“Scott, I love it when they say “no.”
That’s what George R., Mr. used to be salesguy in the hamster wheel from the mid-west told me last Monday.
“I’ve already more than doubled the appointments I set with less time and closed 2 quick deals. One deal was larger than usual and I wouldn’t have gotten in the door without some new strategies.”
George R. told me this when he called to apologize for missing our 4th coaching session – he was busy managing his bulging pipeline and thought he had Emailed me to cancel.
“George, what is the biggest difference for you?” I asked when he told me he had doubled his appointments within weeks with less effort.
“Scott, I love it when they tell me “no.” I just let them go and don’t care. I know I can reach the ones who will buy.”
Embracing and actually welcoming the word “no.”
Contrarian thinking practiced by productive prospectors, yet denied and actually resented by those spinning in the hamster wheel clinging to every breathing body they speak to.
That got me thinking about other counter-intuitive “contrarian” practices employed by productive prospectors. Here are a few. There are more.
1. Don’t let them speak until it is time.
No “Hi, how are you.” No “Do you have time?” No questions. No ridiculous rapport building, unless you have built a proper foundation. Be a beacon of clarity; communicate value, credibility and benefits. Lay a proper foundation for your request. Then… and only then… do you let them talk.
2. Welcome “no’s.” Avoid maybes.
Most people banging their heads against the wall in prospecting frustration contort themselves to avoid “no’s.” As George R. has discovered, when you can get through and talk to the right people and are clear and concise about what you do and the value you deliver — more people “get it” and say “yes.” The flip side of that? More people “get it” and say “no.” Yippee!!! You spend no more time with them.
The goal should never be to avoid “no’s.”
The goal is always to maximize “yes’s.”
“Yes’s” and “no’s” are good.
“Maybes” are death.
3. Don’t try to sell your product or service.
Don’t attempt or hint that you want to sell your services.
If they ask “Can you help me?” Say, “I don’t know.”
Sell the meeting SOLIDLY. No more “drive-by’s,” “I thought you were just going to drop off info,” “happy talk that gets you hopeful but goes nowhere” or “my people will call your people.”
Do not cross the line in your scripting and approach between selling a solid meeting and selling your service.
Start selling your service too early and you get fewer opportunities and a lower conversion rate.
Sell solid meetings and you get more opportunities to sell your services and benefit from a higher conversion rate.
Challenge your thinking.
Successful appointment setters get in more doors at the right level because they are better organized and use different strategies that those in the hamster wheel.
Best wishes for sales success,
Scott Channell
