Why "No!" Is Almost as Good as "Yes!"

August 14 2023
27 min read

Summary

All sales professionals experience rejection as part of their work. Every conversation with a client or prospect has the possibility of ending with refusal, either of the idea that the advisor is recommending or of the value of the advisor as a professional.

Scott and Ken explore how the fear of rejection influences the ability of some advisors to pursue building collaborative relationships with professionals who are in a position to refer new clients. They observe that approaching centers of influence (COIs) represents a very low level of refusal compared to the potential benefits: if the professional says no, the advisor has not lost anything, but if the COI says yes, it can be a huge benefit to the practice. With this in mind, Ken and Scott provide a new way for advisors to think about hearing the word “No” and what they can do to make a rejection a positive experience.


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