TIPS SELLING TIP When Hard Knocks Come Your Way, Use Respond-ability


We’re not necessarily responsible for everything that happens to us. Other people’s actions can affect us. Although the causes of our discomfort may be external, I know of a very powerful antidote. You might call it “respond-ability”: the ability to have a favorable reaction to an unfavorable situation in which we find ourselves through no fault of our own. When something unwelcome happens, despairingly asking yourself, “Why did this happen to me?” tends to make


matters worse. A more realistic response would be to say, “I wish this hadn’t happened but, since it has, I’m going to make the best of it.” By exercising respond-ability, you start a process that turns the lemon of misfortune into a lemonade mix of op- portunity and possibility. We’re not always responsible for the hard knocks that come our way but, if we remain respond-able, we can be


forever free from the negative effects of the people and things that are beyond our control. To put it another way: If you make me unhappy, it’s your fault; but, if I stay unhappy, it’s mine, because I failed to unleash the remedial power of my personal respond-ability.


– JOSEPH P. KLOCK


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Confidence isn’t optimism or pessimism, and it’s not a character attribute. It’s the expectation of a positive outcome. ROSABETH MOSS KANTER


SELLING TIP Don’t Settle for No


Win or lose, every sales transaction should be a learning experience. Call to mind your last rejection. What did you learn from it? It’s true: In selling you win some and lose some. Top earners in the field appreciate this. Still, if they walk away


from a turndown with no knowledge gained, they feel they’ve wasted their time. And time, they figure, is too important to waste. In one situation where a top earner (we’ll call him Bob) bombed, the following conversation with Jane, the as- sistant buyer, took place. Why the assistant? Because, although the buyer who had brusquely turned him down said she was too busy to answer his questions, Jane agreed to oblige. Bob: You were in on this from the outset. I thought I had the sale sewed up. What happened? Did Miss Jones feel something was wrong with the product?


Jane (hesitantly): No, it wasn’t that. Bob: Then what was it? I’d appreciate any help I can get. Jane: Well, I believe Miss Jones was annoyed by the add-ons you tried to sell. Bob (frowning): I thought they would be helpful. Jane: Maybe so. Miss Jones didn’t think so. Bob: That’s interesting. Was there anything else? Jane: Not that I know of. Miss Jones felt you were pushy. That’s why she turned down your bid. Bob: Thank you. I appreciate your confiding in me. Moral of the story: Even though this was a NO SALE gig, it was not a waste of time. Bob got something out of the experience that may avoid future NO SALE bomb-outs. He didn’t simply settle for no. That’s why the guy is a pro.


– RAY DREYFACK SELLING POWER MAY/JUNE 2023 | 5 © 2023 SELLING POWER. CALL 1-800-752-7355 FOR REPRINT PERMISSION.


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