Of course: it’s a pity when a buyer decides not to buy.
But what would you rather have:
A deal you can’t move forward because your buyer has become a ghost… or a clear ‘No’, so that you can stop wasting time and move on to the next opportunity?
Obviously, it makes no sense to work on a deal that you can’t advance. And yet, every time I see a student’s or client’s CRM, there’s a whole bunch of crud and deadwood in there:
Buyers who are really really nice but just not able to make a decision.
Companies that are super attractive and able to pay – but it’s corporate and nobody there who cares about buying has any decision-making power, and those who do have power aren’t interested in buying.
Buyers who said "Send me the contract!" 6 months ago and have since then completely fallen off the planet…
And then my client struggles to land sales and generate revenue, all because they’re trying to work on the wrong deals, cannibalising the time they have to work on plausible deals.
Usually it’s because we’re telling ourselves, against better judgment, that the opportunity is so good, that it’s worth our extra effort.
But look: an opportunity that’s immovable isn’t a good opportunity. It’s not an opportunity at all. That’s just something that you’re telling yourself.
And the worst kind of situation?
The one where a buyer keeps giving you believable signals that they’re interested, but they can’t, or won’t, press play and buy already. Not that they’re trying to lead you on, but – through nobody’s fault – you are effectively being led on.
When that happens, you’ll find enormous value in the word ‘No’.
You know: that word we hope a buyer won’t say because that means we won’t get the sale.
Get your buyer to say no, because you’re not likely to get that sale in the first place.
Not only does it free up your time and focus, it’s also a nice thing to do for people, because when a buyer tells you the deal isn’t going to happen, they won’t have to receive your followup, and you both know where you stand. ‘No’ relieves tension.
And, counter-intuitive but true: Asking your buyer to tell you ‘no’ very often reactivates a conversation, which can then lead to a sale.
When you send a message such as:
"It looks like we won’t be able to make this happen for the time being. Can you confirm that it’s a no for now? Then I’ll know where things stand, and I’ll get out of your hair".
It’s not at all uncommon for that to cause a reply such as: "Oh we’re still interested, it’s just that […]" where the blank provides you with intel on why things are stuck or where the delay is coming from. In which case asking for no actually helps your deal.
So. When you have a bunch of deals in your pipeline that you just can’t get unstuck, consider asking your buyer to tell you it’s no sale. You just might move things forward, and you will definitely free up time for more likely candidates.