Do you remember the last time your manager asked you to do something and you said yes, but really wanted to say no? The same thing might have happened when a customer made a request and you really wanted to say no. It’s hard to say no to managers, customers and friends. Sometimes you have to. Here’s how to say no to increase sales.
Say no to your manager.
Saying no is tough to do so you have to prepare yourself. Managers sometimes ask for the impossible and don’t realize that is what they’re doing. I once worked for a great sales manager. He had me helping one day a week with sales forecasts, sales strategy and management. This took me out of my sales territory without a decrease in my sales goals. He effectively was reducing my time to sell by 20%. I felt the stress. Here’s what I did.
I asked my manager which he would prefer. Did he want to reduce my sales goals 20% or reduce the time I spent on sales management. He didn’t realize what he was asking was unfair to me. He modified our schedule to help me meet my sales goals and help him with sales management.
You can say no indirectly to your manager by giving a choice of which existing task you should remove in order to take on the new one.
Say no to your customers.
Saying no to a customer is almost as difficult as saying no to a manager. You really don’t want to say no. Customers need to understand why you have to say no. Often authority levels are involved. Sometimes another department is involved and it is out of your control. Be sure to explain to your customer what you are doing to deliver the request. Offer an alternative if at all possible. Be clear that you have done all you could do and then some to grant the request when you have to say no.
I had a very important customer and I was unable to fulfill a requested delivery. The refinery was out of product. I contacted four distribution centers and none had product. There were no other distributors who could offer a substitute until the product could be made. This effort to locate product or a substitution took an entire morning. I was unsuccessful and had to tell my customer no.
He told me that he had never seen someone work so hard on an order. My attempt left him with a positive view of my work and my company. He ultimately became my largest customer because of the work that went into that no.
Say no to friends.
You might not want to disappoint your friends and you find it hard to tell them no. Sales isn’t a 9 to 5 job so you must be protective of your leisure time. Saying no to friends when you want is part of taking care of yourself. Be ready to respond when friends ask for your time when you want to say no. You can say, “I need to get back to you.” Sometimes you might get back and other times you just might let it slide. Just as you don’t have to answer all emails, you don’t have to get back with all requests. Other times, you have to be prepared to say, “I would love to, but this Wednesday just doesn’t work for me.” Remember, you are the only one who can protect your time.
Saying no may be hard. Just think about what would happen to you saying yes to something you don’t want to do. Wouldn’t you be more miserable saying yes than saying no?