“Not at this time”, ask in these words, “You don’t seem interested, please explain how come?” What ever s/he says, don’t argue or rebut. Accept it and thank her for her candor and then say, “What would you recommend I do?” Thank her again. Then decide if you want to do it or not, but sleep on it before you make your final decision.
If she says something about the timings not right or not now, this is a put-off. In other words, she’s not interested and wants to be polite. So push back a little and say something to the effect, “Please, it seems you’re not interested and if so, don’t spare my feelings, what about this doesn’t interest you?” This will take a little courage and you’ll have to practice saying it in front of a mirror to pull it off. But if you do, you’ll be so rewarded with valuable insights. You can call and thank me.
If appropriate, leave it with her that you will call in a few days about accepting her recommendation. If she tells you there is nothing you can do. Drop it for now and just keep her on you 2-3 month follow-up. However, this is only one person and it’s today. Be sure to keep interviewing others. If three tell you “no interest” then drop it and move to another client for now.
It’s amazing the metamorphous of 2-3 months regarding actions. But if you’ve done the above, you’ll know their desire and paths to get them – and these don’t easily change over time.
8. Do this process with your best customers. Even if you met with someone last week, set up a new meeting to do the above interview. Be sure to go up and out. Otherwise you’ll be getting only one perspective and it may be off a little or stilted to that person’s motivation. The more people you interview, the more you’ll