The Second Best Answer in Sales
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To be in sales you need to have tough skin.
I was given that advice shortly before taking my first sales job in real estate. What no one told me was not only do you need thick skin, you need the patience of a saint.
When I first started selling houses I never wanted to hear “no”.
To me, “no” was really “defeat.”
When I transitioned to working for GuavaBox and ZenPilot I had the same feelings. I felt like we could really help our prospects and whenever the deal didn’t close it was a little hard not to take it personally.
In the agency space, though, I found something worse than hearing no.
I found the time wasters.
The prospects who wouldn’t commit to moving forward, but they also wouldn’t commit to not moving forward.
They were in this in-between state of false hope and wasting time. I spent time thinking about those deals at night, and spent time emailing and calling during the days.
No solid reply, no clue whether they were in or out.
That’s when I learned that “no” isn’t actually the worst answer in sales. It’s really the second best.
In sales here are 3 potential outcomes:
- Get the “yes” and close the deal.
- Get the “no” and move on.
- Get strung out, don’t achieve clarity, and waste time.
The third scenario is really the worst, but typically most common in agency sales. Prospects are chatting with multiple agencies trying to figure out who they will go with and slow to make a decision.
How to Handle No
No is a hard word to hear, but often it doesn’t mean no forever. It could simply mean “no for now.” We have seen in multiple times both when selling our agency’s services and with working with agencies making decisions about whether or not to work with ZenPilot. Quite often 6 to 12 months later you get an email saying something like, “Hey, remember me? Now is a better time to discuss…”
You see either way when you get the “no”, both sides have clarity and know how to move forward from that answer.
One effective way to help your prospects reach a decision is to clarify communication expectations up-front. During an early sales conversation, you should lead by defining what the prospect can expect from you in terms of response time (and medium) and follow-up.
Then ask the prospect to return the favor. What is reasonable to expect in terms of response time on their end? If you know this, you can better meet their expectations. If the best they can do is respond within 4 days, finding that out on the front end is better than emailing and calling them for 3 consecutive days, trying to figure out why they went dark.
You also can use the time frame they give you as a reference point. When you check in, mention that they told you they were going to let you know by the date they said and ask if something has changed to push that back.
Expectation setting is one of the greatest assets you have during the sales process.
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