Richard Fenton sat behind his desk for a full month and never made a single sales call. He was paralyzed by fear of handling rejection. His "Go for No" philosophy of consultative selling SaaS has since sold over 300,000 copies and changed how founders approach startup sales.
If you are avoiding calls, undercharging, or struggling with the sales mindset needed to grow your SaaS, this episode changes everything. Richard explains why increasing your failure rate actually increases closes, how consultative selling SaaS turns objections into diagnostic tools, and why his first client told him to raise prices 35% because low pricing signaled low credibility.
Richard Fenton is the co-author of "Go for No!" and "When They Say No," coaching Fortune 500 companies and SaaS founders on handling rejection and building a consultative selling SaaS approach.
🔑 Key Lessons
- Set rejection quotas to accelerate startup sales results - a coaching client targeting 10 nos per week accidentally closed a five-year holdout prospect while pursuing his consultative selling SaaS quota.
- Low prices signal low credibility in startup sales - Richard's first client told him to raise prices 35% because the low cost made them question his value.
- Stop selling from your own wallet instead of the customer's - Fenton capped a $1,100 sale at his personal spending limit while the customer kept saying yes to every add-on.
- Become an assistant buyer through consultative selling SaaS - align with the prospect and evaluate the offer together instead of using scripted rebuttals.
- Follow up with value every four to six weeks to build a sales mindset of trust - Fenton pursued Discovery Network for seven years of consistent contact before closing the deal.
Chapters
- Introduction
- Favorite quote: you can have anything but not everything
- Overview of "When They Say No" book
- Richard's background and working for his legendary father
- Sitting frozen for 30 days without making a single call
- Quitting and moving to Los Angeles for a retail sales job
- The $1,100 suit sale and the question that changed everything
- Applying handling rejection philosophy to SaaS pricing
- Why a 100% close rate means you are playing too safe
- Consequences of avoiding rejection in startup sales
- The coaching client who got a yes while going for no
- Listening and understanding after the customer says no
- Becoming an assistant buyer through consultative selling SaaS
- Follow-up strategies that build trust
- Long-term perspective and the Discovery Network story
- Sales mindset: naturals versus learned sellers
- Lightning round
Resources
