Sales Expert Grant Cardone on Setting Price, Closing the Sale and Dealing with Rejection

Sales Expert Grant Cardone on Setting Price, Closing the Sale and Dealing with Rejection

1. Don’t take it personally
Usually, a rejection in sales just means that your product wasn’t what the prospect needed.  Maybe they couldn’t afford it.  It hardly ever has anything to do with you personally, so don’t get emotional when you lose a sale.
2. Expect it
Rejection happens.  It is a natural and common part of sales. Train yourself not to be surprised when a customer says “no”.
3. Be professional
You need to remain polite and professional.  If you take the rejection well and remain courteous, your prospect will remember that.  If they need your services in the future, they will remember your good attitude and will approach you first.
4. Ask why
You can’t figure out what you did wrong unless you ask. There could be some small detail in your proposal that turned them off.  Ask them why they didn’t go with your product.  You can use this information to help you in future sales calls.  Plus, if it’s something you can change easily you may be able to change their minds.
5. Send a last-minute proposal
If you lose a deal to a competitor, send a new offer just in time.  If something goes wrong in the deal with the other company, you will be right there to save the day.
6. Talk with your teammates
Everyone in sales deals with rejection.  In fact, everyone in life does, to some degree.  Don’t isolate yourself after a lost deal.  Instead, talk it over with your colleagues.  You can vent to them instead of exploding at your customer.  You will discover that you are not alone and you might get some helpful tips while you’re at it.
7. Treat it as a necessary step
If it takes an average of x number of calls to make a sale, think of each rejection as building up to that sale.  Then, rejections will be a good thing because each one brings you closer to a win.
8. Be persistent
Don’t cross the prospect off your list forever.  They may not be interested now, but that doesn’t mean they never will be.  Check in with them regularly to see if they’ve changed their mind, but be careful not to call too much.  You don’t want to be annoying.
9. Stick to your routine
If you make a certain number of calls in the morning and a certain number of calls in the afternoon, stick with it.  This will help you stay on track when you feel like quitting.
10. Focus on the positives
Not every call will be a rejection.  Emphasize the calls you won rather than the ones you lost and you will feel much better about yourself.
11. Never give up
Don’t stay down; persevere.  If you’re going to make sales, you need to make more calls.  Plus, if you do succeed, you will no longer be sad about your rejection.



You had burning sales questions. Sales expert Grant Cardone had the answers.
Executive producer and star of National Geographic Channel TV show "Turnaround King," Cardone participated in a live chat Thursday afternoon, offering his best tips for selling and growing your small business in a still-uncertain economy. Entrepreneur.com readers submitted questions over email, Twitter and directly during the event.
A few highlights from Cardone's live session:
On convincing customers to not shop on price alone:
Cardone recommends salespeople focus on the value proposition of their product and service. "Not everyone is interested in cheaper product," he says. "There can only be one 'lowest cost provider' in a market, and you don't want to be it. … Be a profitable company with a great product and reinforce [to customers] why your product is worth the price."
On closing the sale:
Selling a customer and closing the deal are two different arts, Cardone explains. When you move into the closing phase, you're no longer building up the value proposition. One major problem when closing, he says, is that salespeople wait until the very end to mention the price.

"Start by presenting price, in the first few minutes," he says. "Tell them the price and spend the rest of the time explaining why it's priced that way." Then follow up to make sure your explanation justifies that price.
On handling rejection:
Salespeople, like everyone else on the planet, needs to learn how to manage rejection, Cardone says. But for a busy salesperson, it should be easy.
"I fill my pipeline up so much, I literally don’t have time to deal with rejection because I have another client to go see," he says.
Bottom line, rejection is a thing of the past and salespeople should focus on the future. "Rearview mirrors are to see what's behind you, not where you're going," he says.


SALES TRAINING: HANDLING REJECTION IN SALES


Why are we so afraid of the word no? In all the training and work I do with sales people, it amazes me the lengths we will go to, the work and stress we will cause ourselves just so we do not hear the word no. What is so bad about the word no? Why are we so afraid of that word?
Now I agree, no one likes to be rejected, and no one likes to hear "I am not interested or just plain no." However, when you really stop and think about it, the prospect is only telling you that, for now, you did not convince them that your product or service has enough value for them to part with their money or their time. Wow! When you put it that way, no is actually pretty good information for you to have. It means, you should just go back to the planning stage of your calling efforts and think about how you could add more value. In fact, that is such great information that we should all say thank you so much when we hear the word no! (Okay, I may be going a little overboard here, but you get the point. No does not mean never - no means, no thank you right now.
If you want to turn your prospects into clients you must learn to be persistent. Persistent without being annoying but persistent. You need to accept rejection, learn from it, and have enough stamina to get back on the horse and try again. Ask yourself, are you willing to keep trying, go the distance in order to get what you want? Persistence actually means, lasting or enduring tenaciously and constantly repeated and continued. If you want to be good at sales you have to be persistent.
I think our biggest fear right after hearing no, is if we are persistent we fear others will find us annoying. So how do you be persistent without being annoying? How do we keep going after someone has told us no, and do it in a way that makes us feel comfortable. Here is my five step plan for being persistent without being annoying.

1. Thank the customer - whenever I lose a sale to a competitor or a prospect says no. I make sure I thank the prospect. For their time, their consideration, and for the information I learned about their company and their needs. While I am quite sincere about this, it also leaves the customer with a positive feeling about me. Remember, buying is emotional, and if you want to leave the door open for future sales, you need to leave your prospect with a positive feeling about you.
2. Make sure you heard the customer - It is amazing how much we don't listen. We think we are listening, but truly all we are doing is waiting for an opportunity to give our opinion or our reasons for why they should buy our service. So, when the customer says no, sit down and take a few moments to try to understand why? Often the answer will be, because you were not solving the right problem, filling their need, or understanding what is going on in their life that is preventing this sale.
3. Know your customer - Do your research, again. Go back to the research phase of the sales call and learn more. The amount of information you know about your prospect is vital in understanding where, when and how to sell to them. Understand their personality styles, their interest, their reasons for being in business, the types of clients they work with, and what they are looking for in a vendor. If you heard the word no, chances are you don't know enough about your prospect and therefore you don't deserve the business - yet!
4. Send an 11th Hour Letter - If you lose business to a competitor always send an 11th hour letter. Why? Because once people reject you, they may feel awkward or embarrassed to call on you if things do not work out. Again, no just means no for now. You want to make sure you do everything to keep that door open, so when they are looking for new opportunity, or their sales person is not delivering, you are the first person they think to call.
5. Don't be desperate - Keep the top part of your funnel full. Sales takes time, and especially in this new economy. By having plenty of prospects to call on, and plenty of opportunities to pursue, you keep yourself from being desperate. Meaning you remain in the value add part of the sales process and not in the need to close part of the sales process. If you focus on listening, adding value, and being approachable prospects will become your customers in their own time. You need to have enough prospects in your pipeline that if one takes a little longer, you have the time to let the prospect move at their own pace.
Learning to embrace rejection, being persistent, and building your stamina are key in your ability to turn your prospects into customers. Remember, if you fall off that horse, think about what you learned, put these steps into place and get right back on for the ride of your life!
Source: Meredith Powell
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A Manual for Dealing with Rejection
NO! Now what? After getting a thumbs-down response in business or sales, an open-minded approach can lead you into exciting new territory.
John H. Ostdick
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Tom Hopkins is having another unbelievable day. Just ask him.
“I tell people in sales that you can be having the worst day of your life, but no one has to know it,” says Hopkins, a sales seminar dynamo and the co-author of When Buyers Say No: Essential Strategies for Keeping a Sale Moving Forward. “When people ask you how business is, just be honest and say, ‘Unbelievable,’ and they will assume you mean it’s great.”
Whether you spend your days making sales calls, pitching to clients or investors, running a company, or just navigating through life, failure and the word no will inevitably dog you. Successful people are the ones who understand what a no moment means, how to put it into perspective and how to work toward the next yes.
History is rich with such lessons.
Winston Churchill, the World War II-era British prime minister who navigated his country through a series of disappointments and hard times before the Allied victory, realized that “success is stumbling from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.”
Author Stephen King tossed the opening pages of his first published novel, Carrie, into the trash after publishing houses rejected him. His wife, Tabitha, retrieved the manuscript and urged King to finish it. Eventually Carrie became a best-selling book and a successful movie, and King’s ensuing books have sold more than 350 million copies, with myriad others being made into profitable television and film projects.
Another story often told in motivational training exercises is of Michael Jordan being cut from his high school’s varsity basketball team. After that setback, Jordan once noted, he went on to experience failure throughout his playing days. At one point during his amazing career, he reckoned he had missed more than 9,000 shots, lost almost 300 games, and on 26 occasions missed what would have been a game-winning shot. And that doesn’t even count the disastrous attempt at a baseball career.
“I have failed over, and over, and over again in my life,” Jordan said in a memorable Nike commercial. “And that is why I  succeed.” The six-time NBA champion was voted Most Valuable Player five times and used his on-court success to build a worldwide brand.
The game is different, but the process is the same for becoming successful when selling or in the face of business rejection.
“The first realization is there’s no magic bullet for closing every deal,” says Hopkins, who first cut his sales teeth in real estate. “Sometimes you know you have to walk away empty-handed. The key is to realize that no isn’t an automatic failure.”
Likewise, rejection and the miserable feeling it leaves occur in a variety of work-related situations on a daily basis. But if rendered correctly, they actually drive a healthy system of competition and ensure a high standard of work. These instances are often painful, but many moments of rejection are opportunities for learning, notes Susan Heathfield, an organizational development consultant since 1987.
“Rejection sends a powerful message, so you need to make sure that you are reading the right cues in any rejection you experience,” says Heathfield, who has worked as a human resources director and co-owns a software company with her husband. “You can only accomplish these two tasks: learning and responding to the intended message. If you are willing to practice personal courage and seek out feedback following your rejection, you can do both.”
Let’s Make a Deal
“The average American won’t say yes—meaning yes to spending money—until they first come up with some type of no,” says Hopkins, who ran the leading Coldwell Banker Real Estate office in the country for several years. “You learn to handle that concept, learn the dialogue and keep them moving toward the yes. I  found, over the years, that the guys who made the most money got rejected the most, and they didn’t take it personally.”
Hopkins has written 18 books, including How to Master the Art of Selling, which has sold more than 1.4 million copies. In 1976 he founded Tom Hopkins International Inc., through which he produces seminars, books, and audio and video training programs. More than 4 million people have attended his seminars worldwide.
During the course of his sessions, he connects with the audience by saying that if they ended up with good kids, they had to have done some selling in the process of parenting; if they get a promotion over other candidates, they have done some selling that led to the promotion; and if they stay married in the world today, both spouses are doing great sales jobs to make it happen.
“My goal is to try to convince them that, hey, selling is not bad,” he says. “It’s not luck, wit, charm and a smile, like most people think. It truly is a science. The foundation is getting over the fear that you will be told no, and then learning what to say to cope with no.”
A no can come in different forms, he explains. “ ‘I want to think it over’ can be a no, or it can be a stall tactic,” he says. “It may be that the people need more information, or that they really need to go home and think it over, and they’ll call you back. Each no is just a fork in the road, and you need to see where that new path leads you. Is it a dead end, or is it yet another road that goes somewhere else?”
Here are some of no’s alternate definitions and what that preliminary “nope” on a sales call can mean:
1. I’m confused. Perhaps the customer or client hasn’t had all of his questions answered yet. Keep going. The client education process is inherent to selling. “If the buyer consistently asks for more information after your initial closing attempt, then it is time to make an adjustment in your presentation,” says Hopkins. “Investigate further to determine what aspect of your presentation isn’t clear.”
2. Now’s not a good time. The buyer’s no might just be a way of slowing the sales process down. Some people initially turn down all offers as a defense mechanism. They may just be buying time to think. Give them some breathing room.
3. There’s something you’re missing. Perhaps the buyer hasn’t told you everything about his or her circumstances, needs and price range.
4. Not quite. The buyer’s no may mean, “not in that size or color.” Or it could be financial. Ask questions to clarify what the potential clients mean.
5. Not from you. Sometimes you just don’t make the personal connection needed in sales. It’s critical to make a strong first impression to buyers—be sincere and be polite.
Handling rejection is not a test of will, but a matter of preparation, perspective and attitude, Hopkins says.
The Five Moves
“One of the statistics most people don’t realize, and I’m now really talking about sales, is that the top producers don’t accomplish the final closing until they’ve had five attempts—meaning they’re five different moves into the close. This is why you have to learn to transform the no into the maybe, then transform the maybe into the yes, and of course most of this is done by the words that we communicate,” Hopkins  says.
The three basic activities in any sales situation are making statements, asking questions and remaining silent, Hopkins says: Be comprehensive in the pitch, ask probing questions about the buyer’s needs, request that the buyer take action, and then remain silent until the speaker talks again. “Silence is simple but powerful,” he says.
“People will say yes based more on your belief and conviction than on your product knowledge or technical skills,” Hopkins says. “A while back, I played golf with Wayne Gretzky, and I asked him why he thought he did so well in hockey. He told me he had a true passion for every aspect of the game, for winning, for responding to his opponents chasing him around the ice, all of it.”
Not listening to client reaction is one of the worst things a salesperson can do in the heat of a proposal, Hopkins says. “I teach that there are three types of listeners—the poor listener, who doesn’t hear most of the words because his or her whole focus is on what to say next; the average listener, who hears maybe half of the words; and the empathetic listener, who is so focused that he or she hears even the messages hidden behind the words, many of which are defense barriers because people are nervous and afraid of being sold to, so they come up with these things.”
Heathfield notes that perceptive listening can inspire creative thinking. “If you discover the no you received is because your pricing is not competitive, go look at your pricing and see if there is something you can do,” she says. “Instead, a lot of people just give up at that point.”
Hopkins tells the story of a man who came up to him after a seminar and said that attending one of his sessions two years prior had changed how he worked and dramatically improved his fortunes. “He told me that he was a retired colonel in the armed forces, and he did terribly in sales at first because he was still trying to command his customers to buy what they needed,” Hopkins says. “He took to heart what I said at the previous seminar about listening, and he became one of his company’s top  producers.”
If the Answer Is Still No
Understanding when no really means no is critical. Not doing so can damage any future business with a prospective client, Hopkins says. “I like to tell people that no is just the first part of nothing, as in, ‘If you say no to me tonight, Mr. Johnson, then I feel you’re gaining nothing from the benefits we have to offer.’ Then let Mr. Johnson ponder that without any further pressure.”
In any event, remain positive, Hopkins says. If three unsuccessful sales calls in a row leave you frustrated, don’t let it color the fourth pitch. One formula Hopkins recommends is connecting the fruitless sales calls to deals you close.
“Using your own closing ratio, figure out how many contacts it takes, on average, to make one sale,” Hopkins says. “For example, if you close one out of every five contacts and you earn $1,000 per sale, that means each of those four rejections gets you one step closer to your $1,000. So tell yourself they are worth $250 each in the process. When you hear that definitive no, think to yourself,Thanks for my $250.”
Each sales call is a new chapter in negotiation.
The Harvard Negotiation Project, created at Harvard Law School in 1979 to consider global issues that involve conflicts between nations, has spawned books such as Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher, William Ury and Bruce Patton. Getting to Yes advanced the theory of “principled negotiation”—how to separate pre-existing and underlying relationship issues from the discussions at hand and focus on each side’s interests, how to develop options for mutual gain, and how to use independent standards of fairness to avoid a bitter contest of wills.
Being the Boss
The Harvard Negotiation Project’s process of compromise is based on three criteria: It should produce a reasonable agreement, if agreement is possible; it should be efficient; and it should improve or at least not damage the relationship between the parties.
“I think the damaging relationships part is particularly important in workplace issues,” Heathfield says.
The key factor to remember for entrepreneurs and other managers of people is that when an employee comes up with an idea, you need to respond to it, she says. If your answer is no, “Tell them, ‘I’ve heard you. Yes, there are aspects of that idea that I love. It’s not practical at the moment for these reasons,’ and give the employee an actual response for why their idea is not going to be implemented.”
Too much of the time when employees present their ideas, the concepts fall into a black hole, Heathfield says. Because there is a fear of hurt feelings, “no one responds. The employee is left totally up in the air and doesn’t know what’s going on, when simple responses would have solved and cured that whole problem.”
When employees receive no feedback, they don’t know what to do, so they become repetitive, Heathfield says. “They keep putting forth the same idea, hoping that they can batter down the resistance. They often turn into whiners, because they bring it up, and they bring it up, and they bring it up, and they drive you crazy. But if you’re a manager or a business owner and you’ve got a person doing that, understand it’s your fault. You haven’t allowed that person to understand that you really did hear them out and listened to them, you objectively considered their idea, and you’re rejecting it for reasons X, Y and Z.”
Being open to that feedback, soliciting it, and then being able to deal with and address it is crucial for an employee with an idea, or anyone trying to sell, Heathfield  says.
“My husband and I have 300 employees, and there are a few that need some serious feedback from me,” Heathfield says. “One of them is having lunch with me on Tuesday, and he is going to get it. That’s part of the honest appraisal. It’s my duty to let him know that he isn’t succeeding at the level that I honestly believe he can succeed at in our company.”
And That’s the Bottom Line
Accurate self-appraisal, the ability to respond to feedback and keeping rejection in perspective: These are all powerful tools when on sales calls, whether you’re out on the entrepreneurial limb or in a leadership environment.
History has proved this time and again.
Robert M. Pirsig spent over four years writing Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance in the wee hours of the morning before going to work at his day job as a contract writer, only to have publishers reject the book 121 times, which landed him a place in theGuinness Book of World Records for most rejections by a best-seller. The University of Southern California turned Steven Spielbergdown at least twice for admission (the prolific filmmaker eventually received an honorary degree from the school in 1994 and two years later became a trustee). And legend has it more than 1,000 restaurants rejected the secret chicken-seasoning recipe of Harland David Sanders before someone finally accepted it (the “colonel’s” legacy is KFC).
As with most things, Dr. Seuss explains it best. In Oh, The Places You'll Go!, the legendary author of children’s books wrote optimistically, “You have brains in your head. Your feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.” This was the insight of Theodor Seuss Geisel, who had his first book rejected 27 times before he closed the deal to get it published.
There's also sage advice for employees struggling with rejections. Find out 5 steps for effectively coping with workplace rejection.
Respond to a Sales Rejection
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Sample Letter #1
Your hesitance to sign up for a spa membership is understandable in light of the reasons you gave me yesterday. Like you, many people fear they will use their membership for a few weeks and then let it gather dust while they continue to pay monthly fees.
Our beginner's contract solves that problem. You sign up on a month to month basis, but you lock in the price of the first month's fee. You can cancel anytime with no further obligation. That's how we give you a great membership with all the amenities at low cost. Call today at 555-5555 and let us help you get started on the path to physical fitness.
Sample Letter #2
Thank you for the interest you have shown in our new line of commercial washers and dryers. I understand that you have chosen not to invest in these at this time. Please be aware that the quality of our products, combined with our easy financing and excellent after-sales service, make for an unbeatable opportunity. Whether you buy from us this time or wait for a while, we look forward to helping you in the future.
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How to Make the Most of a Sales Rejection
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Rejection has probably destroyed the careers of more salespeople than any other single thing. No one likes rejection and only a very few get to a point where they are not affected by it. But in sales you will need to learn out how to constructively handle rejection.
These are a few techniques I use to get through it:
1. Be rational about your rejection.
Stay rational, not emotional when you hear "no." Convince yourself that it doesn't mean you or your offer are being rejected, but that the customer merely needs more information. No doesn't mean you are deficient or personally being rejected. There is zero value in getting emotional about a client's rejection. Instead, find out what the no means.
2. Figure out what they don't like.
When clients say no, find out what they are rejecting specifically. Ask them: "What is it about my proposal you are saying no to?" Most people assume a rejection is about everything being offered, when it's really only a small part your client doesn't like. Break down the no to clarify what exactly your prospect is rejecting.
Related: 4 Ways to Get Customers to Open Your Emails
3. Don't take no for an answer.
People often say no as an automatic reaction. You could offer more than your client wants and still be rejected. My first high rejection sales job was cold calling multimillionaires. They were telling me no before they even heard my offer, just to get rid of me. Keep a positive attitude, smile, get the buyer's full attention and say, "I appreciate your position, but I refuse to allow you to not take me up on my offer."
4. Be persistent with strong personalities.
The stronger a buyer's personality, the more difficult it will be for your competition to get in front of them. Strong personalities tend to be the most loyal customers. When you hear what feels like a serious rejection, bone up for the challenge. Remind yourself you have a great opportunity to show that you are a truly exceptional professional who doesn't take rejection personally or quit in the face of it.
Related: 5 Ways to Work With Extroverted Employees
5. Keep track of your rejections.
When I get shut down by a buyer for what appears no apparent reason, I will put them on a help list. A help list is comprised of those people in a market I'm unable to sell to or even get in front of. I keep this list with me everywhere I go so I can ask a client to scan the list and see if they can help me with anyone on it. This has resulted in many more deals for me.
6. Get great at closing.
The best way to handle rejection is to turn rejection into a closed deal. Most salespeople never become great at closing and quit selling because they don't like rejection. The close is where you will experience the most rejection and the single area of sales most responsible for your compensation.
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If you're in business, you're a negotiator. You have no choice. Business doesn't happen unless two or more people enter into a transaction.
This can be as simple as buying inventory or as complicated as a merger of two public companies.
Without transactions, business doesn't happen, and every transaction involves a certain amount of negotiation.
When you're in business, negotiating the best possible deals is a high, if not the highest, priority. As a business owner, you can't know enough about negotiating.
It's a lot easier to describe what negotiation “isn't” than what it is. Let's get some things straight upfront. Negotiation is not:
1. A search for truth, justice and the American way.
2. A friendly discussion at the corner of Starbucks.
3. A quest for the perfect solution to a business problem.
Make no mistake: Negotiation is a game. The goal in negotiation is to win -- to get the best deal you can. Period.
To get ready for any negotiation, you must do three things:
Know your bargaining position.
In every negotiation, someone is in a stronger position and someone is in a weaker position. Where are you? In any negotiation, the side that needs the deal more is the side that gives up the most -- precisely because they need the deal and can't afford to have the other side walk away from the table.
Know how the other side perceives its position.
It isn't enough to know what your real bargaining position is. You also have to consider how each side perceives its position. As any poker player knows, sometimes a mediocre hand can be a winning hand if it's played properly. If your negotiating position isn't great but you see the other side is worried about losing the deal, you can't go wrong by coming on strong and playing to the other side's fears.
Assess your bargaining style.
Are you aggressive or passive by nature? I hate to say it, but in 25 years of studying lawyers, I've found that those who are naturally aggressive, fearless and downright ornery tend to make the best negotiators. People are afraid of them, want to avoid their nasty behaviors and give them what they want. To truly succeed at negotiating, it helps if you can find your inner Rottweiler. Remember, it's a game.
Now that you're psychologically ready to sit down at the bargaining table, it's time to figure out what you need to get out of the deal.
Sit down with a sheet of paper, fold it down the middle, and label each half "deal points" and "trading points." Then list all the points you need to reach agreement on.
Deal points are those you must win -- if you can't get those, you walk from the table and look for another deal. For example, if you paid $1,000 for a painting and need to get a 20 percent return on your inventory to stay afloat, getting a purchase price of at least $1,200 is one of your deal points.
Any point that isn't a deal point is a trading point -- nice if you can get it, but you can live without it if you sense it's a deal point for the other person.
In a negotiation, your goal is to get all your deal points and as many of your trading points as possible, recognizing that often you'll have to yield one or more trading points to get your deal points.
Be realistic when identifying your deal points. A lot of things you negotiate for aren't really life or death for your business. If you aren't sure if you really need something or not, it's a trading point.
"Dear Mr. Strauss: Thank you for your submission, but unfortunately ..."
When you're an entrepreneur, you hear the word "no" a lot. The not-so-fictional rejection letter above was just one of scores of similar responses I received for years from publishers back in the day when I was first trying to become a published writer. It took me almost a decade of hearing no before -- finally! -- that all-important yes came in the mail.
And that then raises the question: How do you deal with no? Or maybe even more important: How do you turn a no into a yes?
There actually are a lot of ways to turn a no into a yes, but let me first tell you one strategy that I don't want you to use: mimicry. There's a school of thought out there positing that if you subtly mimic people's verbiage, body language and the like, you can subliminally create rapport with them. Somehow, they're not supposed to notice that you're mimicking them, nor be insulted or feel manipulated by it, and instead will suddenly realize that you just have so much in common that they need to do business with you.
As you can tell, I'm not a big fan of that strategy. That's because 1) I've never seen it actually work, and 2) it is condescending and shallow.
Instead, here are five ways you really can turn that no into a yes:
1. Get a clue. No doesn't always mean no. Instead, often, it's just an easier answer than, "I'm not sure" or "I don't know" or "I'm not ready at this moment to give you an answer."
So your first step is to be able to ascertain whether a no is really just a way to buy some time. Small-business owners with whom you deal often resort to saying "no" because it saves time and is simply easier.
I remember one time when I was speaking with the representative of a big franchisor about carrying my USA Today column on their website, and while they seemed interested, the gentleman eventually said no. But since I knew that they truly were interested, I pressed a bit when normally I would not have -- was there something they needed, anything else I could offer? Within five minutes of me starting this casual, extra conversation, the gentleman decided that they really did want to carry the column. They were my clients for the next five years.
Lesson: No does not always mean no.
2. It's not you, it's me. George Costanza's famous breakup line is as applicable in business as it was on "Seinfeld." If you hear "no" a lot -- too much -- it is probably a hint that you are doing something wrong. The challenge then is to zero in on what that thing is. It could be any number of items:
• Your pitch may be off, or too long, or not detailed enough.
• Your product could be too expensive, or maybe too mediocre.
• Maybe your offer has no compelling call to action.
The best way to figure this out is to share what you are doing with a trusted colleague. Don't try and figure it out in a vacuum, because that obviously has not worked given the feedback the market has given you.
Or what about this: Ask the naysayer why he or she said no. Get some constructive criticism. The important thing is to get some feedback, learn from it, change things up, and get back out there.
3. Deal with the objections. The late, great sales guru and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar once said this about sales: "Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust."
That is a lot of noes, a lot of potential objections. But by understanding that no may really mean a prospect is actually worried about some or all of Ziglar's objections, you'll be armed with the ability to handle those doubts. If you forthrightly deal with their fears or objections, whatever they may be, then a no will not necessarily be, as Regis Philbin used to say, their "final answer."
4. Make it better. I saw Chicken Soup for the Soul author Jack Canfield speak recently. Canfield shared a principle that he uses to turn maybes and noes into yeses. He calls it "10." After he gives a pitch or proposal, he asks prospects, "Was my proposal a 10? If not, what would it take to make it a 10 for you?"
5. Don't take it too seriously. Having the right attitude about a no can really go a long way toward getting more yeses. After all, what is a no except a prelude to the next yes? As they say, smile and dial, smile and dial. As long as you keep throwing stuff against the wall, something is bound to stick.
Always remember that Babe Ruth was not only the home run king, but also a leader in strikeouts. There's a good lesson for all of us in that.
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Salespeople: Develop the Means to Handle Rejection
THOMAS P. REILLY

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How well do you handle the feelings of rejection that accompany failure? If your answer is "not well," all is not lost. You can develop strategies that enable you to cope more effectively with the emotional trauma you experience when your objectives are not realized.

Rejection has been defined as accepting someone else's opinion that you are worthless. Eleanor Roosevelt once said that no one can harm you without your permission. There are a handful of professions that offer unlimited opportunities to get rejected. Selling is one.

After muddling through the initial job-hunt rejection, the salesperson gets rejected in a number of ways. Weary prospects are reluctant to meet with unknown salespeople and use a variety of excuses to avoid them. Overprotective secretaries and receptionists are often so skilled at evasion tactics that they dissuade even the most persistent salespeople.

Assuming we penetrate these first two lines of resistance, there are still many ways in which the salesperson gets rejected: "Your price is too high!" "I want to think about it!" "I'm happy the way things are!" "I don't see any need to change!"

All of the above represent potential rejection situations for the salesperson. When these are coupled with feelings of alienation from his or her company and peers because the salesperson is not meeting the sales quota, the potential for emotional crisis exists. How these potential crisis situations are met determines the likelihood of one's sales success.

Proactive salespeople understand rejection and handle it well. They have a greater chance at a longer and more productive sales career. Proactive salespeople have developed a healthy personal philosophy about rejection. They know that they will enjoy making a sale.

Conversely, they accept that they will feel an appropriate amount of disappointment when they do not sell. They do not accept that "phony macho image" that it does not hurt. Proactive salespeople are realistic. It is this focus on reality that permits them to persevere in the face of disappointment.

Proactive salespeople have a variety of methods for dealing with rejection. They are able to divorce their egos from the sale. They understand the difference between performance failure and self-worth. The self-esteem comes from healthy self-respect as worthwhile people.
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Consequently, they do not engage in distorted self-talk such as "I'm no good because I missed that sale!" or "I'm really worthless today - l haven't sold a thing!" A proactive salesperson will skip this step and perform a situation analysis to determine what went wrong.

Another strategy is a "leveling technique" in which the salesperson examines the rejection situation and might use more positive self-talk like "How can they be rejecting me as an individual - they don't even know me!" Someone once said, "If we could read the secret history of another person, we would find enough pain, sorrow and hurt on the pages of that diary to disarm all hostility toward that person."

Proactive salespeople believe this and perceive the other person accordingly. Proactive salespeople allow an appropriate amount of disappointment if it is due. If you have worked hard on a proposal and lose the business, you are going to feel disappointment. Try to moderate the emotion by asking yourself how much misery it really deserves.

Another proactive strategy for dealing with rejection is to plant a lot of seeds. Salespeople who generate a lot of activity have very little time to mourn over one piece of business that is lost.

Because proactive salespeople positively anticipate rejection, they are never overwhelmed by it. They know they will get rejected because it is part of the game. They expect it, but do not create it. Positively anticipating rejection means giving thought in advance to how one should handle it or which response method to use.

Proactive salespeople do not rationalize. However, they recognize that there may be other variables to consider which may prevent the salesperson from writing the order. It is very possible that the timing is inappropriate for the sale to happen. Budget constraints or shared decision authority can create legitimate delays. It is imperative that the salesperson correctly perceive this reality which places the salesperson in a tenuous position.

Below is a summary of proactive strategies for dealing with rejection:

1. Divorce your ego from the sale - the prospect is not attacking you personally!

2. Remember that this "intimidating" individual you are facing may have a lot of problems that are creating this facade.

3. Do not automatically assume that the problem is on your end.

4. Plant a lot of seeds!

5. Admit to yourself that not buying could be a (continued on page 2)
rational business decision at this time.

6. Positively anticipate rejection so you are not overwhelmed by it.

7. Watch out for distorted self-talk where your worth as a human being is associated with your success as a salesperson.

The results of handling rejection well are obvious. You are happier, feel better about yourself and are more productive. Time is not wasted in self-indulged pity.

Perhaps the best way to remain on course is to take this advice I once read in an article written by a psychiatrist:

Give your failure the minimal amount of attention it deserves, and keep on trying.

Tom Reilly is president of Sales Motivational Services, a company which specializes in sales and sales management training. For more information please write, 2024 Meadowbrook Way, Chesterfield, MO 63017 or call 314/ 227-1651.
Tortuguismo en empresas mexicanas genera descapitalización: Grant Cardone
Organización Editorial Mexicana
24 de octubre de 2013


La Prensa

Ciudad de México.- Tortuguismo en ventas genera descapitalización en empresas mexicanas asegura Allen Hernández, Director general de Grant Cardone Latinoamérica quien asegura que más que falta de financiamiento y acceso a créditos se detecta que en las firmas del país "se vende poco y de manera lenta, lo que genera la descapitalización de las firmas de todos los sectores económicos".

De acuerdo a Hernández, una de las principales razones por lo que el 80% de las pymes mexicanas fracasan en los primeros tres años de operación se atribuye a la falta de recursos para operar, plazos muy largos para el pago de facturas y escasez de créditos empresariales. En todos los casos, sin embargo, subyace una fuerza de ventas que trabaja de manera lenta y con resultados pobres.

El "tortuguismo" en ventas es multifactorial de acuerdo al directivo. "Muchos empresarios ni siquiera están convencido del producto que pretenden comercializar, entonces carecen de vendedores profesionales y comprometidos que no convencen porque ellos mismos no lo están".

Hernández, mencionó que en el país existe una fuerte cultura emprendedora pero muchos planes y grandes ideas fracasan porque se caree de una metodología que permita comercializar a gran escala los proyectos. "Se prospecta un cliente y se asume que será un nuevo cliente. Los esfuerzos de ventas resultan muy pobres. Se requiere multiplicar número de clientes potenciales, presentaciones de ventas y cierres para asegurar la rentabilidad de las marcas".

"Falta de créditos y financiamientos no representan el verdadero problema para poner en marcha nuevas empresas, el problema es la carencia de sistemas profesionales de ventas. En el país aún no se profesionalizan las habilidades de convencer y negociar, ambas cruciales para obtener resultados", remarca Hernández.

El directivo comenta que los empresarios son los primeros vendedores de su empresa e ideas. La habilidad de que se considere nuestro punto de vista "es crucial para mantener la operación y negocios de las compañías".

Sin embargo, "ventas es un área olvidada. Hay compañías en las que incluso se carece de material visual para que cada representante comercial apoye sus presentaciones y no se considera una inversión rentable el preparar profesionalmente a cada vendedor", dice Hernández.

Ante esto, "el tortuguismo es lo que se come a las pymes mexicanas y se frenan oportunidades de dinamismo económico, empleo e incluso ideas y soluciones para los consumidores", refiere el directivo de GrantCardone Latinoamérica.

Finalmente, Hernández menciona que convencimiento, compromiso, apoyo visual de las promesas de ventas, demostración y un excelente trato son factores que pueden incrementar las ventas de las empresas mexicanas y revertir la descapitalización.

Manejo de objeciones y quejas en ventas
La diferencia principal entre una queja y una objeción es que las quejas no detienen las ventas, las objeciones sí.
5
Si no sabes diferenciar entre una queja y una objeción en ventas, perderás una cantidad de esfuerzo manejando cosas que desde el principio no tendrías que manejar.
Por ejemplo: una persona entra a su empresa a tratar de comprar su producto o tú lo visitas y la persona te da una aparenteobjeción, una objeción como esta es “bastante costoso, es “bastante costoso” para la mayoría de los vendedores realmente la consideran como una objeción de ventas.
Piensa esto tú, ¿demasiado costoso” es una objeción de ventas para ti?, si piensas que es una objeción te vas a meter en un problema al manejarla, porqué ni siquiera yo podría determinar si es una objeción o no, hay un paso que está faltando aquí.
 Recuerdas a tu esposa la última vez cuando entró a una tienda y dijo, “esta bolsa es demasiado cara” sin embargo se la compró, porque independientemente que piense que es costosa, no es una razón para evitar que la compre.
No quiero que te confundas, es bastante simple, cuando una persona te dice que es bastante costoso,  él tiene derecho a pensar que el kilo de tortilla es costoso, no pasa nada si es costoso, la diferencia principal entre una queja y una objeción es que las quejas no detienen las ventas, lasobjeciones sí.
En el caso anterior, se aplica un cierre de inmediato a sí misma y dice “soy la mejor madre” “me la merezco” “soy la mejor esposa” lo que sea que haga por ella misma para comprar la bolsa, no era una objeción, las objeciones detienen las compras, las quejas no.
¿Cuándo un cliente te diga? El producto es muy costoso, lo único que tienes que hacer para manejar esta situación es ponerte de acuerdo con el cliente y acúsale de recibo, acusar de recibido, es informarle a una persona que realmente entendiste lo que dijo.
Sí, la persona dice es muy costosa. Debes contestarle:
-Tiene usted razón señor, ¿cómo todo lo que vale la pena en la vida? Sonríes y estiras la mano, firme aquí por favor.
Que pasarías si el cliente dice:
-No, en verdad estoy fuera de presupuesto, en este momento.
Acabas de validar la la queja como objeción, y la regla es muy sencilla, siempre trata todas las objeciones de ventas como quejas primero, si se se validan es porque la manejaste con una buena línea de comunicación, entonces haz encontrado una objeción, ahora encuentra un cierre, un consejo es no malgastar tus cierres en quejas, utiliza tus cierres únicamente contra objeciones.

Allen Hernández. Director de Grant Cardone Latinoamerica, Experto en Ventas, Asesor Politico, Seminarista, Empresario.

How To Deal With Rejection In Your Sales Calls

ByGareth Goh
PostedJuly 31, 2013
CategoriesArticles, Sales and Marketing
Words620
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Your reps have all been there – They’re on the phone with a prospective customer, conversation is flowing and your rep thinks that they could be on the verge of closing a deal. All of a sudden, that sentence comes out of nowhere and stops us dead:  “I’m not interested, thank you”.  What do you do after that?  You might want to panic, hang up or give up on sales altogether – but you can’t!  Helping your reps work through rejection is a critical component of sales management. Here are 11 tips to deal with buyer rejection in a healthy and productive way.


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