Adam is his firm’s top rainmaker. He brings in more business than the other three salespeople together.
When Sheryl joined the team as the fifth member, she went on calls with Adam as part of her induction.
During two weeks with Adam, Sheryl was at first confused, then appreciative. She had seen Adam decline four opportunities that Sheryl would have jumped at.
“Why?” was her question on each occasion.
Here were Adam’s answers:
- This lead is not ready to buy now, and it would be wrong to convince them otherwise. I earned more trust by saying no now and why. Don’t worry, we’ll be back at the right time.
- This lead is not the right fit for our company. They move accounts too frequently and they can’t yet tell the difference between an investment and a cost. We’d be chasing our tail from the get-go. We can do better than that.
- This lead might have the ability to acquire our services, but they are dodgy payers and they intend to use our services in areas and ways that are against our values. There’s a risk of reputational damage that’s not worth taking. We can do better than that.
- This lead has the ability and would have been the perfect fit, except that I have discovered their competition is about to acquire them and they have a strong longstanding relationship with our competitor. The sale would be scuttled, abandoned or discredited. We can do better than that.
Sheryl was reminded that there are times that saying no is good for business.
Those times are:
- when it’s not right for the client
- when it’s the wrong fit for our values
- when the risk profile is too great
- when it’s the wrong fit in the medium to long term for our business.
We can always do better than that.
We too, not just the client, have the right to accept or refuse the business opportunity, for the right reasons.
What are some other reasons why saying no is good for business?
