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Twenty ‘No’s’ for a Single ‘Yes’, Fighting Founder Fatigue, and a March Workshop Wrap-Up
Sales Insights, Events, and Updates
Sean Grealy
April 09, 2024
Hey founders, sellers, and the sales curious!
This time around, we're talking about the power of 'No' in sales, fighting founder burnout with Ben Lucas, and reliving all the Madness of March in our latest updates.
SALES INSIGHTS
Unearthing the Value of Rejection
During workshops with Press Play and ThincLab, Sean shared an experience of rejection and the power of a ‘No’ in sales.
“When I was at Neat, it would take 20 cold calls and 20 ‘No’s’ before I booked a demo or sales meeting. On average, from 5 of those bookings, I would get 1 sale. So that’s about 100 ‘No’s’ before a ‘Yes’ and a single sale! 😰
Of course, this was hard to deal with at first, but the data helped me begin to understand my sales conversion funnel. And as frustrating as it was, there was a real opportunity to learn from the rejection.
Instead of moving on immediately, I asked myself:
Do I understand why the ‘No’ happened?
Maybe you’re missing a feature, maybe they’re the wrong size business, or maybe they don’t have enough information to make a decision.
Am I being encouraged by little affirmations along the way?
A ‘Yes’ to a meeting, a request for more information, or a trial and demo still validates your skill set, even if the deal didn’t land.
Could I use the power of ‘No’ in my qualifying process?
A ‘No’ goes both ways. Instead of waiting for the ‘No’ to come from the prospect first, you can disqualify them if they aren’t the right fit, making sure you’re not wasting your time or theirs.
There is no silver bullet in sales.
You have to put in the reps and use rejection to your advantage.”
How many 'No's' did it take for you to achieve your first sale? 🤔
EVENTSBattling Burnout: Our Next Session with Ben LucasSpeaking of being rejected 100 times… this month’s Founder Hour is all about tackling burnout head-on 😵💫 Joined by Ben Lucas, we’ll delve into tangible approaches to managing burnout as a founder growing $0 - $1m.
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UPDATES
Recapping the March Madness
March was a whirlwind (post-SouthStart buzz anyone?), and amidst the chaos, we held our second Founder Hour, ran three sales workshops, and reconnected with our ‘Ultimate Why’: To empower founders to sell and succeed.
Sean presented to 10 ThincLab founders about the Journey from Buying to Selling, 12 Mates for Startmate about ToFu, Negotiating and Closing, and 52 founders for PressPlay about Founder-Led Sales.
So far this year, we've supported 91 founders in various ways - be it as clients, through coaching, sales advice, or workshop participation - and are inching our way towards our goal of 1000.
ThincLab Workshop on the Journey from Buying to Selling