I don’t say “no” to prospects

This is how I build credibility and create opportunities for follow up

When a prospect asks me a question, I avoid answering “no” as much as possible.

It doesn’t matter whether they are asking about a specific product feature, or if they want to know whether or not we can support a novel use case they are exploring.

On a customer call, answering “no” may seem to them like I am taking the easy way out, like I am being lazy. If I quickly answer no, they may think I am not willing to research the topic for them.

Even if I know something is not available, I offer to follow up. I tell them I will see if their requirement is on the roadmap, or I will double check with the team to make sure I am not missing anything. Sometimes I think something is not possible, but there is actually a beta, a hidden feature, or plans to support it. I have even been surprised to find out we were building a feature that our product team had previously refused to prioritize.

Don’t play defense

Putting my cynical sales hat on, sometimes I get the feeling that someone in the meeting is a detractor. This person is fighting against us from the beginning, so they strategically ask rapid fire questions in an attempt to poke holes in our solution. If I were to answer “no, no, no” over and over again, I would ruin the flow of the presentation and play into their hands.

Instead, I offer responses like “that’s interesting,” “not yet”, “I haven’t come across that use case yet”, or “I don’t think so.” Not only do they soften the detractor’s blows, those responses coupled with an offer to double check can go a long way to build trust and confidence. Prospects want to know you are willing to do the work to be a good partner.

Cynical and lazy, or shrewd and efficient?

Honestly, I don’t follow up on half of the small asks that come up in a meeting. A lot of these things are not that important. And if I’m wrong, the prospect will follow up and ask me again.

Framing the follow-up offer is also important. I avoid committing to follow-ups that force me to respond no matter what. I probably hedge my answers more often than I should, and this could create a lot of extra work.

For example, I might say, “I believe the answer is X, but let me double-check and get back to you.” This means I am committed to emailing the prospect even if my answer was correct.

Instead, I try to say, “I believe the answer is X, but I will double-check and let you know if I find out differently.” See the difference? I still have the chance to verify my answer is correct, but I’m not creating extra work just because I’m not 100% confident in my answer.

Create an opportunity for another meeting

As another tactic, even when I am crushing a call and have all of the answers, I might decline to go into detail on a key topic. I leave that as an opportunity to gather my thoughts and follow up with more information.

I fear having all of the answers on a call may make me seem less credible. They may wrongly perceive that I am just telling them what they want to hear, so challenging my own knowledge and confirming after the fact can help build trust with the prospect and create an opportunity for next steps.

Offer to bring in “experts”

I also look for opportunities to bring in other people that are experts in the subject or product the prospect is exploring. This is helpful for areas where I may not have as much experience. Inviting an expert also helps avoid an awkward situation when I have not worked with a product recently and my knowledge may be somewhat out of date.

Even if I might I know the topic better than the “expert”, I sometimes sense the prospect wants to learn more from a specialist. Since I am on the sales team, they may not fully trust my motives even though I strive to be a customer advocate. In any case, this can be a great opportunity to get other people in the organization introduced to the customer and invested in the outcome of the deal.

In my experience, prospects rarely follow through in meeting with the expert. If they do, they might be seriously interested in our offering.

That is a great signal. This shows I should double-down and dedicate more time and attention to this potential customer.

Conclusion

Don’t say no. Limit unnecessary follow-up. Offer to bring in experts. Filter for serious prospects.