Prospecting part 1. After the first "no.

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80% of clients who sign on with a service provider do so on the 5th sales attempt.

About 50% of salespeople mentally stop considering a prospect a potential client after they are told no the first time.

Call it lazy...
Tired of being rejected...
Whatever you think the reason why most people attempt to make a sale only once, you are probably right.

You should be happy about that drop out rate.
It means more business for you if you are committed to ensuring a few "no's" will not stop you.

Keeping in constant contact without being invasive is a skill.
It requires a strategically diverse arsenal of conversation starters and for you to be willing to have conversations with people.


Let’s put aside what good conversation starters sound like for a moment. First we need to focus on the importance of preparing ourselves to hear a series of "no's" from clients.

“There is no fear in the bang, only in the anticipation of it”
 –Alfred Hitchcock

Have you ever watched a scary movie with the sound muted?
It makes the movie hysterical.
Without the music that helps the viewer build anticipation…
The “bang” or monster that jumps out looks funny not scary.

The same goes for prospecting.
The anticipation of a very likely “no” is what makes most people less diligent in their prospecting attempts.
But if you know the facts and how an initial “no” response happens and why…
It should be less of a deterrent for getting back out there and asking again.

The rule of “the first no”
The number one rule when you are given a first “no” response from a prospect is that it means nothing.
It is not a personal jab or a rejection.
It just means they cannot see a benefit from saying yes right there on the spot.
It is almost good to get that first "no" out of the way because you can follow it with an inquisitive "why".

So lesson one:

After the first "no" you ask "why".
Without pressure and with general interest as to what made them immediately say no.
People are not expecting you to say anything when they have seemingly "rejected" you.
By asking a follow up question you are setting the stage for your brand and your occupation.
You make a statement that:
A "no" will not make you go away.
A no means you want to get to know a persons situation even more.
So that you can gain insight on their perspective, and most importantly you want to show interest.

Prospecting is an AND game.
A numbers game AND a relationship game.
Except you can't treat it like a game.
People have to many choices and the numbers are not in your favor if your only tactic is to move on to the next person after every “no”.
A purely quantitative sales tactic as a singular strategy for lead conversion will not work.
People buy based on feelings so you need lots of people who you have relationships with to win.
You need a great number of people to prospect and make many attempts with all of those people.

You are in a connection economy not an industrial one.
Relationships are the way to the greatest success.

For your prospect to stand a true chance of developing into a client you need to be committed to at least 5 attempts to build a yes yielding relationship.







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