Let’s be honest, we have been selling our whole lives. We sell our beliefs and style to make friends or to parent your kids, we sell a company’s products to make a living, and to be totally honest…we sell ourselves on a daily basis. And because we do so much selling whether you know it or not, we should always be doing two key things:

  • Learning to expect the “No”
  • Learning to overcome those objections

Expecting the “No”

Did you know that 92% of salespeople give up after 4 “Nos,” but 80% of prospects say “No” 4 times before they say “Yes?”

                                                  – Robert Clay

Don’t let the fear of rejection persuade you in how you move forward. We literally have been interacting with the word “No” since we were children. It is one of our first words to learn how to communicate our emotions and direct us down a path of action and nothing has changed all these years later. If you familiarize yourself with the objections you hear every day, then you can start to realize and expect the “No” and overcome it. 

Different types of “No”

  • The easy “No”

When people give the easy “No,” it sounds a little like this… “I’m too busy right now,” “It’s not in my budget,” or “I’m not interested.” 

Don’t get into your emotions and let this be about you. They are really saying, “Prove to me why I should give you any of my attention.”  And it is a valid position for them to take because they don’t know enough about your company or product to have no interest at all. 

44% of salespeople give up after the first “No.” Don’t sit on the bench. These are easy objections to overcome. My routine looks like this:

  • Breathe, you have anticipated this “No”
  • Defuse, by having a great attitude
  • Acknowledge their position
  • Explain that you only want the time to explore opportunities that could bring value
  • Connect by setting follow ups 

If people feel like they’re being sold, they will not connect with you. Learn about their needs and then educate them on how you can provide a service to meet that need.  If you have the right confidence and approach, it will make turning a “No” into a “Yes” a lot easier, more fun, and definitely more lucrative. 

  • The on the fence “No”

The on the fence “No” is a little hard to navigate only because you have to dig deeper for the main causes for them to say “No.” You have to work around their objections to develop a better solution. Sometimes you won’t have a solution, but this feedback is invaluable to a company because it helps find better opportunities for your products or the cracks within. 

If you don’t end up closing the deal, make sure to notate the reason. This allows you to follow up once new features or products arise that make a difference in turning a “No” around to a “Yes.”

  • The “NO” means “NO”

No one likes to be backed into a corner, not even “Baby*.” 

Everything in the sales world tells us to “never stop chasing,” but sometimes that can be to the detriment of the company’s brand and your credibility. After digging deeper into their “No” and things don’t work out, let’s find the things we can learn from during this process about our approach. 

Always remember to be graceful in dealing with rejection. They will remember how you treat them in that moment and that will dictate your potential future success in closing the deal. Failure is the best promoter of success. It drives us to be and do better. 

“It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. It’s how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.”

                                                 – Rocky Balboa

What’s next?

Start to embrace the “No” and start taking notes on the feedback you receive from them. Start to map out how you can redirect the “No” into a deeper conversation about what their actual needs are. Never stop at your first “No.” It is no longer a roadblock, but a stepping stone to dive deeper and change directions. 

Do you have other suggestions about how you overcome objections? We want to know! Feel free to email me directly and don’t hesitate to check out our resources and tools to help with your company’s needs. 

* Yeah, that’s a Dirty Dancing reference. Flashback from 1987!


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