What does NO mean?

This is not just about network marketing, presenting your opportunity, products or services. This is about the word "NO" in general.

You invite a friend to go to an event with you. You're friend declines. That's "NO". But then you say, 'well, why not?" What you've now done is put your friend on the spot. Your friend has to hurt your feelings by saying something like, "I'm not interested" or telling you their favorite TV show is more important or worse case make up something they think will be powerful enough to make you quit insisting they tell you why. Usually the bantering goes back and forth for a bit and then everyone comes out on the loosing end as far as feelings are concerned.

Why do we need to know "Why" when someone declines something we offer? I think it's a habit and not necessarily a good one.

Now let's move this into the business world. I'll share a story of one such occurance; however, this was not a current friend but someone on an social network.

I accepted his friendship request. I wrote him a note to thank him, asked him a question about himself, and of course, his reply back was ad copy that you can tell was copy and paste.

I wrote back thanking him for the information and explaining that I had my own business and was not a prospect for somthing else. Again, I asked him something about himself - not related to business.

His reply was that I could keep my current business and just 'add' this one to it. When I responded back and reminded him that I was not a prospect for another business, his next reply back was 'yeah, but this is different. Everybody needs this program, don't you shop, don't you do this, don't you do that? This is a 'no brainer'. Even an 8 year old could do this.'

I thought long and hard before I responded this time. My first thought was who on earth taught him his networking skills or did he learn this on his own? My second thought was, does this technique really work on the masses, because it's a complete turn off for me. Surely I am not THAT different. My third thought was that the man, who didn't even know me had in essence insinuated that I was
brainless, an 8 year old was obviously smarter than me.

In desperation to get someone to join his opportunity so he could make his $25, this person totally alienated someone who could have been a very good friend, though I suspect that was not his intent to begin with.

My point is that I think desperation to get someone to join, buy or whatever, sometimes cuts off our sense of hearing. So next time you approach someone about your opportunity product or service, speak less and listen more. Any reason not to participate is in essence saying 'no thank you, I'm not interested'. If you persist, about the only thing that is going to happen is you will lose a friend or potential friend.

Now, if you'd like to know how this brainless person with less sense and savy than an 8 year old ended this banter, you'll have to email me and ask.
~Jennifer