How to Turn a No Into a Yes

Published on February 7, 2013

There are many reasons why people say no to the sale, and most often it’s not because they’re not interested.  No is the answer of no risk. Yes is the answer of risk.  We know that in previous studies, it takes on average three to seven no’s before someone gets their yes. 90% of sales people give up after the first or second no.

Let’s take a look at the various reasons why people may so no to you:

1.  Not enough value. You will get a no answer when someone doesn’t feel that there is not enough value to justify the purchase decision. What you should be doing at that point is simply finding out what is missing. What else do they need to see in the equation in order for there to be enough value for them to move ahead.

2.  Too much risk.  As we said no is the answer of no risk. People are more likely to say no when they feel that their bosses will not look high on their decision, when they feel there will be too much risk in something going wrong. Plus, there is always the situation that if you are trying to replace an existing vendor, you become the devil they don’t know versus the devil that they do know. So if you get a know because someone perceives that there’s still too much risk in the equation, simply find out what it is that you can do to minimize the risk in their minds so that you can transform that no into a yes. If you like what you are reading and want to automatically receive our blog via email, click here: Subscribe Via Email.

3.  They have an existing vendor. All too often people are afraid to move vendors because they don’t want to fire the existing one. They don’t want to go through the pain of change and they don’t want to give up loyalty to someone they’ve been doing business with for many years. Where most salespeople make mistakes is they try to compete against an existing vendor and that’s a no win situation. What you have to do is put the existing vendor aside and find out what is missing for the customer; NOT what the vendor is not doing, but find out what’s missing for the customer. What are the gaps that still exist and what solutions are they looking for?  If you can supply the missing solutions, then they will start looking at you as a potential replacement for the existing vendor. What you’ve done in this situation is you’ve moved the sale from the emotional of trying to stay loyal, to a business-like decision of what’s best for the organization.

4.  Timing. Many people will say no to a sale because the timing is just not right. Timing is everything, and if timing is not right the only response you can have is to find out when the appropriate time is, to stay in touch, and to keep the value proposition at the height of their conscience level so that when the timing does occur, you will be the first one they call.

These are just some of the examples as to why people say no when in fact they are not really turning you down, it’s just at this given point-in-time, they’re not ready  to proceed with the answer of risk, which is yes.

Why don’t you share with us other reasons why other people say no and let’s start a conversation below as to these other reasons and strategies you have employed in turing those no’s into a yes. Good selling!  If you also want some modern tips on how to turn those no’s into a yes, take a look at the CEO Bestselling Book Lead, Sell or Get Out of the Way