Dealing With Rejection

However, that dream can be shattered as you receive more and more rejection. Rejection can be devastating. This is especially so if you have never sold.

This doesn't need to happen. Rejection is never as pleasant as acceptance, but it can be handled positively. It's not the rejection but how you react to it that's the problem. If you see rejection as a part of success rather than the end of the world, your reaction will be more positive. Everyone gets rejected. Rejection is the price you pay for success.

A ‘no' isn't final. ‘No's’ are just part of a process that leads to a ‘yes’.  People are often just afraid of making a decision so they tell you `no' even if they want it. Too many salespeople simply quit selling too early.

People say ‘no’ because they are afraid of making a decision. They may very well want what you are selling. You have seen this yourself by the number of people who said `no' to you at first, but then suddenly said `yes' later. The main problem is you often quit selling too soon. People have a certain number of `no's they have to say before they feel safe saying `yes'. Finally, their subconscious mind says, “I've said `no' X number of times and it still looks good, so I guess it's OK to say ‘yes'.” Each person has a different number of `no's they have to go through. If you are talking to a 6 `no' person and you stop at the 5th `no,' you were just 1 more ‘no' away from getting the sale.  Until they feel confident making the decision to say `yes,' prospects will give you false objections and even lie.

Remember, `no' means, “Tell me more — I'm not convinced enough to say ‘yes'.” It doesn't necessarily mean, “I don't want it.”

Persistence will pay off if you have the right attitude and understand that ‘no' doesn't always mean `no'. `No' is often phrased in these frequently heard objections:

• “I don't have the money.”
• “I tried it once and it didn't work.”
• “I have to talk to my partner.”

The only way around these rejections is to excite the prospects' interest right from the start. If you convince them up-front that there is a benefit to listening to you, you will be given a chance to talk.

You should ignore most `no's and the objections, such as, “I don't have the money”. Instead, expect to hear `no' and expect after you show the benefits you will eventually get a `yes.' Don't let `no' bother you. When someone says `no,' you must be positive. Remember that it puts you that much closer to the ultimate `yes.' You just have to keep selling long enough to overcome the prospect's natural fear of making a decision.

The more benefits you give, the more you will raise the prospect's desire to want to buy. When the desire is high enough, the fear of making a decision will leave, and you will often get your `yes.' You may wonder if this works all the time. No, it doesn't. But it works enough to help you sell much more. Don't worry about the few times it doesn't work. Remember, it's not the rejection, it's how you react to it. 

One of the problems our reaction to rejection causes is fear of asking for the order in the future. You can't let `no's stop you from selling the next prospect. You might get 8 prospects in a row who say `no.' However, the next 5 prospects may buy. If you stop selling out of fear, you can be sure you'll never get a `yes.'

Rejection also causes apathy. You may think, “Why bother to sell her. Why tell her all the benefits of what I'm offering. She is just going to say `no' anyway.” So you just say to the prospect, “Here is the literature. If you're interested, give me a call.” You leave the prospect alone figuring that you can't persuade her and when she doesn't buy you say, “I knew she wasn't going to buy.”

Salespeople face constant rejection and it causes them to lose confidence and belief in themselves. They then voice doubts about what they can do. This is a self-fulfilling prophesy. As soon as they begin to believe they can't do something, they will conduct themselves so that the prophesy comes true. To stop this cycle, whenever a doubt enters your mind, clap your hands loudly and yell “Stop!” Now rephrase your thoughts in a positive way. If you've been thinking “I can't sell this prospect,” change it to “I'm a great salesperson and after he hears what I have to say, he'll want to buy from me!”

Rejection is an integral part of selling. Learning how to not take rejection personally will set the stage for fantastic success and put you on the path to riches.

5 Ways to Handle Rejection:

1. Be positive about rejection. Don't fear it. When you hear `no,' say to yourself, “That is fantastic. I've got one `no' out of the way towards final acceptance. Now, where do I go from here?”

2. Learn from rejection. See what is failing and take it into account in the future.

3. Be fair to yourself in selling. If you assume selling will be easy to learn and you fall short, you will feel bad because you got a `no.' Give yourself some leeway. You can say, “This looks difficult, but I'm going to do it.” Then, if you don't accomplish it at first, you can try again because you knew it wasn't going to be easy. When you do succeed, you will feel a great sense of accomplishment.

4. Analyze the prospect. People are afraid of making the wrong decision in spending money. Is the person really rejecting you or just unsure?

5. Get specific on the rejection. Find out why they have responded negatively and answer their unanswered questions.

A certain amount of rejection, if you practice the coping skills and learn from the rejection, actually builds self-confidence. It's not always easy, but you can learn that the more `no's you get in life, the more `yes's you get, too. The possibility of rejection always looms when we take risks, but there is also a greater exposure to the joys of hearing `YES.'