Why shouldn’t no be what salespeople want their customers to be saying?
June 30, 2011 Leave a Comment
Why is no such a bad word for salespeople? Why shouldn’t no be what salespeople want their customers to be saying?
First we need to set the stage for no. No has to be the automatic default when it comes to buying. While we need to buy things, we can only buy a small fraction on all the possible things there are to buy regardless of how much money we have.
Take something as simple as coffee. You say yes to a Starbucks decaf Grande. But you have to say no to Peet’s, the Maxwell House, to McDonalds, to hundreds or thousands of other possible brands, varieties, sizes. The Starbucks might also mean no to tea, Coke, etc. One yes, a heck of a lot of nos.
Most people and organizations do not have unlimited resources, so no is also a function of living within a budget and taking care of what is considered important. What is valued.
No, should not come as a surprise.
Most of us want our customers to stay our customers, loyal customers that appreciate our solutions and service. Customers that buy year in and year out. That would mean that your customer has to be saying no to your competitors.
Customers that are too easily convinced to try something different are likely to continue to be easily convinced to try something different. That means if you are easily in, you are likely to also soon be easily out.
When you are looking a solid no in the face you might just be looking at a customer that once sold stays sold. Yes, you have your work cut out. That what sales is all about.
