“No” is great, but what’s your “yes”?

I’ve talked a few times on here about how powerful the word “no” can be.

• Saying no to the wrong client.
• Saying no to a great client that wants something foolish.
• Saying no to selling me new tires for my car.

“No” can be helpful in sales, but most times you say no in your life, it’s because you’re wanting something bigger and need to have a “yes” somewhere behind it that you can point to. In a TED talk some years ago, Justine Musk explain why “behind every no is a deeper yes to what you really want”.

In his book “The Practice“, Seth Godin summarized Justine’s talk with…

Justine Musk goes the other way on “no”, and points out that to be able to say no with consistency and generosity, you must have something to say “yes” to.

“No” can be a powerful thing, and if you’re super clear on the “yes” behind it, the power gets even greater.