Stop Waiting for “Maybe” — It Means No

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What’s shaking? Hey, I’m Rick Jordan, and today we’re going all in. Today I’m going to talk to you about something that is very, very important when it comes to sales. You can even apply this to relationships, conversations with friends, a loved one, a partner, a spouse, or whatever. This came up on my Instagram feed, and I recalled something that a mentor of mine told me about a decade ago: when it involves sales, and recently experiencing this with some of our people internally, with some sales that we were trying to push across the board, it’s important to revisit this, and this is also the case, whether you’re servicing a customer or whatever it is, any kind of interaction, business-wise, and even any kind of interaction with people in general. This is an important rule of the universe that is ironclad, that you need to follow readily. The suspense is done here. Anything other than a yes is a no. Anything other than a yes is a no; the person can’t decide. It’s as if no one asks a question. It’s a no, a person says, “You know what,” or goes silent on you. It’s a no. Anything other than a yes is a no; that means that there’s something else going on inside their head right at the moment. 

So there are things that you can do around this, too, but I want you to assume from here on out that unless you hear a clear yes, that means no. But there are things that you can do about this, because I was going through this with one of our salespeople, one of our account managers. And I’m like, here’s how you do this, because everything is a loop, right? Because you cannot leave something open-ended. There’s a difference between salespeople and closers, period. Salespeople, who are more like farmers, as far as I see, right? They nurture accounts and all that stuff and make sure that they’re happy and everything. But a true account manager, a true salesperson, is a closer, and the only way you can close, and there are two things when it comes to sales, and this would be the third rule that I’m giving you today. But the first one, when it comes to sales, is that you always have to ask for the order. The reason why most sales, when you get there, when you get to the point, when you’ve had the presentation, don’t close, is because you didn’t actually ask for the close. 

So you present, then you close. Say, what do you think about this today? Can we do this? Can we move forward? Can you sign here? Whatever the question is to ask for the order, can we proceed? Fair enough. Then they come up with something, right? It’s something other than a yes, which means a no. In that moment, it means no. So they come up with an objection. You say, “Well, no problem,” blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then, how about we move forward now? Then they say, Well, I don’t know, because there’s this other thing. So okay, no problem, because there’s blah blah, blah, blah, blah, can we do this? Are you ready to do this? So it’s present. Close objection, close objection, close objection, close objection. It’s this loop that you have to follow in order to get this deal across the table, because anything other than a yes is a no. Let me think about it. I’ll sleep on it. Let me talk to my wife. Anything other than a yes is a no, you know. I’m not so sure about the terms, you know, whatever it is. Or you know what, I need to push this off till next week, because I got this going on, you know, then I’ll sign next week. Don’t take that. That’s one of the biggest sly “blowing smoke up your ass” things that I’ve ever heard when it comes to that. 

So, you know what? Sure, I’ll sign next week. I just have to get with this person, you know, for them to review it also. Or, you know what, I’ll sign next week because I’m too busy today, and you’re right there in front of them. That’s a no, everyone. That is a no, or if it’s just scheduling with something, you know, for service, like, “Hey, how about tomorrow at 10 am?” Well, you know what, I’ll have to check; that’s a no. Take that as a no. Be like, you know what? If that doesn’t work, how about this other time instead? Because I really want to get with you on this, I know this is important to you. How about this other time? Well, I’m not so sure. You know, I’ll have to just check my schedule overall. Well, I’m going to take that as a no, respectfully. I’m going to take that as these two times don’t work for you, so I want to respect your time. Can we make sure that we get something locked in right now that fits in your schedule? Could you pull up your calendar for me? Anything other than a yes is a no, and there’s this big one, right? If somebody can’t decide, and I’m telling you, apply this outside of sales, to apply this to your life.

 Take this perspective with your interactions with friends, partners, spouses, and anybody else. Take this as anything other than a yes as a no, because it’s the same principle. Because if somebody just comes up and says, Oh, well, I have. To look at it. Or, you know what? I need a week to think about this stuff. Like, okay, well, what? What part can I help you make clearer? I just want to make sure that we do, that we have an understanding of each other, that we are just we’re on the same page on some of these things. I understand that we may see things differently, but I just want to make sure that I understand where you’re coming from and that you understand where I’m coming from, and then you can get to the bottom of these things, because anything other than a yes is a no. Take that to heart, because that’s the only thing that’s going to get you through sales and get this thing pushed across the finish line. It’s the only thing that will get you across a conflict with somebody that you are involved with, with your kids, or whatever it is; it’s the only thing that’s going to get you across the line. 

When you go into a conversation, you think, “You know what? If I don’t get a yes out of this, that means it’s a no, and that no, I want to reframe this, right?” That doesn’t mean that there will never be a yes in the future. There will never be a yes in the future. That no today could mean a bunch of different things, but the no could mean it’s not the right time, and that’s okay. That is perfectly okay, because if you ask three times, and I want you to, this is a follow-up. This is like a sub-paragraph here. If you ask three times, just start to assume that no, or that indecisiveness or hesitation to give a yes just means that it’s not the right time, and that’s okay, because then you can come back when things align at some point in the future. Be like, you know what? I’ll follow up with you. It’s okay. It’s okay. I will follow up with you. Let’s say a week. I’m gonna call you on this day and at this time, and be specific. Or, you know, if it’s a relationship thing, you can be like, Can we talk next week? How does this day sound? You know, we’ll just come back to it. We’ll circle back to it. We’ll shelf it right now, and then we’ll circle back to it. Anything other than a yes is a no in any interaction, especially in sales.