Say Yes

You call your dream client to ask them for a meeting. After you pitch them on the value of a meeting, they say: “Can you email me some information?” You tell them you can’t send anything, rejecting their very first request, and ensuring they feel it is more important that you get what you want than helping them get what they want.

Emailing information and having a meeting are not mutually exclusive, and as much as your dream client wants the information without the meeting, you can say, “Yes. I’ll send you some information. But it isn’t going to be as valuable as a conversation, especially because it doesn’t let me learn anything about you and your company and your goals. I promise I am not going to waste one minute of your time.” (Insert your request for a meeting here) The real concern is you wasting their time, and you still have to ask again whether you say yes or no. Say yes.

Your dream client asks you about your pricing while you are on a phone call, and you haven’t even met with them. They say: “Tell me how much this costs.” You believe it is way too early to share pricing, and you worry that you haven’t created enough value to justify your pricing. You tell them you’ll need a discovery meeting to give them pricing, ensuring you get what you want, and projecting that you are sensitive about your price, hiding it until you absolutely must share it.

If you have a higher price, you use to differentiate your offering. If sharing your price disqualifies the prospect, it’s better to know now than to learn that after you both have invested time in a deal that was never possible. You can share enough about your price to satisfy your prospect and still put a meeting on the books. You say, “The price is going to be between X and Y. At the end of a meeting, I’ll be able to dial that in for you and give a better idea of what you might have to invest.” (Insert your request for a meeting here)

You can say yes and do what is right—for you and your prospective client. If you continually say no, you are projecting that you and your company are challenging to work with. By saying yes and continuing to ask for the commitment you need, you are giving your prospect the experience of what it might be like to have you as a partner.