"No"

Colle Davis - Coach

Last evening, I had the privilege of listening to Dick Robertson, the head of distribution for Warner Brothers talk about how to achieve success in life. In the audience, 125 very focused listeners from the entertainment industry (whose very lives depend on someone saying 'yes' to their projects) strained to memorize every word he uttered. Dick was speaking from his sales experience of many years as a salesman traveling from station to station across the US selling his shows to local TV markets. The fancy word for what he was selling is called syndication. The less fancy way to say it is hard work. His message last night was that everyone is a salesperson - whether they know it or not. Selling your spouse on trying a new restaurant or selling a television station on airing a new show is all about selling an idea, a premise, a product or an experience. Your worth as a person is not measured by the answers you receive; your rewards are measured by your willingness to ask the questions in the first place.

Dick Robertson had a very graphic way of explaining the effects of 'no'. He said, “The next time someone says 'no' to you, your right arm will not fall off, and you'll still be alive and breathing after they've said ‘no.’” NO is simply a two-letter word. Period. Unfortunately, some people believe NO to be the most powerful word in the language. NAH! Wrong answer. Look at it this way; until you're able to explain your value proposition to your customer in a way that makes
sense to them, you may hear 'no'. In other words, you have to continually refine your pitch until the value proposition that you’re presenting
is a closer fit to their perceived need.

How many times have you gone back to give your own pitch to someone
before they said, “Yes?” In the world of sales training,
there is an old saying that says, “Almost no one can say 'no' to
you more than six times.” Can you image how your life would be
different if you knew that if you asked the correct question often enough,
everyone would eventually say, “Yes” to you? Now, you do
have to present something of value to them before they'll eventually
say, “Yes,” but if you’re willing to become flexible
in what your offering to them, then there is every reason for you to
get everything you asked for - and more. If that doesn't put a grin on
your face, you need to go back and start your day all over again.

For today (as an experiment) ask for what you want more often than you
normally do and see what happens. See how many 'no's' you can collect.
See if you're less of a person or become pigeon-toed or something after
receiving several 'no's'. Become a 'no' collector for a single day and
record your results. I'm willing to bet you that you'll experience a
very strange phenomenon; your results will be the exact opposite from
what you expected. By asking more often for what you want, you'll receive
the answer ‘yes’ many more time than the 'no's' you thought
would be handed.

There are those among you who are willing to be really bold and become
professional ‘No’ collectors. You, my friends and colleagues,
will become the most successful people in your world. For the rest of
you, simply try this experiment one day at a time until you notice a
difference - either in yourself, or in the rest of the world.

- Coach Colle

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KNOWLEDGE

We must view with profound respect,

the infinite capacity of the human mind

to resist the introduction of useful knowledge.

- Thos. R. Lounsbury

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AGE

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?

- Satchel Paige

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PRESENCE

Let there be nothing within thee that is not very beautiful and very
gentle,

and there will be nothing without thee

that is not beautiful and softened by the spell of thy presence.

- James Allen 1864-1912,

British-born American Essayist Author of ''As a Man Thinketh''

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WEB SITES

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Look for Phyllis Davis' major new book, Ooops! Mastering Ethics and Etiquette in American Business, to published by Entrepreneur Press/Entrepreneur Media. It is available in all major bookstores

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