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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’. |
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