Many people fail at sales for one very specific reason, they are afraid to hear the word "no." To them, the word "no," means that all of their efforts, all of their time was wasted. They feel that they have failed, but a professional salesperson knows otherwise.

An inexperienced salesperson would rather take a maybe. maybe is the worst word a salesperson can hear. Nothing good comes from it. More often than not, the word maybe is a way to sidetrack, a way to say "no," without actually saying it. Many, many many professional salespeople languish in the land of Maybe.

Why is "no" a better word than maybe? I don't get it TNG… ?

When your customer tells you, "no" you are able to ask, "why?" You're able to get the true objections and when you have the true objections, naturally, you can work through them. There's an old saying in sales, "Selling starts at NO."

Think back to when you were young and were pining for that girl or that boy in one of your classes. The worst thing that person could tell you after you asked them out was "maybe," or something equally indecisive. Obviously, the best word to hear is "yes," but in absence of a yes, I'll take a "no" every day. With "no", I know where I stand. With "no" I can take the appropriate steps and actions to prove the worth of myself and my product. With "no," I can get to "yes."

So, to all of you burgeoning sales people out there, never, never, NEVER, languish in the land of Maybe.