What does it mean to "Sell the NO?"
When you have to say NO, you give supporting reasons as to why it is a NO.
One of my lenders taught me this. When I have to call him on a "gray area" deal, & he declines it, he'll give me supporting reasons why & how it could be a YES.
A large reason people don't like #salespeople is that they don't follow through on what they said they were going to do.
It's not that salespeople mean wrong, but they did wrong because they implied they would check on a specific request and never got around to doing it.
Just this morning, a sub-prime bank came in to see me about generating new business. Because his bank is not a good fit, instead of me telling him, "Sure we'll give it a shot," (& not), I sold him the NO.
I told him NO & gave supporting reasons why & we left on good terms
Leaving the insinuation open for a "maybe" adds unneeded stress because you're carrying unfinished business over; not addressing it breaches trust, slices away your confidence, and jeopardizes future business.