2014 Salesmanship – Only a Few More “No’s” To Go!

Sales Professionals tend to get intimidated when they hear the word “No”.   The response is usually: “Oh my gosh, what do I do now?”  That is not the way to view a “No” response.  If the response from you prospects was always “Yes”, the job would be easy. And, if the job were easy, it would only be worth minimum wage.

Let’s take a look at how this applies to cold-calling prospects.  You could call 50 people and every one of them could say “No”.  Most sales professionals would stop calling well before they had made 50 calls because rejection can be tough, but let’s take a look at the numbers.  In the worst case scenario, you will always get 1-2 “Yes” responses for every 100 calls when you’re using a good script.  The 1 or 2 positive responses should be worth thousands of dollars each. If the percentages were high, the pay would be low.  Wouldn’t you much rather be rewarded handsomely for dealing with a little bit of rejection? So, the next time you get a “No” response while prospecting, don’t view it as a negative. Instead, recognize that the Law of Averages is on your side, and remind yourself that it’s just one less person you have to contact to get to big commissions.

The same concept applies when you’re asking for the sale.  If everyone said “Yes” when you called, you would only be entitled to the same pay received by a customer service representative. It’s the sales skills that make you so valuable.  The proper way to approach a “No” response, is to anticipate the objection and be prepared to overcome it.

In fact, selling doesn’t begin until you get your first “No” from a client or a prospect.