No is an uncomfortable word for most people. The simple little word can conjure the worst feelings of failure, rejection, and disappointment.
Any time you ask a question or approach a situation, you anticipate it’ll go your way so you can control the situation. We think we must have all the answers all the time and be 100% accurate. That couldn’t be more accurate for accounting professionals who are, by nature, risk-averse.
But that’s not always the case, nor is it realistic.
I can’t say hearing no is my favorite thing, but it may not be the horrible response we make it out to be. If one phone call or meeting leads to another, great! But if it doesn’t and the other party says “no thanks,” that’s fine, too. Worst case scenario is you’ve gotten to know a decision-maker, prospect, or colleague a little more to lay the foundation for a new relationship that can be nurtured.
Yes, no may be good for your professional growth, and these three concepts explain how that two-letter word can actually make you a stronger, smarter, and more driven professional.
What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger
When you hear yes all the time, you go on cruise control. There’s no challenge, and you’re not growing. Many professionals must be pushed out of their comfort zone to adapt, evolve, and continually produce their best work to meet the market’s changing needs. Hearing no makes you rethink your approach.
Hearing no doesn’t give you a pass to resign yourself to the limits others place on you. It’s up to you to choose (and I recommend you do) to be someone prone to achieve, not concede. When I picked up guitar lessons last year, my instructor told me it would be difficult. I never realized how painful my fingertips could get, but I stretched myself to succeed and learn to play a few tunes.
I stumbled across the Go For No website, which is a firm dedicated to helping people embrace failure and rejection to learn better to handle it and, interestingly, encourages people to accumulate nos. It’s a fascinating concept, and they even have a quiz to evaluate your current attitude about failure, rejection, and success to determine if your outlook helps or hurts your efforts. (Fair warning: you will be subscribed to their email list to get your score, but it’s worth it).
I’m not saying start a leaderboard to see who can score the most nos, but the misunderstood response can have some redeeming qualities.
No Doesn’t Always Mean Never
Perhaps you pitched a new service to a client, and they said no. Maybe you asked for a raise or promotion and were shot down. It could have been that new software or piece of technology you requested that wasn’t in the budget, or the prospect meeting that wasn’t accepted.
These situations are perfect examples of turning no into a (possible) yes. Just because things didn’t go your way this time doesn’t mean you won’t succeed next time. I mentioned above about rising to the challenge. Becoming and being a leader in the accounting profession is about problem-solving.
No could just mean you missed the mark, allowing you to refocus, refine, and reprioritize your ask or idea for a stronger pitch next time. Or maybe it opens the door to have conversations to nurture and bring the other party along for the ride so they say yes in the future.
Getting You to the Right Yes
With the great labor shortage impacting the accounting profession, many firms and their leaders are saying they can’t take on any more work. Many others are focusing on pruning their client list based on objective traits, such as profitability, realization, and the number of engagements, and subjective characteristics, including the ability to cross-sell, fee sensitivity, and staff-client relationship satisfaction.
While hearing no may sting in the moment, the adage “everything happens for a reason” comes into play. There was something that just didn’t resonate or click with the other party, but not getting a yes may have saved you in the long run from low profitability, a difficult client, an unproductive new hire, or even a mismatched merger or acquisition.
How Do You Handle No?
What’s been your hardest no to accept? If you’re still struggling to flip the script on hearing no, let’s talk! I’ve heard my fair share of the word during my career, and I’d love to help you realize how to turn that feeling of failure into a personal and professional growth opportunity.