Why is that?
What is it about the word ‘no’ that makes us uncomfortable (or even worry) in sales situations? Is it because we associate it with rejection and often take it very personally?
In this blog, I am going to share with you why the word ‘no’ is a great tool to have in your sales armory, and 3 ways to make you can use the word ‘no’ to get better sales results.
DO IT YOUR WAY
This is not the case.
You are allowed to say no by saying something like, “I’m really sorry but I’m not able to do that”, or “look, I appreciate you don’t feel comfortable about the price, but we’re not able to adjust it.”
By doing this, you are taking control of your situation and building respect for the way you do business.
Your prospect will start to respect you a bit more for saying ‘no’ (especially the ones you are your ‘perfect customer’). If you don’t say no (when the situation calls for it), it can have a detrimental effect on the business relationship if that prospect becomes your customer. Afterall, someone who has asked you to adjust your price already doesn’t see the value you are offering!
Put yourself in control of the situation and say ‘no’!
PREPARE FOR THE WORD
If you say to your prospect that you can’t give them a reduction in price, what will their reaction be?
What are they going to be thinking as a result of you saying no?
They might be thinking “is it worth paying that price?” They may want to see more information to make their decision.
If you anticipate what they may be thinking, then you can prepare and phrase the best possible way to say no. For example, rather than just saying “no, I’m not budging on my price”, try saying:
ALLOW YOUR PROSPECT TO SAY NO
“James, we want our prospects to say yes!”.
I haven’t lost the plot, I promise!
Let me give you an example question I would use in a sales conversation:
“So it seems like you don’t want to get that problem resolved.”
They usually respond, “No, we do need to make changes to drive things forward.”
See what we did there? We allowed them to say NO to their problem, not to the solution. This puts you in a great position to respond with “excellent, how do you see us being able to drive things forward together?”
When you get the prospect to say ‘no’ in this way, it puts them in control of their situation. It makes them see that they have to get their issue resolved!
By putting the onus back on them, it reminds them that they need to take action, and it will encourage them to want to talk more about working with you.
You don’t need to view ‘no’ as a negative word. Instead, it gives us the opportunity to shape our sales conversations.
No is never a bad word in sales. You’re better off get a ‘no’ than a ‘maybe’. No’s are helpful, they help you to learn and do better in the next sales conversation.
In my Academy we do a lot of work on using the word ‘no’ and how to feel comfortable about using it and hearing it.
I would love to help you do the same! Reach out to me at james@thesbsa.com and let’s see how we can get you using the word ‘no’ to get better sales results.
Serve brilliantly, sell authentically!
