Why I Like Hearing "No" From A Prospect (Seriously... I'm Not Crazy!)

Article Date: August 21, 2006

The other day I was pitching some consulting work to a prospect who cut me short and said, "Sorry, we don't need that."  I pressed a little further, "How about your other departments?"  The answer: "No."

Here's why I like a flat "no."  We have all spent countless hours trying to cultivate prospects who had no intention of buying our stuff, but milked us along anyway.  They sit for months on our prospect lists and steal precious time/resources from real buyers.

Nobody likes rejection, but I reached over, shook this fellow's hand and thanked him.  I may not have sold him anything that day, but he saved me a ton of money with his honesty.

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