Sometimes a No is better than Yes.
In a recent post, Two ways to deal with "no", Seth Godin describes extremes of how to react when you don't win your prospect's business.
- Point out their mistake, challenge their judgment or their process or castigate their decision
- Thank them for their time, compliment them on their choice, share with them what you've learned in the process and assure them you appreciate the relationship and are available to help them with anything they need
Then, he asks two questions which are really four and are really questions asked no matter the outcome. Phrased slightly differently, do you ask yourself the following questions?
- What do you to be invited back no matter the outcome?
- What do you do to be considered as the backup solution in the case that you're not chosen?
- How do you, no matter the outcome, increase word of mouth?
- What do you do that will improve how your organization feels about itself?
How do you turn the engagement of winning business into more business?
When is "no" better than "yes?"
At times, not being the first to be awarded the business is to your strategic advantage:
- When the risk of failing is hiring than succeeding
- When the road to negotion looks long and complex; there's still hope in coming in after early negotiations with your competitor fail
when do you like to not win the business?
Photo Credit: Stefan Elf
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