Learn to Embrace No

We are all conditioned to hate the word no, but I’m going to talk to you today about why no might be your best friend.  Hey, here’s a newsflash for you. No is not a bad word. Everybody in society conditions us that no is terrible and we have to get to yes as fast as we can.

The Problem

Here’s the problem: I’ve talked about in a previous article, if you get to yes quickly, that’s bad. That’s somebody saying, yep, sure. Yeah, why not? They have no interest in what you’re saying. They want the meeting to be over. They want you to get out of there. They don’t have the guts to tell you that, so they’re just telling you yes to get it wrapped up.   This way,  they can call you back later or probably shoot you an email, if you even get that, and tell you they’ve changed their mind. But when they say no, they’re engaged. See, no gives them the psychological perception that they are in control of the conversation.

No Doesn’t Always Mean No

If you get to a no, it doesn’t mean no, this is a hard no, and I’ll never talk to you. I don’t want to hear anything else that you have to say. It means not right now. I’m not ready, or in many cases, tell me more.  See, if you let somebody have the thought that they’re controlling the conversation by giving you a no, you’ve already won. So as you frame your questions for your next sales call, as you frame your items for your next telemarketing script, as you frame your questions for your next cold call marketing drop, do something bizarre. Ask a question that is almost guaranteed to give you a no, and then watch how far you can take it after that.

The Outcome

If you can think outside the box; If you can create your questions ahead of time so that you’re using questions that end in no first, if you have the patience to take your time and guide that person along the buyer’s journey to get them to a yes.  You’re going to kill it in commercial insurance.

Until next time:  kill or get killed!