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Publishing our first cookbook was nerve-wracking for me—not the cooking, recipe-testing or food-photographing, but the part that happened once the book was live on Amazon: Actually announcing it to the world and, you know, selling it.
[Insert full-body shudder here.]
I hated asking for the sale, and I’d get so uncomfortable pitching our book to prospective buyers and bookstores that I’d accept the very first pause or furrowed brow as a hardline “no,” dashing out the door as I simultaneously cringed and shouted, “Thank you for your time!” Nate took over the sales side of things (hallelujah!), and a quality that makes him an excellent salesperson I recently found echoed in Adam Braun’s The Promise of a Pencil:
“Never take no from someone who can’t say yes.”
It’s one of the mantras of Braun’s book, which chronicles how he launched his for-purpose company, Pencils of Promise, raising the funds to build more than 250 schools in less than 7 years. One of the most important things to keep in mind when you’re making a big ask, he says, is knowing whether you’re talking to the true decision-maker for a company. The dead giveaway? How the person turns you down. If he or she says, “I’m sorry, I wish I could,” that’s often code for “I don’t have the authority to give you the answer you want,” he explains.
In my case, I have to get comfortable with an awkward pause without rushing in to say no for someone else. If you look at it Braun’s way (no relation, btw), I’m acting as if I’m the decision-maker, not even giving the person the chance to decide for himself/herself. Then, once I’ve jumped that hurdle, my next challenge is identifying whether the person I’m talking to is a gate-keeper for someone else, or the end-all, be-all final say—and gently keep pushing for a meeting, phone call or whatever it takes to get on the latter’s radar.
Of course, that begs the question: Where do you draw the line between being persistent and obnoxious? In my mind, it depends on how badly you need a response. (For a story I wrote while working for the Naples Daily News, I had to get an executive on the phone to comment on an issue by the end of the day, so I just kept calling, and calling, until his secretary finally relented. The executive didn’t hold back his rage when he answered the phone, but at the end of the day, I knew the story—and my internship—depended on getting an answer, and that was worth enduring his ranting.)
This post is part of Life Between Weekends’ Tuesday Takeaway series. Every Tuesday, we’ll share the most compelling insight we’ve gleaned from a book, movie, tour, documentary or article to inspire you during the workday.
You can find The Promise of a Pencil on Amazon and at most major bookstores.
Photo: Désiree Peters/Unsplash