A Quick 'No' is Better than a Long 'Maybe'

Here’s a simple, short thought for this week: ‘No’ is good. ‘No’ is the salesman’s friend. ‘No’ produces efficiency.

I frequently tell my friends that rejection is my middle name. For me and any salesman, rejection will surely be the result of many, if not most, of your interactions. Certainly for high-end sales initiation, the specialty of my firm Corporate Rain International, that is the case. When we’re doing great for clients often we will still be getting 85 percent rejection.

I was struck by a recent blog in the Harvard Business Review by Anthony Tjan. Mr. Tjan is a managing partner and founder of the venture capital firm Cue Ball, and is not a salesman per se. But his thoughts are very applicable to sales. He states, “A ‘yes' is obviously the answer you always hope to get, but the ability to get to ‘no’, especially if it is a quick one, is critical to maximizing efficiency and effectiveness. The sooner you get a ‘no’, the faster you’ll be able to look for that next yes.” Utterly true.

Beware of ditherers and vacillators. They will eat you up. They are the real enemies of efficient sales. There are ways to cut to the chase without brusqueness, discourtesy, or antagonizing a real prospect. For example, one simple thing I try to do early on in discussions with new potential clients is ascertain if my firm’s costs are manageable. Corporate Rain is a high-end service. With greatest courtesy I always want to make sure a potential client can simply afford my firm before getting in too deeply. This respects his time as well as mine.

But when your proposition is rejected, it is important to keep focused on your core values. When I am rejected I strive to become even more courteous than when a sale seemed possible. I try to keep my mind focused on service, even when there is no business to be had. This brands a seamless tone of helpfulness, good humor, and collegiality that carries over to the next sales event, hopefully a more successful event.

But getting to ‘no’ is a real sales value in itself. Mr. Tjan quotes a friend of his as saying, “…a fast ‘no’ is better than a long ‘maybe.’” Indeed.

So God bless ‘no.’ Rejection can be a good and necessary part of sales. It is not a negative. It is a helpful efficiency. Handling rejection positively is a part of any healthy ongoing sales effort.

The Greek philosopher Diogenes was once noticed begging from a statue. When asked the reason for this pointless action, he replied, “I am exercising the art of being rejected.” *All good salesmen should take note from Diogenes.