Go for No! Yes is the Destination, No is How You Get There

Easy read in one sitting. Will change your perspective on how you react to getting “no” responses. Worth the read.

From an early age, we are taught that success is the opposite of failure. We are generally taught if what we are doing is not working, to go in the opposite direction. Go For No! teaches a different approach. The authors, Fenton and Waltz, teach that success and failure are along the same path - that success actually comes after a certain amount of failure. The book is very short and takes a very interesting approach to teaching the lessons underlying the philosophy of Go For No! The unique approach to teaching the lessons involves two different futures lives of the main character. One future life is highly successful, the other life is an also ran, the run of the mill life. The book is extremely short and very easy to read. You can get through this book in a little over an hour. The story plot and lessons are primarily geared toward selling. However it is very simple to take a higher level view of the principles and apply them to any profession or to life in general. The major take away from the book is that success and failure are on the same continuum. That if you are seeking success, you must first travel through failure. If you want success faster, then you must learn to embrace failure and fail faster. The story line is very interesting. An underlying message that is implied is the impact that time has on our lives. One small lesson, learned and implemented may not produce dramatic results immediately. But over a ten year period, implementing these small changes can and will have a dramatic impact on the quality of life. The lessons here are very simple and straightforward. But as the authors point out, learning the lessons will not improve your life. You must implement the lessons they are teaching. The beauty of this book is the lessons are simple and easy to understand. Like all powerful lessons, the implementation is where the value lies. It will cause you to re-think a number of your commonly held beliefs. Great reading. Short and simple lessons.

It's been years since I first read this book. I'm older and have more experience. The book still hits hard. I'm starting a business with a partner and I'm ready for success.

Okay book

Good book

There are 3 things I really like about this book; it's easy to read, it's fun to read, and it totally changed the way I think about failure. The first thing I like about it is that it is easy to read. It's less than 90 pages, it's written in the style of a story, and it's written in plain English. It took a little more than an hour to read. These factors help make it easier for the busy people in my organization to find the time to give it a chance. The second thing that I like about it is that it's fun to read. It has interesting characters who encountered situations I could relate to. It reminded me of several good movies that I've seen (It's a Wonderful Life is one that comes to mind). The fact that it's fun and interesting encourages the people in my organization to actually talk to each other about the book. It's kind of like going to work the day after an episode of Lost--everyone is talking about it. The third thing that I like about the book is the important lesson that it teaches; that it's OK to fail. By page 29, I learned that I'd been thinking about the relationship between success and failure all wrong. I also learned about the different levels of failure and what it takes to progress through them. These lessons empower not only me but my entire organization as well. I highly recommend Go For No! Not just because it is easy and fun to read, but because of the valuable lesson that it teaches--that NO, in any language, is the most empowering word in the world.

Life comes at you. And when it does, nothing is truly a mistake. Every setback, every rejection, every obstacle is shaping you into who you’re meant to become — if you choose to see it as a lesson, not a loss. This book made me look at a concept completely differently. I realized something simple but powerful: In order to win, I have to lose — and lose often, fast, and big. That’s the secret. Go for No reinforced that failure is not the opposite of success… it’s part of the process. And success is not a place to settle — it’s a place to grow from. Both are needed to become the person I’m meant to be. “No’s” are not the end. They’re part of the path. They’re steps most people are not willing to take consistently. That’s the difference. This is an easy, quick read, but it carries a message that can truly change how you approach life and business. One thing I’m taking with me: I will fail my way to success. Thank you for sharing such a powerful message. Deon C. Freeman April 11, 2026 6:00 AM

When I first picked up the book, "Go For No", I have to admit I was a bit put off since I am not big on fictional tales to get a point across. Also, I saw that the character was a copier salesman, which was the one industry I spent the least time in when I was in sales - didn't like the copier biz and how it worked. But, when I got past that and kept reading, I realized something huge. Many times I have spoken to small business owners and sellers about how somehow a switch flipped inside me to allow me to not have a problem with rejection - now I have more "words" for what actually happened for me. The authors talk about how turning rejection into something that is just "inconvenient" and how we can "never let the word NO devastate us." Many small business owners are paralyzed with a fear of rejection and in not understanding that no simply can mean "not now" or "I don't have enough information" - and they never follow up. I not only highly recommend this book - I will be buying it for some of my clients as an easy-to-read and easy to understand story to help their sales people follow up more and handle failure on their way to big successes. This book will make a great gift to anyone learning to master sales - no matter what industry or how they sell. Lori Richardson @scoremoresales [...].

Another reviewer mentioned that the book didn't make sense until half way through, and he was right. The first few chapters makes you think you wasted your money and that reading the book is a colossal waste of time. But then it starts to make sense. I guess for a non-fiction book there are a couple of ways to convey the message or purpose of the book, some like to tell their own story and how they learned the lesson, others use pure science, while some authors like to tell a fictional story about how a character arrived at a conclusion. This is the latter, where the character goes on a journey of learning and epiphany you might say. Whether you like the story or not, the message sure is powerful. And to be fair, the story is well written too. It's a very short book, think I powered through it in an hour. And usually it annoys me when authors charge the same price as a much longer book, but the truth is, the message was so valuable to me I think they should charge more. Go for no is a bit like using reverse psychology, where instead of having a target to make 10 sales a week, you have a target to get 20 rejections a week. Because statistically, for every sale you make, you will get x number of rejections, therefore to make more sales inversely you should aim for more rejections. Obviously this applies to more than just sales. You can apply this in many areas of your life. If you ask your boss 10 times for a pay rise, and he says no 9 times, chances are that the 10th time he'll say yes, so your goal is to get the 9 rejections out of the way. It also makes you immune to rejection, and it allows you to set higher goals and to not stop asking simply because someone has said no. As the story in the book goes, a toddler or small child will keep badgering their parents for a toy or candy, again and again, no matter how many times they hear no, until eventually the parent relents and gives them something. So yeah, very good book. Powerful message. And something I plan on applying in many areas of my life, and I'm not even in sales! Remember, no simply means "not yet" or "not now".

This book was recommended by a friend, great read thank you.

Very engaging story that uncovers the aspects people go through in selling. Very good find for anyone who is selling anything. Full of lot of learnings and insights.

This book is about a photocopier salesman. He faces a lot of "no" to get finally a numerous of "yes". While selling a product, you should target a large potential buyers in order to increase your chance to get them. Don't worry to get a lot of "no" at the beginning of your selling process. It's normal. Keep going to advertise your product at a large scale. Things will be ok afterwards.

Más que libro de técnicas es una historia muy entretenida y vislumbrante