Sometimes we have to tell people the last thing they want to hear: “No.”

Just think about your reaction when someone tells you no.  You get defensive immediately, right?  No one likes to be told they can’t do something – and your likely response is to start an argument to prove you’re right (and the person who told you no is wrong).

In your world, there are lots of reasons your frontline reps have to say no to customers. Sometimes it’s unavoidable. Sometimes it seems outside your reps’ control.  But, what if you could actually eliminate the negative reaction your customers have when they are told no – just by making a few tweaks to your current approach?

I’m not talking about tricking people. Most of the time, you are limited in what you can do for the customers . And at some level, “no” is “no.” You can, however, do some smart things to make the word ‘no’ an easier pill to swallow:

1) Eliminate the times when you have to say no which are avoidable.

Before you say no to customers, make sure it’s really necessary. Most companies have some policies and processes that impede the customer experience but are no longer truly required by the business. Maybe they are outdated, or were put in place without the customer in mind.  Luckily, there are easy ways to unearth and fix these:

• Use your frontline – You don’t need to pull together a special process improvement team to determine which processes or policies lead to no situations, just ask your frontline.  Since they are the ones who actually have to say no to customers – they have the best insight.
• Capture compelling data through a simple and clear campaign – If reps have to say no to customers due to a policy or internal process, simply have them make a note of which policy caused them to say no. Checking a box in a spreadsheet takes hardly any time and builds data for a strong business case for change.

CCC Members: See how Ameriprise Financial puts this practice to use to reduce overall complaints and fix 26 policies in its first year.

2) Reposition no’s using positive, not negative language

Once you’ve eliminated the unnecessary no’s, you’re left with unavoidable ones you just can’t change due to legal, regulatory, or just good business sense reasons. It’s really tough to find ways to position ‘no’ in positive light – especially when reps are put on the spot during a call. Most companies probably believe it requires a substantial investment in a language training or negotiations program. Actually, a simple shortcut does wonders:

• Give your reps language guidelines – Instead of a long training program, give your reps a simple tool that enables them to use positive language almost instantly.  How about picking the most frequent times you have to tell the customer no, and providing reps with revised language guidelines demonstrating how to use positive language for these scenarios?  It’s a simple and effective way to get your reps started. Looking at the top 10 scenarios alone can cover a majority of your no’s.
• Use positive language, not negative language – Instead of telling customers what they can’t have, tell them what they can have. Change negative language (can’t, don’t, won’t), into positive language (can, do, will). So instead of saying, “I can’t process your check until Monday,” you can say “What I can do is put your request in the initial batch so it will be processed on Monday morning.”

CCC Members: Check out how Osram Sylvania uses positive language guidelines to reduce escalation rates and customer effort.

So, what do you think about this one-two punch to reduce the impact of the no’s?

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