Keep Listening After "No!"
Keep Listening After "No!"
But many times, just after a prospect has declared he doesn~{!/~}t need what you offer, he~{!/~}ll keep talking. As my friend Rick Schilling found out, paying close attention at such moments can be rewarding. That~{!/~}s how he was able to figure out what companies would really be willing to pay him to do.
Rick had worked for one of the Philadelphia region~{!/~}s largest banks for 19 years. In the late 1980s, when banks throughout the US started swallowing each other and spitting out their loyal employees, Rick and many of his colleagues found themselves self-employed, whether they liked it or not.
Rick had held an important position. He knew a lot about banks, the people who run them, and the people who do business with them. He was certain that he could find a way to put all this knowledge to work.
Nevertheless, he hit several dead ends. His first venture was an equipment leasing business. That went sour quickly. Then he tried consulting with small businesses on how to deal with banks, get loans and manage their credit requirements. His experience as a banker had convinced him that many small companies need such help. He was probably correct, but there was a serious problem: His prospective clients weren~{!/~}t willing to pay for what he was offering. Even worse, some of the clients for whom he did work later failed to pay.
Rick was discouraged. He decided to try to go back to a full-time job. But while he was pursuing his false starts, the carnage in his industry had continued. He was competing with many other people much like himself for jobs that could easily disappear the next week.
This is where Rick was when I first met him at an organization of local business consultants. When he told me of his belief that banks had downsized much of their expertise, I suggested that he might be able to sell his services as a contractor, who could take on specific projects or manage certain operations for banks on a contract basis. He still had plenty of good contacts in the industry. He thought it was worth a try.
He had a measure of success in this consultant/contractor role, but it quickly started to wear him down. He spent a lot of time trying to sell banks a highly specific service they often didn~{!/~}t need.
One day, after Rick had made yet another unsuccessful pitch, the prospective client began thinking out loud. A key person in the bank, a woman with highly specialized skills, was about to go on maternity leave. He told Rick that her absence would cause a real problem, and he wondered if there was anyone who might work temporarily, as Rick had offered to do, while she was away.
By this time, Rick knew hundreds of downsized banking professionals. After a few minutes of thought, he was able to come up with several seasoned candidates who could take over this specialized task almost immediately.
He was able to solve this banker~{!/~}s problem without much effort, and that got him thinking. He realized that he knew experienced professionals who could plug into virtually any important slot in the banking industry. Rather than sell just his own specialty, he could sell the services of bankers in all specialties.
Rick~{!/~}s insight seems, in retrospect, to have been a fairly obvious one. Temporary professional staffing and outsourcing have, after all, been among the most notable business trends of the 1990s. Yet in 1995, when Rick began his business, nobody else in his business and regional market had figured it out~{!*~}nobody, that is, who had Rick~{!/~}s knowledge, experience and contacts.
While Rick~{!/~}s earlier efforts had sputtered, Schilling Professional Staffing Inc. took off more quickly than he had ever imagined. The last time I talked to him, Rick had 2500 banking professionals in his database, and was regularly placing them in highly responsible, well-paying, temporary jobs.
The banker who worried about losing his key staffer didn~{!/~}t intend to give Rick a valuable idea. He was merely telling Rick what the bank really needed. Fortunately, Rick was listening.
Keep Listening After No - To learn more about this author, visit James Chan's Website.
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Nobody likes to be turned down. Rejection can make you feel as if you want to close your eyes and stop up your ears and simply disappear from the face of the earth.
But many times, just after a prospect has declared he doesn~{!/~}t need what you offer, he~{!/~}ll keep talking. As my friend Rick Schilling found out, paying close attention at such moments can be rewarding. That~{!/~}s how he was able to figure out what companies would really be willing to pay him to do.
Rick had worked for one of the Philadelphia region~{!/~}s largest banks for 19 years. In the late 1980s, when banks throughout the US started swallowing each other and spitting out their loyal employees, Rick and many of his colleagues found themselves self-employed, whether they liked it or not.
Rick had held an important position. He knew a lot about banks, the people who run them, and the people who do business with them. He was certain that he could find a way to put all this knowledge to work.
Nevertheless, he hit several dead ends. His first venture was an equipment leasing business. That went sour quickly. Then he tried consulting with small businesses on how to deal with banks, get loans and manage their credit requirements. His experience as a banker had convinced him that many small companies need such help. He was probably correct, but there was a serious problem: His prospective clients weren~{!/~}t willing to pay for what he was offering. Even worse, some of the clients for whom he did work later failed to pay.
Rick was discouraged. He decided to try to go back to a full-time job. But while he was pursuing his false starts, the carnage in his industry had continued. He was competing with many other people much like himself for jobs that could easily disappear the next week.
This is where Rick was when I first met him at an organization of local business consultants. When he told me of his belief that banks had downsized much of their expertise, I suggested that he might be able to sell his services as a contractor, who could take on specific projects or manage certain operations for banks on a contract basis. He still had plenty of good contacts in the industry. He thought it was worth a try.
He had a measure of success in this consultant/contractor role, but it quickly started to wear him down. He spent a lot of time trying to sell banks a highly specific service they often didn~{!/~}t need.
One day, after Rick had made yet another unsuccessful pitch, the prospective client began thinking out loud. A key person in the bank, a woman with highly specialized skills, was about to go on maternity leave. He told Rick that her absence would cause a real problem, and he wondered if there was anyone who might work temporarily, as Rick had offered to do, while she was away.
By this time, Rick knew hundreds of downsized banking professionals. After a few minutes of thought, he was able to come up with several seasoned candidates who could take over this specialized task almost immediately.
He was able to solve this banker~{!/~}s problem without much effort, and that got him thinking. He realized that he knew experienced professionals who could plug into virtually any important slot in the banking industry. Rather than sell just his own specialty, he could sell the services of bankers in all specialties.
Rick~{!/~}s insight seems, in retrospect, to have been a fairly obvious one. Temporary professional staffing and outsourcing have, after all, been among the most notable business trends of the 1990s. Yet in 1995, when Rick began his business, nobody else in his business and regional market had figured it out~{!*~}nobody, that is, who had Rick~{!/~}s knowledge, experience and contacts.
While Rick~{!/~}s earlier efforts had sputtered, Schilling Professional Staffing Inc. took off more quickly than he had ever imagined. The last time I talked to him, Rick had 2500 banking professionals in his database, and was regularly placing them in highly responsible, well-paying, temporary jobs.
The banker who worried about losing his key staffer didn~{!/~}t intend to give Rick a valuable idea. He was merely telling Rick what the bank really needed. Fortunately, Rick was listening.
Keep Listening After No - To learn more about this author, visit James Chan's Website.
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James Chan Video - James Chan, Ph.D., created the phrase "The China Formula" to help Americans understand China in one word.
Dr. Chan is President of the Philadelphia-based, independent consultancy, Asia Marketing and Management (AMM). AMM specializes in advising U.S. manufacturers, trade associations, and information companies in building business relationships in China and in exporting American-made products and services in China and Asia. To view AMM's detailed profile online, go to: www.AsiaMarketingManagement.com.
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