“No” is a reality in sales. (And remember small business owners. You are in sales too, even if your title is “owner.”)

If you can’t handle a “no,” it might be time to look for a different line of work. I know you know that, and how to handle a “no” isn’t really the point of this entry.

The point is that as sales people and small business owners, we know that “no” is a reality of life. So why don’t we make it easier on people we say “no” to?

Yes, this came from a couple of personal examples. Last week, I got two “no’s” in one day. One was good. The person found another mentor and thought it would be better to work with her for right now. But she said there were ways she and I could partner, and was I willing to explore those?

Of course I am! And I said so. One the one hand, I didn’t get a client I thought I had landed. On the other hand, I have a new partnership to explore. All in all, not a bad “no.”

The other was a coldly written email telling me she did not want to use my services at this time. Not so nice.

A bit of background on the second. She met me at an event and she is starting a club for job seekers. I volunteered to be a free speaker for her club since I love giving back to people who are in career transition. As the conversation went on, she asked if I knew anyone who did social media coaching. I said I did, and she said she wanted to schedule a few sessions with me. I said I’d be happy to.

That was just before the holidays, and I wasn’t surprised to not hear from her. I followed up in email a couple of weeks ago and finally got the kind of cold email.

So she asked me. I didn’t “force” my services on her. If she’s changed her mind, that’s fine. I’m cool with that. No need to be cold with me.

Assuming she ever does ask me to come speak to her group when she gets it up and running, how likely do you think I am to be willing to help?

Most of the people reading this blog are entrepreneurs. We have to deal with rejection on a daily basis. We know how hard it is. Please. Please. You know what it feels like. Don’t inflict it on your fellow entrepreneurs. If someone has been a pushy sales person, fine. Push back. But if someone has been decent to you, then be decent to them. If your plans have changed, say so. If you best friend has offered to provide the product or service for free, say so.

Always be sensitive when saying “no” to others. You never know when you might need that person again. Burning a relationship by being cold is never a winning strategy.

Anyone else have a good “no” story. Good or bad?

Tags: communication, Relationship building, reputation, sales

This entry was posted on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 4:10 pm and is filed under Networking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.