The following conversation is taken from a recent coaching session on High Probability Prospecting, with some minor editing.  The student had been prospecting for a few weeks, and was still on his first round (calling prospects for the first time).  He was frustrated that many people were saying “No” to his offer prematurely.

C:     You are concerned that they are saying no before they know what you have to offer.  This is not important in High Probability Selling.  It only matters when you’re trying to entice someone into buying.

It is important for you to be clear in what you’re saying.  It’s not important for you to finish the offer.  Let them decide when they want to exit.

S:      I’m ok with them saying no, after they’ve heard my offer.  My feelings are not hurt by it.

C:     But it’s not ok for you when they say no before you’re finished telling them what it is.

S:      Yeah, because I don’t think they know what they’re saying no to.

C:     Remember that, as far as we’re concerned, when they say “No” it means not now.

S:      Well, that’s a convenient interpretation isn’t it?

C:     Why convenient?

S:      Well, isn’t that a nice way to kind of convince yourself that, ok that’s just not now.  But you feel, in actuality, that they don’t want to have anything to do with you.  Especially since so many don’t even hear the entire offer.

C:     The main reason we interpret it this way is to remind ourselves that we’re going to call them again later.  Because if you think of “No” as being no, no, no, never, you’re not going to call them again.  And if you do that, you’ve lost one of the most powerful things in High Prob.

When we say not now – you’re not in that place yet, you’re still on the first round.  So it’s not real yet for you.

S:      Not real in that there is a noticeable difference when you call people the second and the third and the fourth time?

C:     Huge difference.  You’re going to get more sales from the people you’ve called a second, third, fourth time, than you are from the people you’ve called once.

S:      I’ve read that more sales are made on the seventh to twelfth call.  That’s where the money is really made.  So don’t stop calling.  So, this basically is playing on that.

C:     Yes, it is based on that.  The Not Now is real.  A lot of the times it just means that they don’t want to hear anything from you right now.  It might change another time, or it might never change.  They’ll usually tell you.  They might tell you to stop calling.

But, most people – as soon as they realize after the second or third call that you’re not going to waste their time with a long spiel – they are far more likely to allow you to continue calling them.  And then, when it does become Now for them, because their circumstances have changed, or whatever, a good outcome is more likely.

Here are some extra thoughts on the topic:

No means Not Now when:

• You get to the point quickly
• You accept “No” for an answer without any question or discussion or hesitation
• You go away quickly (be brief and be gone)
• You stay in the present moment
• Your purpose is to find the next “ace in the deck” (someone who wants what you are selling)
• You call them again and again and again, 3 to 6 weeks apart, with different offers

No means Never when:

• You never call that person again
• You are emotionally attached to the outcome (desperate for a sale, and especially this one)
• You are using a sales method that works by getting the prospect to buy
• You try to turn a No into a Yes
• You won’t let go
• You drag it out
• They tell you to never call them again

Comments and questions are welcome.