No. It is one of the worst words in the English language. It is the reason why some never ask the really important questions. Our fear of hearing no, or being rejected, or being shot down, paralyzes all forward motion.
You can change the meaning of no to know.
What if every time you heard someone respond to your sales pitch, your request, your invitation, with a no that you thought of their word as know? As in, the reason they say no is because they simply don’t know enough about your offer to respond with a yes. In this scenario, no never means no.
Ask better questions and find out what they need to know.
Most likely they don’t know enough to make their decision. So next time you hear no, ask this question: What more do you need to know so you’ll have enough information to say yes?