Getting Past The No-s

The fine people at VentureBeat were kind enough to publish this first.

Buyers are generally not too keen on changing what they are doing. While a few are geared toward innovative solutions, most veer toward the tried and true. (Actually, most have an inclination to stick with exactly what they have now.) For entrepreneurs, one of the biggest challenges is shaking the complacency out of their prospects.

Whether they realize it or not, prospects tend to ask a few loaded questions to eliminate a new offering from consideration. Answer ‘em wrong and you’ll give the prospect a reason to say no immediately. Here are four of the most common, and some thoughts on ways around them.

How much? This is every buyer’s favorite. If you simply state a typical price directly, they can say “that’s more than I have” regardless of the amount. If you refuse to give a price, they assume its high and shut down. Instead, try stating your price in the context of competitor pricing – or in terms of how many months it takes to pay back.

Why would I want to switch from brand X? The “I’m happy with brand X” excuse is a bit tough to navigate. The best salespeople are really good at asking about least favorite aspects of brand X, and touting their superiority on those dimensions. “Well, brand X is a good product. Have you had any challenges or pain points with it?”

This gives you an invaluable look into how you might be able to provide a better solution. Recognizing the quality of competitor items can underscore your honesty and industry understanding. Now, they may say “No problems.” But a good follow is: ”Really? Some other companies have told me…” If you get another no, it’s probably best to move on.

Have you worked my competitors? Many companies are followers, preferring to deal with service providers that already understand their categories. If you have worked with competitors, name drop. If not, it’s tougher.

The best answer anyone has ever given me was “We don’t pretend to understand your industry as well as you do. But our team is set up to leverage your knowledge and desires into the service.” Notice how that answer says no in a flattering/collaborative way – which speaks well to how they would be to work with.

In any circumstance, do not lie. Most industries are too small a world to get away with it.

How long does it take to get running? Whether it’s software or a metal stamper, there’s usually some run-in time before a product or service is delivering full value. For complex systems or equipment, it often works to give two times, a time-to-first-use and a time-to-100 percent.

This reduces the psychological window and makes it harder to reject an option out of hand. It’s best to be sunny in your estimates (you hopefully are anyway,) but not so optimistic that 99 percent of users will be disappointed.

I should add a disclaimer that I’m no selling genius. These thoughts come from someone on the buying side. But as great sellers know, most of us actually want to be sold something better. We say no out of busyness or fear of the unknown.

But there are few among us who don’t have a need for better partners. To become one, you need to get us past our inertia and into imagining what things could be like.