take No Personally. Structure your presentation so that ‘no means no’ to this particular presentation ,this idea or at this time… not no to you personally.

I’ve always felt that if the client says no, they are the loser not me, because I’m simply offering to solve their problems.

Never let your tone or body language convey disappointment after no.

Change your posture and demeanor to one of curiosity and sincere interest.

Step 2: Take Responsibility for the No.

Generally, when you get a no, it means you missed a no earlier in the process. After no, you need to retrace your steps to find the no you missed along the way.

Take responsibility for the no with questions like;
Did I misunderstand your goals?
or….

Can you help me understand why my proposal isn’t appropriate at this time?
Perhaps you misread the prospect’s goals or budget?
Did you establish rapport? Did you build your brand and credibility before making the presentation?
Did you relate to the buyers style?

or…
Has something changed since you conducted your initial CAN (customer needs analysis)?

Never argue and never try to prove the prospect is wrong. Always ask questions to discover where you missed the mark.

To take responsibility for no, you must understand the root cause of ALL nos.

Your prospect did not agree to sit still for your presentation because they had no interest. Assuming you are talking to the real decision maker, no really means, “You have not convinced me that I will get a return on my investment”.

What would you guess is the number one reason advertisers advertise?

Our survey, of 540 locally owned and operated businesses, revealed that the number one reason businesses advertise is to increase sales. The root cause of no is always that you have not convinced your prospect that you will increase their sales.

So the ‘no budget’ excuse, or any other excuse for no is always a cover for the real reason. You have not convinced the prospect that you have the best solution to increasing sales.

Business owners are entrepreneurs by nature and seek to minimize the risk in every investment. Entrepreneurs will sell their car or borrow from their mother if your presentation convinced them their investment will pay off.

A no can only be turned into a yes when your prospect wants to achieve the goals you have identified and when they believe your solution is cost effective.

You made your proposal because you believed it was good for the prospect, and now you need to take responsibility to learn why it missed the mark so you can make a better presentation the next time.

Step 3: Be Prepared to Negotiate.

Some buyers say ‘no’ as a negotiation tactic to capture a better deal.

Always build enough into your presentation to leave room to maneuver.
Never offer so much value-added or other perks in your initial presentation, that you have no room to sweeten the pie.

Again, ask questions to determine if this is a negotiation tactic. Questions like; What would we have to do to make our proposal work for you?

Be prepared to practice our ‘Negotiation One-O-One’…never give one without getting one.
If your prospect asks for a lower rate, you can’t concede without changing the rotation, asking for a longer commitment, or some other concession.

Step 4: After no, Always Leave the Door Open. If you have not been able to turn the no into a yes, get agreement on next steps, again through questioning.

Questions like: Now that I have a better understanding of your situation, may I make an appointment to do another presentation that addresses your concerns and achieves your objectives?

Always try to get agreement on a specific time table for next steps.

Step 5: If the no is a veiled no, like, “I have to think about it” or “I have to talk to my partner or accountant”, ask questions to remove the veil.

Questions like: What is it in our proposal that requires more thought?

or
May I have the opportunity to meet with you and your partner to explore this further?

In our next blog, we’ll address the rest of our 10 things to do after your prospect says no.

ENSMedia Inc. 705-484-9993

Your Prospects says “No”..Now What?

Part 1 of 3

After putting all of your effort and creativity into a presentation, you would probably rather endure a root canal than hear your prospect say, “We like your presentation but…..”

This is the first of a three-part series of ENS on Sales to address what sales professionals do after their prospect says “no”.

Understanding why a prospect says no is one of the most valuable steps towards yes in your entire sales process.

We often run sales contests where the salesperson who captures the most ‘no’s’ wins first prize.

Second prize in our ‘no’ contest goes to the salesperson who captures the most yeses.

Here is the thing, the person who captures first prize for the most no’s, ALWAYS captures the most yeses as well. Always.

So before we explore what to do after no, let’s discuss the psychology of no in the selling process.

Fear of rejection or hearing ‘no’ can be a huge attitude killer if not put into perspective.

Psychologists know that to manage stress, you have to only concern yourself over that with which you have direct control. You do not have absolute control over whether your client says yes or no.

What you do have control over is how much effort you put into preparing a proposal that meets the customers’ needs. You also have control over how many times you ask for a sale and, of course, the quality of those asks does influence your closing ratio.

Success breeds enthusiasm and more success, so it is imperative that you define your success in terms of things you control.

If you define success as getting a yes….you’ll inevitably feel like a failure some days.

But if you define success as making X number of prequalified, high-quality, customer-focused presentations, you can achieve that goal, and feel like a success each day.

By the way, if you get a yes more than 50% of the time, do not pat yourself on the back too much. High closing ratios simply mean you’re calling on the easy accounts, or not asking for enough.

One more thing before we address what to do after no….you need to manage WHEN you get to “no”.

When you get a no at the end of your presentation, it simply means there was really a no earlier in the presentation that you did not uncover.

If you purposely and tactfully captured a yes on each point in your presentation on the way towards your close, there will be no surprise no’s.

It’s important for you to encourage an agreement, or disagreement, each step of the way during your presentation.

In next week’s ENS on Sales, we’ll explore the 10 steps to take after your prospect says ‘no’.

ENSMedia Inc. 705-484-9993

The Gift of Gab

Every once in a while, I meet a salesperson who proudly proclaims their strength to be, “I’ve got the gift of gab.” In sales, the ‘gift of gab’ is more aptly described as ‘the curse of chatter.’

Successful sales professionals know that sales are really more about listening than it is about talking.

Those with the curse more often engage in product-feature speak than they do in providing customer-focused solutions or opportunities.

Customers don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care….and caring is demonstrated by listening.

Listening is by far the most important and difficult skill a sales professional can learn and practice. The sales people who annoy and alienate prospects the most are those who claim to be good listeners but follow every customer objection with a “yah, but…..”

There is no room for the word ‘but’ in a good listener’s vocabulary.

To be a professional listener you need to;

1.) Earn the right to ask questions by learning something about the prospect’s business before you make a call.

2.) Prepare with open-ended questions that encourage the prospect to express their views and feelings.

3.) Demonstrate you are listening by taking notes. (Always ask permission to take notes. (“Your input is important to me, do you mind if I take a few notes?”)

4.) Paraphrase and summarize what you hear. Don’t start a debate.

5.) Use the language and needs you hear the customer express when you make your presentation.

6.) Make certain that every benefit you present relates to a need you heard the prospect express.

There is a lot more money to be made being interested than there is in being interesting. So why not shut up and make some money!

The Secret to Increasing Your Sales

In this excerpt from my 2001 book, I wrote: “Tear up the last page in your presentation and double the investment you are asking for.” That was one of the keys to success then and remains so in 2017.

Here are the simple back-to-basics steps that still work today:

Know your prospects dreams.
Wear your ad manager’s hat & do the best presentation you possibly can with the client’s best interest at heart
Establish a budget within the parameters, as described by the client.
Look for the big idea. Revolve your presentation around a creative solution to an agreed to client problem or dream; not around spots, rates, or GRP’s.
THEN TEAR UP THE LAST PAGE, AND DOUBLE THE INVESTMENT!!!

WHY DOUBLE YOUR PRESENTATION?

A) From a Client Perspective

Dominating your medium will capture and gain a dominant Share-of-Mind and subsequent dominant Share-of-Market with your audience.
Major investments are viewed with much more respect and attention than minor or token investments. Your advertisers have a vested interest in ensuring your campaign works if the investment is significant.
More budget directly increases reach, frequency, Share-of-Voice and success.
Clients seldom tell you their real budget. They believe they have a vested interest in reducing their costs, but will always invest more if they are convinced they’ll get a return on that investment.
Larger ‘asks’ demonstrate your confidence in what you are proposing.

B) From Your Perspective

You deserve more. Radio should not continue to accept competitors as “automatic buys”.
It takes just as much work to write and service a $20,000.00 account as it does a $100,000.00 account.
You will make more money………more easily.

If only half your clients double their budget, and you capture the original proposed budget as a fall-back position with the other half, your sales will increase by 50%.

How Unique is Your Market?

In last week’s BIA Kelsey Local Media Watch blog, they suggested, “It’s good to think of small markets as unique, rather than as reflections of the national advertising market.”

The article drew the conclusion that different media combinations work differently in every market. And while that may be true, I believe it missed one important variable when trying to rationalize the differences in advertisers’ media use from one market to another.

I suspect the difference has as much to do with the effectiveness of media sales forces in each market, as it does with the effectiveness of the various media in those markets.

The article failed to recognize the role of sales forces in telling their media’s story and capturing market share.

Here is a sample of the local market ad revenue differences they discussed:

Media Market A Share Market B Share Share Difference

Online 12.76% 19.60% 6.84%

Radio 11.43% 7.50% 3.93%

Print 9.96% 12.46% 2.44%

Direct Mail 0.47% 7.10% 6.63%

You can see that Radio captured 52.4% more share of ad dollars in Market A versus Market B, that’s huge! You’ll also note that the more successful radio market appears to do so at the expense of Online, Print and Direct mail in that market.

I haven’t named the markets, but I’m somewhat familiar with both and I suspect the radio sales forces in Market A are much more effective at selling radio’s strategic role in the new media landscape versus Market B. Radio sales execs in Market B obviously fight for station share of tight radio budgets thinking the other radio stations are their competitors rather than understanding how to sell a more dominant role for radio in a media mix.

Click here to arrange an online overview of how our SoundADvice and TOMA Research can educate clients, and train radio account executives, on why radio deserves a larger share of advertising budgets in your market.