In most cases, and particularly in sales, a ‘maybe’ is much worse than a ‘no’ for two reasons, both of which stem from the same cause - a cause that the sales-person actually controls (unwittingly or otherwise).
The reason behind a ‘maybe’ is usually simple. So many times in the past the customer in question has said ‘No’ and the sales person went straight into an all-out assault to try and convince them to change their mind. In fact the customer has had this happen so much, that he has decided it is easier to give a maybe, and then let the sales person just call back a few times and finally giving up.
The ‘pushy’ sales person is their own worst enemy in these instances.
The two main reasons this is worse than a ‘no’ are:
1. The customer has been made to tell a lie in misleading the sales person to avoid unpleasantness. Forcing someone else to tell a lie is never, ever, ever good for building relationships and spells the beginning of the end.
2. As the sales person, you walk away with false hope, spend time and energy chasing down this customer forever and a day, making matters worst. You waste this time and energy which is much better spent on new opportunities or follow-up on existing customers to retain their business and gain referrals from them.
You can probably think of more negatives that come out of this approach, but the above two are usually reason enough to change your methods.
The solution is simple, simply remove that fear from the customer at the beginning of the sales cycle.
Sales person: “Hi Bill, before we start, let me say that I don’t want to hound you endlessly if there does not seem to be a match here.
“After 15 minutes, if it’s obvious to you that it makes no sense to do business, let me know and I’ll be out of your hair forever. Is that OK with you?”
Customer: “Sure?”
Lots of sales people hear this for the first time and cringe with fear. Asking a customer to actually tell you no! Arrrrrrgh! Most sales training approaches recommend that you never ask a yes or no type question, because this gives the customer an easy way out. This technique was fine in its day, but salespeople have leapt over the table and pushed, pushed, pushed so often now that some customers are using ‘Maybe?’ in their own defence.
How many customers will say no to this logical question that removes one of their primary fears, right at the start of the sales cycle?
None, that I have met anyway. Remember, you are telling the prospect that it is SAFE to say ‘no’, but only after you have had the chance to speak with them about how your product or service can meet their need.
When I first started using this approach myself, my initial ‘Yes’ rate to gain that first meeting went from only about 20% to up around 80%. So I ask you to think this through.
What impact would this have on your bottom line if your entire sales team used this initial approach and followed it up with next steps that were equally effective? Think this through too, and let me know if you disagree. | 
