Over the years of collaborating with others, I’ve noticed that there will be plenty of times you’ll ask for something you want and you will get a “no” for an answer. For many people, when they hear “no,” it ends the conversation even though that’s not where they want it to end. What do you do in a situation like this?

To be able to instill support from others so you can get ideas backed by money, energy and effort into the marketplace, turning a “no” into a “yes” is going to be a critical skill.

I’ve spoken to sales representatives, therapists, lawyers, great communicators and read books on closing a sale to find out how to respond to “no” in situations they wanted to move the conversation forward.

On the other side, I’ve spoken to different types of investors, from venture capitalists, angel investors, and bankers to find out about their side of the story when they said, “no” to proposals. More often than not, the responses sounded far from being personal rejections.

Engaging in these conversations with them allowed me to reflect on my own experiences. It made me understand that there is no single way to do it. What matters more is establishing good relationship building with the other person when communicating what you’re asking for.

This means to come from a space of genuine empathy, curiosity, and patience to allow the other person to help you. Invite them to make it easier for them to help you. Help them help you.

The root of the word “communicate” in Latin is communicare, which means “to share.” Your focus then is to enjoy the shared time together, not only expressing what it is you want, but also about digging into what it is they are expressing.

It certainly helps to just ask by being transparent and inviting them into the process. Here is an example to direct the conversation forward from a no.

What would it take for you to say yes? I’d really love to get some hints from you so I can work at it again to offer you something much much better.

In building a product and service, it takes financing, building, and closing deals to make things happen. There is no clear roadmap to doing new things. The reality is, to make new things happen and get support, you want to focus on taking responsibility for the outcome, learning something new from each response and make adjustments to get better from feedback, always.

Be transparent. Invite them into the process. Ask. Help them help you. May you see many positive changes adding this mindset to your toolset.

Thanks for reading! If this got you fired up, please share this to anyone who may enjoy it too.

If you have any questions, just ask. Much Love!