“My suggestion today might sound strange, but it’s worth more than noting. Why should salespeople ask for yes, but beg for no? It’s simple- salespeople can work with the answer no.

Ultimately, the reason that bad salespeople- for lack of a better word- forgo closing deals is because of the very common human fear of rejection. Since the beginning of their careers as rookie salespeople, they’ve been rejected so much that they’re happier to have a situation or deal from a client in flux rather than hear the rejecting word that continuously crushes their confidence. Therefore, the final closing question, ‘Will you give me your business,’ never gets asked. Rather, they sit there waiting for it to be said by the client.

Now, this is why I will contend that the second best answer to yes is always, no. In fact, any answer other than yes is, simply,  no. This is because the client is being respectful and courteous, or in plainer words, letting you down easy. The client is simply acting as they have been taught to act in a situation as such since he or she was a child. But, bad salespeople don’t identify this maybe or prolonged, courteous decision as a rejection. To them, it’s seemingly a situation that is still achievable. These salespeople will never ask the question that really matters, which is ‘Will you give me your business?’

My advice to all salespeople is, ask for yes, but beg for no. If the answer is no, then they can move on to somebody who will say yes.”

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