The Crazy, Backward Sales Technique That Will Make You Rich

Today’s post is by Robert D. Smith, author of 20,000 Days and Counting (CLICK HERE to get your copy). Here’s Robert…

If you’re in sales, you like the word “Yes” a lot more than the word “No.”

“No” is just a word you’ve learned to live with. You tolerate it as a reality of the job, as a permanent obstacle you will always have to work to overcome.

But what if it didn’t have to be that way? What if, instead of pursuing the “Yes,” you dedicated all your time to seeking out the “No’s”?

What if looking for “No’s” actually got you more conversions than you ever saw when you worked so hard chasing down the “Yes”?

Well, forget “what if.”

Here’s the truth—“No’s” will make you rich.

Let me explain.

Years ago when I was in college I spent a summer working with the Southwestern company selling educational resources door-to-door throughout the farmlands of Wisconsin. Door-to-door sales is, of course, about as hard as it gets. But I spent long hours practicing my sales presentation, honing in on what was important and removing all the dead wood. I worked until it was the best it could possibly be.

Once I had that down, I never focused on the “Yes.” It wasn’t even part of my goal for each day. My only goal, each and every day, was to do my presentation 30 times. Without fail, I made at least one sale just about every day.

But several years later, I took things a step further. A friend of mine named Andy Andrews was trying to get his start as a stand-up comedian, and he asked if I could be his manager. I had zero experience in the artist management field (psychology was my major in college), but I did understand sales. So when I started picking up the phone and calling colleges across the country to try to get Andy gigs, I came up with the perfect strategy to make sure I was successful each and every day.

Instead of looking for colleges that would say “Yes”…I looked for college that would say “No.” My mission every day was to find 30 colleges who did not want to book a comedian. I would literally start every phone call by saying, “You wouldn’t be interested in booking a comedian, would you?”

Sounds crazy, right? But here’s what happened—every single time I tried to find 30 “No’s” in one day…I failed. Without fail, every single time someone would say, “Yes! We are interested in booking a comedian!”

Eventually, Andy became the most booked comedian in the college market. He was even voted Comedian of the Year two years in a row by the National Association for Campus Activities. His career as a comedian become a launching pad for his career as a corporate speaker and trainer, which then became a launching pad for his career as a New York Times best-selling author.

All because we sought out the “No’s.”

I have used this strategy again and again for three reasons:

1. It gets results. The stories I just shared speak for themselves.

2. It eliminates all fear of rejection. The funny thing about rejection is that, no matter what level you reach in business, it’s always going to be there.

When Andy became a corporate speaker, we self-published a series of books called Storms of Perfection that sold over 600,000 copies in just a few years. Because of that success, I didn’t think we’d have a ton of trouble getting a publishing deal when Andy wrote his first novel, The Traveler’s Gift.

Wrong! The manuscript was rejected 51 times before Thomas Nelson Publishers agreed to print it (after rejecting it twice). Within six months it was a New York Times bestseller. Now, about ten years later, it’s available in over 25 languages across the world.

3. It forces you to persist. Most people give up after the first three or four rejections. But when you’re actually seeking out 30 rejections, three or four mean nothing!

This 30 “No’s” strategy isn’t about setting your expectations low; it’s about creating a system that flips rejection on its head, that keeps you positive, and that actually gets you results.

The next time a “No” stops you in your tracks, don’t quit. Instead, try to get 29 more. Something tells me you will not succeed. And that’s a good thing.

– Robert D. Smith is the author of 20,000 Days and Counting and a consultant to numerous best-selling authors, speakers, and entertainers.