No Is Not A Complete Sentence
I’ve long been known for proclaiming that, except for dating, no is not always no, and it almost certainly is not forever. People say no for a lot of reasons:
It’s a knee-jerk reaction to being asked for or to do something
The thing you are asking for just isn’t something that resonates with them
Your timing couldn’t be worse
They don’t know you or the project well enough
You are wrong person to be asking them
Your ask is for too much….or for too little
And yes, I know. Who cares what the reason. No is rejection. No means they don’t love you. No is such a negative.
But truly, no allows you learn what their no means—and allows you to learn more about your prospect.
When a prospect says no, find out the meaning of their no. Or if they state an objection, find out what they are objecting to.
Of course, most of our asks are at arms’ length. They are mass appeals, and those typically get very low responses. So what do you do?
For most organizations, we just shrug and move on to the next thing. But that, my friends, is not a great response.
Think about how you might get a response.
This newsletter, for example. Since Constant Contact allows me to resend the newsletter to non-respondents, my open and click-through rates have sky-rocketed. So try sending a “second notice.”
Other things you could do include:
Reaching out in another way. If you sent a letter, try an email. If email didn’t make it, try social media.
Reach out again in a few weeks or months
Ask a different person to sign your letter, send out your social media post
Maybe make a different ask or a different amount.
If you are face-to-face, be direct. Ask: What would make you say yes?
But what if you do all this and more and the answer is still…no, either out loud or through their non-responding?
Then be gracious. Thank them if you are in person, and make sure you report out on the success of your appeal to everyone you asked.
And then, make a plan for a follow up.
Just be sure you do!