Chapter 12
IN THIS CHAPTER
Saying no: when, why, and how
Satisfying two parties even when you say no
Keeping your interests safe
New business salespeople love to hear prospects say yes to them. A lot of teachings focus on how to ask the types of questions that can result only in positive, or yes, answers early in the sales cycle, so, as the theory goes, your prospect gets into the habit of saying yes to you. Excuse me, but we’re in the 21st century here, and prospects are as equally sophisticated as salespeople. So don’t try to patronize them with things like this because it will more than likely end with you getting the relationship off on the wrong foot, and as I discuss in Chapter 3, first impressions set the scene for the entire relationship.
New business sales is also not about you saying yes to everything you’re asked for; building a client-supplier relationship is about give and take, even from the initial exchanges. Of course, you don’t ever go into a sales situation wanting to or expecting to say no to your prospect, but the reality is that it’s going to happen, sometimes frequently, during a sales cycle, and although no can be a massively powerful word, as I discuss in this chapter, the way you say it is as important as the words you use.
It can easily, and wrongly, be assumed that your job, in a new business sales role, is to just agree with everything that your prospect asks for, but nothing could be further from the truth. You represent your company and have a duty to secure the best deal that you can, and on occasion this means taking a hard line and pushing back on your prospect when he wants to do a lot of taking and not much giving. In this section, I look at when and why this may be the case and how to say no.
Sales cycles rarely if ever run to their conclusion with all parties in total agreement all the way through. In fact, at many points in a typical sales cycle, such as the following, the salesperson is in a position of having to reject a request:
As the sales cycle moves through each of these stages, the impact of saying no increases, as does the likelihood of it becoming an issue that needs to be addressed.
In this section, I explore both clearly defined and hazier reasons why a no may be necessary as your sales cycle progresses.
Failure of some qualification criteria (see Chapters 9 and 19) may be a reason either for not taking a sale any further or for asking some searching questions. Be upfront in this case. I’ve told prospects that they don’t meet our criteria and so we can’t work with them at this stage, but if these two things change, then I would be delighted to look again.
This type of no message leaves the door open while sometimes making your solution even more attractive to the prospect because he can’t have it. It’s called taking away and, used with care, can leave you in a stronger position in the sales cycle.
Another clear no case is where a request is unreasonable or contrary to company policy. In Chapter 11, I tell a true story of my first attempt at buying a BMW, which resulted in a failed purchase by me and a failed sale by the salesman due initially to my request for a discount being contrary to company policy.
For details on handling discounts or requests for them, see Chapter 11. When turning down a request like this, be sure to get your message across clearly but professionally.
Saying no to a prospect doesn’t necessarily mean saying the actual word no; it’s about disagreeing with a point of view or turning down a request. I rarely advocate using the literal word no because it’s too closed of a word and can convey that a dead end has been reached, when more likely than not what you actually want to convey is a “no, but …” meaning.
Sometimes no doesn’t mean “no, and that’s the end of the matter.” A no can be any number of things. Life would be so much simpler if we all just said what we really mean!
Even a significant no offers opportunities to a new business salesperson, and it’s not the same as walking away from a deal. In Chapter 10, I cover the issues associated with walking away, but here you need to understand that saying no is an opportunity rather than an obstacle, and opportunities should be the lifeblood of a top new business salesperson. The following sections cover two important considerations:
Consider whether the issue that has presented itself is a real one that needs to be taken seriously or a negotiating position that’s being established. Look beyond the obvious, and find the real issue that needs to be addressed. If you’re hitting an objection that has already been covered, then use the contact reports to demonstrate that it is no longer a real issue. Any new issues that are raised need to be dealt with, but if they are anything substantial, then ask why the problem has only just arisen and was not part of the stated need. If you don’t get a sensible reply, then you can let your prospect know that you consider him to be playing games that you won’t entertain.
There is nothing wrong with taking a hard line to time wasting or posturing, but you do need to handle it with care and allow your prospect to back down gracefully without being seen to lose face. Take the sting out of a no by focusing on the positive aspects of achieving the goals in the ways you have shown him.
Sometimes getting to a no position on an issue can be refreshing because it gives you permission to change the rules to work on a solution that addresses the objection or stumbling block. In changing the rules, you have an opportunity to reengage with your prospect, building a deeper relationship in the process, and work with him to help redefine the question together, seeking a solution that has a feeling of joint ownership.
Being confident enough to say no is sometimes necessary to protect your interests, either personally for the new business salesperson not wanting to be seen as a pushover or for the company to, for example, protect profit margins.
Don’t allow yourself to be backed into a corner with demand after demand for concessions; as you find out in the following sections, saying no is a powerful weapon that you have at your disposal, so be prepared to use it tactically when necessary. You need to be able to justify your actions whenever you say no to a prospect, and the decision is likely to be reviewed at internal sales meetings, so be sure in your actions and be ready to justify them to colleagues.
You should never get yourself into a position of needing a sale so desperately that you’ll give anything away to secure it. Something has gone badly wrong if you get to this stage and you need to get support from colleagues to rescue you.
There’s such a thing as trying too hard. You’re not going to win every sale, regardless of how well you qualify it, because life doesn’t work that way. So accept that you can and will increase your win percentage, maybe as high as 80 percent or more, but be realistic in your expectations of 100 percent because it’s not going to be sustainable.
For example, don’t spend time and energy trying to win every point if they don’t really matter in the long run. You may want to concede on some implementation timescales more easily than a copyright issue. Timescales can be adapted to meet needs, but copyright is fundamental. Spend your time on the things that really matter.
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