Go through the nos to get to yes. It takes X number of nos to get 1 yes. Every no brings you closer to yes. Ive heard these statements in so many sales training courses and read them in so many sales books. No wonder so many people hate cold calling! Who wants to hear no? Who wants to go through X number of nos to get to yes? Thats exhausting and demoralizing. Ecch! Wouldnt it be so much nicer if almost no one said no? Isnt it great to hear yes! Wouldnt it be wonderful to only hear possibilities? Well, you can. And this is how: I have been writing a lot recently about changing the way that you think. Many times, what we think is a no is really something that we are making up! It is important to differentiate between the actual words your prospect says and what you think your prospect is saying. There are the facts, or the words, and then there are the stories, the things we make up about what we think our prospect is really saying. Frequently, the two have nothing in common! Learning to hear what your prospect is actually saying versus what you make up they are saying will result in hearing fewer and fewer nos and feeling less and less rejection. This does take some work and practice, like learning any new skill, but it can be done. Here are some examples: If a prospect says to you that they are not the decision-maker and that you need to speak with someone else, that is not a no. She is not the decision-maker. But if she gives you the name of the decision-maker, that is a yes. She is helping! When you are trying to set a new business appointment, if a prospect asks you to send something instead, that is not a no. More than likely, it means you havent convinced her yet. Send her somethingyou now have a second chance. If a prospect says shes busy and asks you to call back, that is not a no. Thats a request to call her back. Do so. If a prospects secretary says that your prospect is in a meeting, that is not a no. Your prospect is in a meeting. Ask when she will be done with that meeting, and call back then. Many of our nos are actually quite neutral. But we dont hear them as neutral. We read extra or hidden meaning into the neutral words and turn them into something quite different. Examine the facts. Examine what is actually being said. Check to see if you are making stuff up about a conversation that, when you examine it, is actually neutral. Is your prospect really saying no, or is it a story that you are telling yourself? Hearing no continually is demoralizing and dispiriting. It is difficult to be energized and interested when facing that wall of rejection. Stop hearing no by always checking your facts in prospecting and sales situations. As you check your facts, stop yourself from making stuff up about those facts. As you do this, you will find that many of your nos disappear. You will hear more yess. While the nos may never disappear completely, eventually no itself will become the aberration. You will then be able to prospect in a whole new way. Go to it! 2004 Wendy Weiss
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