If there is something that successful entrepreneurs know, it is that the word No doesn’t mean No forever.
In one of the episodes on Shark Tank, a reality pitch show on the American cable station, ABC; billionaire investor Mark Cuban called one of the entrepreneurs, Chris Johnson, who had come to pitch his idea a fool, yet, later decided to invest $300,000 in his business!
Just how did this happen? Magic, you think? That’s very far from it.
The business idea seemed ridiculous to Mark Cuban, and he decided that he wanted no part of it. Well, not until other investors on the show showed an interest in the offer, and began negotiations with Chris.
Because Chris Johnson had much confidence in his business idea, and in the projected growth of his company; this gave him the impetus to drive a hard bargain, explaining all the while why he believed in the future success of his company. It was at this juncture that Mark Cuban jumped right back into the negotiations, outbid the other two, and after much offers and counter offers between the two, accepted what Chris put forward.
And that was the same person who had called him a fool, and wanted no part of the pitch!
It is also noteworthy to mention that a lot of successful individuals, whether entrepreneurs or not, once had their ideas rejected and heard the word No many times. Consider thus:
- J.K Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series received many rejections before she was finally published.
- Sylvester Stallone‘s movie about champion boxer, Rocky Bilboa, was rejected several times by Hollywood producers who didn’t want him, an unknown actor at that time, to play the lead role. He refused to sign away his rights to the movie (which he wrote),was eventually cast as the lead star, won three Academy awards, and the Rocky franchise would go on to make over a billion dollars worldwide.
- Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda Motor corporation was turned down by Toyota Motor Corporation for an engineering job and stayed unemployed for some time. It was during this time that he started making motor scooters at home and then opened his own business. His combination of engineering and marketing skills would later help him build his tremendous brand.
There are so many other similar examples like the ones mentioned above.
The lesson here is to believe in your product, build confidence by doing your homework and knowing every detail of your offer, not be afraid to negotiate, and to know that when someone says No to you, it doesn’t mean you can’t turn that No into a Yes.
