No - The Hardest Word.
Posted by Frank Belzer on Fri, Mar 11, 2011 @ 12:40 PM
Elton John sang that "Sorry seems to be the Hardest Word", but I disagree. I have no problem saying sorry. I need to often and I say it alot. The word I find people having trouble with the most is "no".
I can handle a no and many good sales people can, you have to in order to be successful. But prospects are not sales people and certainly not strong sales people at that. They have a different mentality - marketers, bankers, accountants, engineers, scientists or analysts all look at no differently than I do. They will say anything but no and so the sales person keeps plugging, tracking, pushing, enticing, engaging, reaching out and then all of a sudden - BOOM! Sometimes the boom, which is finally a discernible no is still addressed to someone else and not the sales person that prompted the boom. (interesting in itself)
This happened to me today. Watch this sequence.
- Would love to talk to you more about....
- Please keep me informed down the road I just don't have the funds....
- thanks for getting back and keeping me in the loop......
- Please keep me updated....
- BOOM
I am not a scientist or analyst but I get confused between 4 and 5.
Many people would like sales to be like marketing , soft, non-invasive, patient and subject to the whims of the market. But sales is none of those things - sales people with that approach drown, fail, flop, crash, burn and have done forever.
Do I regret the BOOM moment from earlier today? I don't like people not liking me and I don't seek out persecution. I don't appreciate being slandered or spoken of in very harsh negative terms. But I do like getting a definite no.
