If you’re in business, you have something to offer. You offer an idea, a product, or a service. When that idea, product, or service is rejected, it can stop business leaders in their tracks.
Being stopped may take on the form of:
- Overthinking what went wrong
- Getting upset or making yourself and/or your team wrong
- Stopping communication or action
Let’s face it, nobody likes rejection. However, there is a biological reaction that occurs when you hear the word no.
If your biological wiring measures higher in autonomy, the more the word no motivates you to get more sales. The lower the autonomy the more no discourages you. It is just what is happening in the background. Just notice it and understand it.
Couple that biological dynamic with how no’s take on many forms. An outright verbal or written no is easy to recognize.
More often, no shows up when your calls aren’t returned, they unsubscribe, or they tell you, they’ll do it later. Sometimes these no’s are disguised as no but are no’s for now. Sometimes these no’s require consistency on your part and sometimes something is missing.
It can be mind boggling to figure it out. If you’re getting stopped by no, consider two things:
1. Reframe The No
Consider that a no is a powerful catalyst for moving your business ahead. It’s better to get a no from a prospect rather than endless calls that go nowhere.
During your first conversations with your prospect, set up a mutual agreement on how the final decision will be communicated. Words like, “we’ll get back to you” are vague. Set a clear expectation that the meeting is designed to simply identify their final decision regardless if it is yes or no.
By setting clear, specific expectations at the beginning of a relationship on the communication that you expect on their decision whether it is a yes or a no, you clear the way for completion or next steps.
2. Ask Yourself What’s Missing
If receiving consistent rejections, consider that something is missing. You may be missing a system or an integration of your processes.
When processes are missing or misaligned, you spin your wheels. You may not be pre-qualifying them or talking with them too early in the buying process. Additionally, if you’re unclear on your sales process, your product and services offerings, or your ideal client, this incongruence gets in the way of a yes.
If you’re playing a big game, then there will be no’s. Embrace the no and ask yourself what’s missing. A resilient leader knows that a no can also clear the way for new opportunities.
Leave a Reply