Michael is new to inside sales. His personality is excellent for the kind of phone work he's doing. His call numbers are strong, his attitude is good, and his notes from each call couldn't be better. There’s only one problem, and it’s a big one: Michael’s sales results just don’t match the effort he’s putting forth. What’s wrong?

We all know that selling isn’t for everybody. In times like these, there are days where it can feel like selling isn’t for anybody, including the sales staff. When things become tight, the overwhelming number of negative responses from our prospects become “I can’t afford it,” “The economy’s bad,” or “I just don’t feel good about spending any money right now.” And because we read the newspaper, listen to others around us, and know that things may not be rosy for us personally, many times we tend to agree with their woes.

And mentally, that’s a dangerous place to be.

Every sales team I work with has a number of new account representatives like Michael who have a great work ethic, know their product, but may be caving too quickly after the prospect has said “no” one time. When we emphasize numbers of calls over call quality, account reps can simply pad their numbers by accepting a no, logging it in their computer or on their tally sheet, and move on. We see the number of activities on the record for each rep, but the production just isn’t there, and we wonder why.

The answer isn’t completely due to the economy. It’s in the discipline of the account reps to continue to battle through the first “no” they receive.

How customers think

Put yourself in the position of a customer. All of us are predisposed to a certain amount of risk avoidance. We don’t want to get burned, and the word “no” is a safety device that protects us from making a decision we may regret later. We say “no” far more quickly than we say “yes” — and for good reason.

If you’re a potential customer for a landscaper, for example, you may be saying “no” several times as the landscaper goes over the elements of the proposal he’s drawn up for you. You may still eventually want the product, but as a customer, many of us have to feel like we have to say “no” enough times to feel like we have some control in the deal, and to feel good about the transaction.

So when we accept the first “no” we receive from a prospect, and decide that the conversation is over, we’re doing many of our customers a disservice by not hanging in there.

Some people are “three-no” people. Others are “five-no” people, “10-no” people, and so on. You’ll never know how many “no’s” someone could be if you simply accept the first one and move on.

The objective is to maintain a continued conversation with the prospect in a slightly different direction.

Keep the dialogue going

If a prospect says, “Business is bad, and I just can’t afford it,” the account rep should anticipate that objection beforehand, and be prepared with several sound, confident answers to that objection, such as:

-- “It sounds like you know how much they cost. Have you checked out how affordable we’ve made our product recently?”

-- “We hear that a lot, and that’s why we’ve put together these very affordable programs with a lot of value attached. Can I share with you what kinds of plans we have available?”

-- “I understand. But if you were to be interested, and knowing money is tight, what sort of price range would you be looking into? Maybe between $___ and $___?” (quoting two dollar figures in the blank spaces)

-- “If it were affordable, would you have any other issues with our product? Is it just the money part?”

-- “We know how tight it is, and that’s why we’ve made our service one of the best values available. Let me share with you what I mean …”

These are the kinds of phrases that can continue to move a conversation forward without overly offending the person on the other end.

It’s the words, and how you use them

The delivery of these phrases is just as important as the words you use. People want to do business with those who exude confidence, but without sounding cocky or overbearing. If your best response to the “Business is bad” objection is, “What do you mean? Business is great down here,” you won’t get very far.

On the other hand, no one likes to deal with incompetence. Imagine you being the customer in line at the supermarket on the cashier’s first day on the job. It’s a slow, frustrating experience, and most of us would rather deal with the person who knows the ropes, who can deal with an item without a price tag, can get us the discounts we’re entitled to, and get us in and out quickly.

It’s no different in our world. People want someone that can show them the best available options for their needs and budget, and make them feel confident that the choice they’re about to make is the best one available. If you sound tentative or unsure, people will use any excuse they can to exit the call — and the easiest excuse in the world today is, “The economy is bad; I can’t afford it.”

The bottom line is: Don’t take the first “no” for an answer, and be ready for every common objection, especially the ones that are coming up most often. There’s a sale waiting beyond that first roadblock; have the courage to break through, and your income will soar.

If you'd like to receive my FREE report, "15 Ways to Continue A Conversation After The First No", just E-mail me at bill@The800PoundGorilla.com and put "FIRST NO" in the subject line.

-- Bill Guertin (bill@The800PoundGorilla.com) is Chief Enthusiasm Officer (CEO) of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a sales improvement company whose list of clients includes the ticket sales of several professional sports teams in the NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS and others. He is an in-demand speaker for conferences and corporate meetings, and can be reached at (815) 932-5878 or on his Website at www.The800PoundGorilla.com. Read his BEW Profile here.