From the desk of Aaron!!: The Freedom of No!!!

From the desk of Aaron!!: The Freedom of No!!!: No, the title of this is not an exercise in some sort of pseudo pyscho babble. Neither is this an attempt to further justify the mass prod...

The Freedom of No!!!

No, the title of this is not an exercise in some sort of pseudo pyscho babble. Neither is this an attempt to further justify the mass production of blue participation ribbons kids get nowadays for simply showing up on field the day of the game. As one who coaches business owners and sales professionals on "overcoming no" and maximizing their revenue potential, I'm driven by results. Not just any results though, results that lead to my clients cashing more checks, providing more and better services to their clients and me being able to "open the doors" to my practice another day.

More importantly though, I seek to learn from every success, and more often than I'd like to admit, every failure. In the world of sales that means that every single "yes", "not now", and "no" is a new opportunity to learn.

Which brings me to the title of this little entry, The Freedom of No!! When I first started my practice I often heard "no" when soliciting clients, I would take it as a personal failure and curse the heavens for not blessing me with the same smooth poise as the great self help guru's (mellow dramatic I know, but a man's got to eat right?). However, I quickly began to realize the more times I heard "no", the more comfortable I became with rejection. In fact, I became a borderline sadistic glutton for punishment. So much so, that after each proverbial door that was slammed in my face I went to my arsenal of three: why, when and referrals.

You see I no longer viewed "no" as an end all, but as a new opportunity to learn, and for new business. Whenever a prospective client told me no I would ask why not or when would be a better time, and I always asked for a referral to someone they thought might be able to take advantage of my services? "No", granted me freedom to learn from my mistakes, hone my skills, and learn more about those business owners I sought to help.

This week I challenge each of you to embrace the freedom of no!!

Til next time...

To learn more and connect:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronleveston
http://about.me/aleveston