PPB January 2016

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ativity. I have experienced rejection in many
ways in my sales career, but that was a new
one for me.
Common Obstacles
There really aren’t that many things pro-
motional products buyers say when they’re
not saying yes. That means you can prepare
your response to those obstacles in advance.
For example, two of the most common obsta-
cles I hear about come up at the very earliest
stages of prospecting when the salesperson is
trying to set up that first appointment and
the buyer says, “I’m really busy right now,” or,
“I don’t need anything right now.”
The typical response seems to be: “Can
I call you some other time?” This response
is on the right track, but it’s not the best
strategy. Rather, you should take it out of
the realm of a permission question and turn
it into a collaborative question: “When
would be a better time?”
The difference between permission and
collaboration goes to the common mindset
that the buyer is more important than the
seller. It’s a variation on the idea that the
customer is always right. Great salespeople
understand that the goal is a relationship
between equals—a happy customer and a
valued supplier—and it’s the relationship
they position themselves for right from
the start.
Call Me Next Week
So you say: “When would be a better
time?” The buyer says: “Call me next week.”
Please don’t say: “When would be a good
time for me to call you next week?” I see that
as pushing too hard against a soft obstacle.
Just say: “I will.”
When you make that call, remind the
buyer that you’re keeping the promise he or
she asked you to make. “Hi, this is Dave
Fellman from Practical Promo. We spoke
briefly last week, and you asked me to call
you this week. We were talking about setting
an appointment. How does your schedule
look for (some appropriate time)?”
Now, if the buyer says, “Call me in six
months,” this is the obstacle you should push
against because it’s what they say when
they’re hoping you’ll forget about them
between now and then.
So how about responding this way? “I
can do that, but first let me ask you one
more question. Are you saying that you do
want to meet with me, and that six months
from now is the right time to do it? Or, is it
that you don’t want to meet with me, but
you’re trying not to hurt my feelings? I
appreciate that, but I’m a big boy/girl. If it’s
bad news, I can take it.”
In my experience, this approach positions
you more as a person and less as a salesper-
son. It might warm the conversation up
enough to get you the meeting you want. Or
it might not. I’ve been told everything from
“yes, I didn’t want to hurt your feelings” to
“no, I couldn’t care less about your feelings.”
Either way, I don’t think I risked much by
pushing at this obstacle.
Push Even Further
Depending on the circumstances, or
maybe on just how I’m feeling that day, I
might push even harder. I have said in the
past: “I don’t get it. Why would you not want
to talk with someone who really knows his
business, and could maybe bring some value
to yours?”
I’ve had people hang up on me at that
point. I have also had people apologize and
start talking seriously with me.
I’ll leave it up to you to decide how hard
you’re willing to push. The lesson for today is
simply this: the opposite of yes is not always
no. Sometimes it is simply “you haven’t con-
vinced me yet.”
60 • PPB • JANUARY 2016 GROW
David M. Fellman is the presi-
dent of David Fellman &
Associates, a sales and market-
ing consulting firm serving
numerous segments of the
graphic arts and promotional
products industries. He is the
author of Sell More Printing
(2009) and Listen to the
Dinosaur (2010), which Selling
Power magazine listed as one
of its “10 Best Books to Read
in 2010.” His articles on sales,
marketing and management
topics have appeared in a vari-
ety of industry publications,
and he is a popular speaker
who has delivered seminars
and keynotes at industry
events across the United
States, Canada, England,
Ireland and Australia.
Learn More At The
PPAI Expo 2016
David Fellman will present
“Time Management And
Organization: Less Talk, More
Action,” a free
education ses-
sion at The PPAI
Expo focusing
on real-world
time manage-
ment and orga-
nizational strate-
gies. He’ll also
explain how to improve sales per-
formance by prioritizing and putting
everything in its proper place.
Where: Breakers D, Level 2,
Mandalay Bay Convention Center,
Las Vegas
When: Tuesday, January 12,
3:30 - 4:30 pm
CAS: 1 point
Sponsored By: Bulova
Register for The PPAI Expo 2016 at
Great salespeople understand that the goal is a relationship between
equals—a happy customer and a valued supplier—and it’s the relationship
they position themselves for right from the start. “
”