They Didn't Hire You. Now What?

​A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how business contacts can be like time-release capsules. You make a connection today without knowing when, or whether, it might turn into something more.

There’s another side to that idea.

Sometimes the reason someone doesn’t hire you today has very little to do with whether they’ll hire you tomorrow.

“Your rates are too high.”
“We’re happy with our current firm.”
“We don’t have a need right now.”
“I’m not the decision maker.”
“We don’t know you well enough yet.”

It’s easy to hear those responses as rejection. Most of them are really about circumstances, and circumstances change.

“Your Rates Are Too High”

This is probably the one I hear most often from professionals at large firms, and I understand why.

I spent much of my career at Deloitte. We were rarely the least expensive option, and clients knew it. I can remember plenty of situations where a client liked our team and our approach, but another firm was offering to do the work for less.

The natural reaction is to defend your rates or look for ways to bring the price down.
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Before you do that, get curious about what the client is actually comparing.

​Are the approaches really the same? Do the teams have the same experience? Who is actually going to do the work? And what’s at stake if the work isn’t done well?

I saw this play out many times at Deloitte. A client would choose another firm because the price was lower, only to come back months later because the work hadn’t produced the result they needed.

Now they were paying someone to do it again.

Penny wise, pound foolish.

That doesn’t mean a less expensive competitor can’t do excellent work. But you want to make sure the client understands what they’re comparing.

That’s why pricing conversations should start with curiosity. What is the client really trying to accomplish? What happens if the problem isn’t solved?

Sometimes, after all of that, they’ll still choose the less expensive firm.

That’s okay.

Your rates really could be too high for that client. You may be targeting companies that aren’t a good fit for your firm’s economics. Or the problem they’re facing just isn’t important enough to justify the cost.

That can change.

The person who can’t justify your rates today could move to a company two years from now where your rates aren’t an issue. Or the next problem could have much more at stake.

What Is the “No” Telling You?

The same thinking applies to the other reasons someone doesn’t hire you.

If they already have a firm they like, find out what they value about that relationship. Then think about what happens if something changes. Their lead partner retires. Someone drops the ball. A conflict prevents the firm from taking the next matter.

You’re not hoping any of those things happen. You’re simply recognizing that those relationships can change too.

If they don’t have a need, don’t try to manufacture one. Needs change.

If they aren’t the decision maker, find out who is and how those decisions get made. Remember, the person who isn’t making the decision today may be sitting in a very different chair a few years from now.

If they don’t know you well enough yet, recognize that trust takes time.

Your job isn’t to “overcome” every objection. It’s to understand what it’s telling you.

You may need to do a better job explaining why you’re the right fit. You may need to rethink who you’re targeting or simply be patient.

In some cases, there’s nothing to do right now.
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The mistake is assuming today’s circumstances are permanent.