“No” is the second-best answer you can give me

In the classic film Wall Street, Charlie Sheen’s overly ambitious Bud Fox character is getting a lecture on life from his blue-collar airline mechanic father who rather simplistically frames what his younger son actually does for a living.  

Despite the racks of custom-tailored suits he wears and the white-shoe brokerage firm where he works, he’s a salesman.

“Dad, I keep telling you, I’m an account executive not a salesman,” he pleads.

“You ask strangers for money don’t you? You’re a salesman.”

In the 18 months since I transitioned  from the editorial side of the aisle, one of the basic questions I always seem to be asked is “how do you like sales?” And the truth be known, I’ve never thought of what we do here as sales, but rather professional services consulting.

You see where I’m going with this?

Yes, I’m aware of how Bud Fox’s father would describe what we do. But semantics aside, inarguably there is a distinct sales theme to the consulting world. But, in our defense, we’re not like folks peddling vacuums or those Ginsu knife and abdominal exercise infomercials that never seem to end – we’ll only bring you as much or as little as you need.

If some consulting service or potential M&A affiliation is not right, we’ll be the first to tell you so and walk away. And we’ve done that on more occasions that you can imagine. You needn’t worry about the proverbial foot in the door. If we steer a client into a situation that turns out to be disastrous, then it’s our reputation that’s on the line.

By means of comparison, think of it as a restaurant review. If you enjoy a wonderful experience, you’ll most likely recommend it to a few of your friends. Conversely, if your meal is something out of Hell’s Kitchen and you feel that poison control should have been on direct dial, then it’s almost your obligation to warn at least 10 people.

We’ve worked too hard for the past 20-plus years to allow that to happen. But we also require some help from the client side. People are always amused when I say that “no” is the second-best answer I can get.

But it’s absolutely true.

“Let me think about it” leaves both us and the client in limbo. And let’s be honest, what percentage of  folks, whether considering a merger or, for that matter, a gym membership, actually engage after requesting some time to mull it over?

I’m guessing very few.

So call us what you want.

But I’ve never heard or seen anecdotal evidence that “let me think about it” has ever helped any firm plan for the future.