How to say No

If you do not find a need, get out! Leave. Move on to the next customer. However, I never had a good way to do this. How do you leave a sales call when there is no need you can help with?

Sam Parker at www.justsell.com gives some good ideas. I restate his work and suggest:

"Not Now, Not ever, Never"

Not now: If your assessment is that now is not the time for a sale, but soon may be, use Sam's exit: “That sounds like an exciting project. We may be a little early in our discussions given all of your priorities. May I give you a call in two months?” Pend this client for a return call. The current status is something you may be able to help with, so keep in touch.

Not ever: I'm not being literal here, but sometimes the client has lots going on, and there is nothing in their priorities we can help with now. They need to put out current fires or begin current projects before we can help them. Sam suggests, “Wow, you really have your hands full at the moment. Perhaps we should talk again in a few months while you focus on these other priorities..."

Never: This is when the client is not a fit for your product or strategy. But never say never. Things change. People retire; companies buy, sell, or merge. Competitors leave. Sam uses a maintain strategy: “At the moment, I’m not sure we can provide enough value to you but I’d like to keep in touch should things change. May I keep in touch periodically?”

However, consider this can be a chance to build credibility in new relationships, and enhance existing relationships.

Unless you sell a purely transactional product or service, and no one really does, see this situation for the opportunity it can be. You may not be able to sell your product now, but can you sell yourself? Can you offer resources or expertise that helps the client now - not related to your product?

Before they can use your product, do they need to make a hire? You can help with sharing how similar businesses have found good people. Do they need to create a marketing plan? Share your expertise about markets, and offer ideas that may not have thought of, based on your own company research. Use the skills and expertise you have from your life, interests and experiences.

Do you lack expertise, knowledge or resources to offer? Then offer empathy. "I understand your goals, and I see you have some ambitious and achievable plans. You are concerned about time and budget, but you have a plan to keep you on track. This is great time for you, and I'd like to check back to see how it progresses."

When you are thinking about leaving a sales call - ask yourself "Do I do it Now, Not ever? Or Never?" Because you will always have something to offer.

Don't Confuse Comfort with Competence

Scott Anthony, in Don't Confuse Passion with Competence,  reminds me of another basic confusion. I often hear people saying "I don't need training. I am comfortable with this".

Yes, you nay be comfortable doing something. Doesn't mean you are any good at it.

Often this is said about public speaking and presenting. Many managers will send their staff to a presentation skills class, but not attend themselves. Ever. Because these managers feel they are "Comfortable getting up in front of people."

Unfortunately, if you were to see some of these managers "getting up in front of people", you would see misplaced confidence.

Comfort and Competence are two different things. Trainer talk about learners being conscious and competent: aware of what they are doing, and if it works; versus unconscious: lacking the awareness to match their actions to their results.

Unconscious Incompetents don't know what they are doing and are not getting results. So they insist the problem is something besides them. In training these are the people who say "Yes, but with a real customer I would not have done that..."

Conscious is the best place to be to improve your performance. A conscious learner knows there are things they do not know, and so have a desire to learn. They recognize that they could be doing things differently and better.

Unconscious learners? Not so much. They have to be led to a place of self awareness where they connect their lack of results to their own performance. If they are getting successful results, they need help understanding what they did to achieve success. This is the challenge of coaching.

Where are you? Getting results but not sure why? Or having trouble duplicating your success in different situations?

Don't confuse your comfort with competence.