Today, I turned a "no" into a "yes". How? By doing exactly what business author Michael Masterson recommends when sales professionals hear the word "no" from their prospects.
People (your prospects) often feel guilty about saying "no." By denying your request, they feel as if they have been wasting your time - especially if you've been helpful and informative in your presentation. And you can take advantage of that feeling by giving them something less expensive to buy (into) that will satisfy both of you.
Let's say you are trying to sell a customer a new database-software package. 
When he hears the price - half a million dollars - he says, "No way." You do everything you can to show him that $500,000 is nothing compared with what he will make and save by buying your software. Still, he says "no."
Now you bring out Plan B - the second option. In this case, it's revamping his existing software for $150,000. He listens because he feels he owes it to you and because the price tag is so much lower. You hit him with benefit after benefit - showing him how his life will improve with the revamping. You make this second, smaller sales argument with as much force as you did the first one. At some point in time, he feels as if he's getting as much out of Plan B as he would have gotten out of Plan A, so he stops you and agrees to buy it.
Instead of walking away with nothing, you've made a substantial sale and developed a customer for the future.
Bonus Application: This persuasion technique works just as well in more personal situations - such as getting a raise or convincing your friend or business partner to do something.
Let's say, for example, that you want to persuade your partner to invest in a new product line to add balance to your business. The budget you've prepared will require $250,000 over six months. He doesn't like the risk, and so you shoot back with an alternative - a cheaper way that will give you an indication of whether the new product line would work. This would cost only $65,000. He can't say "no."
The trick to walking away with something is to plan your comeback pitch in advance so it can be hard-hitting, detailed, and enticing. Get the data you need and double-check your numbers, and it won't seem as if you are desperately shooting from the hip.
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