The Tao of No (in 2 threads)

When we master No we will master selling our expertise.

The two sides of No are hearing it and saying it. We must get better at both.

A thread for each follows...

On Hearing No (the 1st thread)

No is the second best answer we can hear. It is far preferable to Maybe or We’ll get back to you.

Or silence. 1/6

No is not the end. It is merely the beginning of what happens next.

We can do something with No.

We can carry on the conversation or we can move on, for now, or for good, and direct our attention to a more fruitful conversation. 2/6

Our own willingness to hear No is tied to our investment in the sale.

If hearing No is painful it is because we are over-invested or have waited too long to be ready to hear it. 3/6

An early No is preferable to a late No.

As soon as we uncover an opportunity, our job, as counterintuitive as it may seem, is to try to kill it. If there is a reason why an engagement might not make sense we want to find it early, before either party over-invests. 4/6

Inviting No improves the likelihood of having an actual conversation.

One of the most powerful prefaces we can employ when making a request is "Feel free to say no, but allow me to ask...” 5/6

Experts create the conditions where the client can easily say No if this is indeed the answer, thus allowing both parties to remain ruthlessly efficient. 

If we can't hear No, we will never be ready to say it. 6/6