Three reasons "No" isn't always a bad word in sales

Let’s talk about the word, “No.” It’s a word that so many people are scared of hearing. I think that the fear of “No” holds so many of us back from trying new things, starting new ventures, and from achieving our goals. Today, I’m going to talk about three reasons that “No” is a good thing.

But first, I’d like to tell a personal story about the word, “No”.

When I was in college, I knew I wanted to go into advertising. As you start to get close to graduation and start to think about what you want to do, you look at different career paths. Advertising sales is one of the paths you can go down, and it tends to be an easier path to break into as a new graduate.

But as I took a look at that career, I thought, “No way. I do not want to go into sales.” My stepdad, Joe, was a lawyer and he would always say to me, Amanda, everything is sales. And I would roll my eyes, thinking that he went to law school for three years, passed the bar and that’s what it takes to be a lawyer. After rolling my eyes at him, I’d say, “You’re not in sales.”

But as my career in advertising agencies went on, I started to realize he was so right, because everything you do is sales to some extent. When you’re trying to get your team behind a new idea, that is sales. When you’re presenting that new campaign creative to your client, that is sales. And obviously, when you’re helping bring in new business, that is also sales.

Looking back, I believe the reason I felt so strongly that I didn’t want to go into sales as a career was my fear of the word no. No one wants to be rejected, and certainly not over and over, which is often what happens in a sales career.

I have come to realize there are some really good things about hearing the word, “No” through my 20 year career. Here are three of them.

1.    Hearing “no” is also real feedback.

“No”, while not the answer you might want, might be the answer you need. Every time you hear a no, you must reflect back on why.

Did you really listen to the client or prospect when they told you about their challenges? Is the solution you’re bringing them really a solution to their problem, or is it what you want to sell them? Did you bring enough value as part of your solution?  

If you really reflect, you’ll see what you can do to get better and improve as you move forward.

2.    “No” can mean that person, business or prospect is not your buyer.

In a situation where you have truly listened and you're bringing the right solution to their problem based on what they’ve told you, and they’re STILL saying “No”, think about why. In cases like this, I have found that it’s either about the price or that person is not really the decisionmaker.

If the "no" is about price and you’re charging for value, then that person isn’t your target market.

In my experience, the times my team has taken projects with little to no margin, we have always regretted it. When you’re not making a fair margin on work like that, it’s hard to deliver the level of service that you want to give, because you’ve got to put time and attention on bringing in other projects that pay better. Trust me, it’s a blessing when you hear “No” based on price.

When the “no” comes from someone who is not the decisionmaker, it will teach you to ask that question up front. If your prospect can’t get their decisionmaker involved in the process, they’re not serious about finding a solution.

Both situations teach you to get these answers as soon as possible so you don’t waste your valuable time trying to fit into a mold that’s not going to work for you as a business owner. The sooner you can identify, “hey, they’re not my buyer” the BETTER.

3.    Sometimes the timing isn’t right.

This is something I’ve learned in the last four years as an agency owner. Sometimes “no” means not yet.

Things change for businesses all the time in normal days, but especially these days, in the world of Covid-19 and an unpredictable economy. Many business owners don’t feel like they’re on as solid of footing as usual, because the economy is so unpredictable right now.

So in some cases, a business owner or decisionmaker is ready to move forward, they’re 100% ready to go. But then their budget gets cut, an initiative got pushed back, or a big deal falls through.

When they come back to you and say, “no”, but you feel they were engaged, loved your solution, and the “no” was a little unexpected, don’t get discouraged. Often, I find in situations like this, at least 50% of the time, these folks come back when the circumstances change. So, “no” in this case really can mean “not yet”.

Don’t let the word “no” feel like rejection. Remember the good behind the word, and use it to improve.

Looking for more tips? Join our subscriber list here.