6 Ways to Handle Rejection

I’m someone who has a need to be liked. Although I have improved with great coaching and awareness, you can imagine that I do not like rejection. If you’re like me, you will benefit from these steps I developed over the years!

1. Be the Best at What You Do

Study, train, practice all aspects of your profession. Being a subject matter expert at your craft will not only reduce the amount of times you lose to your competition, it will also build your confidence to move on and go after the next sale. Inspired to improve, you will not walk away with a inferiority complex.

2. Take It Personally!

I know everyone says not to. I say you should. There are always things you could have done differently to improve your chances of winning. Lacks of knowledge, skill or attitude on your part probably lead the customer to go with someone else. It’s very funny to me when I ask a representative or manager what they could have done differently and the answer is “nothing”! There is always something! Only those who take it personally will be motivated to learn from their mistakes or omissions!

3. Know Your Stats

The best baseball players in the world fail 7 out of 10 times. Do you know your stats? You averages? Do you know how many calls you need to do to get one appointment? How many appointments lead to proposals and how many proposals lead to closes? Knowing your stats will allow you to deal with the losses. When you know your stats, regardless of your skill level, you realize that a win is just around the corner. It’s a numbers game!

4.Get Customer Feedback

Ask your customers what you could have done better and don’t settle when they tell you that you lost because of price! This will work for rejection on a sales call or a phone call. Can you imagine what you will get when you call a customer who hung up on you the week before simply to learn what you could have said differently in order to get an appointment? Wow! Try it!

5. Go for NO!

It takes 5 “no’s “ to get a “yes”! I heard of this 22 years ago and it’s still true today. If you get a no and take steps to improve or add value with every call after that, your persistence will be rewarded. If all else fails just remember this…”Sticks and stones will break my bones, but No’s will never hurt me”

6. Change your Paradigm

Personally I have never lost a deal. My customers, however, have made several poor decisions! Enough said!

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