A completely unexpected no in a sales situation can be more than frustrating. When a prospect who previously expressed great interest, all of a sudden changes his or her mind and says no, the sales professional must seek to understand this decision. Instead of engaging in negative self-talk, apply a methodical process of assessment and analysis that will help you understand your prospect's decision. When you understand where an unexpected no came from, you will be able to add an effective rebuttal to your arsenal of scripts for overcoming objections.



When your best efforts are unsuccessful, there can be many factors involved. In my years of delivering sales presentations, I have come to regard the word no as an adversary whose origins must be understood. My informal study of human behavior has shown me that a no typically comes from one of three places: the head, the positioning or the gut. In this article we will discuss some factors that relate to the head; that is, the thinking that leads a person to say no.

Take the following example: Josh has approached a friend about joining his network marketing company. She has expressed a great interest in all the benefits he described and told him that she wants to join up. Josh informs her that the sign up fee is a $500 investment and that she should also plan to attend the annual convention coming up in two months. The fee to attend the convention is another $750 and she should also think about travel costs because it is being held three states away.

Though his prospect expresses great interest at the time, she never does sign up. Josh calls her a few times, has the same energetic conversations about what the opportunity can do for her but never manages to get his friend to take action. Why did Josh lose his potential recruit? Let's analyze what both people wanted.

Josh's motivations were clear; he wanted to get the biggest commitment possible from his recruit, probably to ensure that she would have reason to follow through on her plans to make this opportunity a real success. His friend's motivation may not be so easy to read. Did she want to change her entire life and become a millionaire? If so, had she reached a point of true commitment to that goal where she would do anything to make it happen? Or, was she simply looking to supplement her income, make some money for travel or try to save for home renovations? It is unclear.

Josh should have tested the waters before trying to commit his friend to so many steps. She went away and had to think about the sign up fee, the event registration fee, the travel costs and then the time commitment. Had she been ready to do whatever necessary to make her first million, these would have been small obstacles. If, however, she merely wanted to beef up her bank account a little, the investment of a few thousand dollars to sign up, go on the trip and buy her first few products would certainly subtract from her interest in the proposition.

Action step: Consider how your proposition may be broken down into smaller, less complicated, commitments.

My daughter had the right idea when she was quite young. She wanted to go over to her friend's house for the weekend, buy her a birthday gift and have $10 in her pocket for when they all went to the arcades. She got her commitments from her mother and me in small and manageable doses.

First she asked. “Can I go to Carrie's birthday party? It's a weekend sleepover.” Once we had given her the yes she was looking for, she came back with a second request. “Oh, and I need to buy her a birthday present, can you give me some money for that please?” the question was laced with a sweet tone of voice that may not be appropriate for your selling situations. “Oh,” we'd hear, after the present was brought and before the weekend arrived, “could I please have $10 for the arcades we'll be going to.” Clever as her approach was, she got everything she asked for.

When you approach prospects for too large a commitment, you make it easy for them to say no. Try spending some time assessing the depth of interest in your proposal before you go for the biggest possible commitment. If your prospects are likely to back off at the sign of a big commitment, make it easy for them to say yes, one decision at a time.