Under And Mastering Rejection

It is fact, Gone With The Wind was rejected 38 times; Irving Stone’s, Lust for Life was rejected 16 times, and then went on to sell over 25 million copies, and Stephen King was told, “We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias  They do not sell.” There is an uncounted number of authors who heard “no” tons of times before they got their foot in the door – William Faulkner; George Orwell; John Grisham; Joseph Heller, John le Carre, J.K. Rowlings; Rudyard Kipling….  Imagine the loss, had they given up.

Understanding the reasons for rejection and having a call list that is geared for success can increase your odds of garnering that second call.  The bottom line is, when you work in a profession where you hear no repeatedly; you have to find your mettle and ramp up your persistence to turn the negatives into positives.

Any number of a prospect’s personal issues may trigger a “no thanks.”  Just thank them for their time, and call someone else.

• Discord at home
• Personal financial worries
• Bereavement
• Discontent with their job
• In a bad mood
• Lack of confidence

While connecting with a live voice feels encouraging, if you aren’t talking to someone who can invite you into the sales cycle, your connection has no value, unless you can get them to give you a referral. Increase quality control at the lead generation level. Purpose is served if Sales talks to Marketing.

• Get selective about the job titles that are added to your data bank.
• Be aware in the subtle shift in language when you’re searching for specific types of titles.  There is a fair amount of creativity at play when it comes to the exact wording of job titles.  Some sound more powerful than they are: Sales Leader, Sales Representative and Sales Associate, for example.
•  While it makes sense to import such titles as VP of Sales; Director of Sales and even to some degree Manager of Sales – don’t over look the terms “Sales Enablement” and “Sales Effectiveness.” They are titles less called, but they hold the power to invite the coveted second call.

The only bad mistake is the one you don’t learn anything from; the one you repeat.  When something doesn’t work, make time to figure out why.  Life is supposed to be a learning experience.  Turn “no thank-you” into revenue by using it to make you better at what you do.

• Know that it isn’t personal
• You haven’t reached the right person.
• You called at an inconvenient time.
• Your call script needs work.

• Engage in more shoptalk with your coworkers.  Ask them about how they approach and handle different situations.  Shared tricks of the trade are invaluable.
• Avoid the stress of stumbling.  Be sure you know about all upgrades your product has under gone.  Albert Einstein once said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t know it well enough.”
• Set reasonable goals for yourself to keep you moving.  Make it a game of personal challenge.
• Attend some seminars where positive energy can be recharged.
• If you haven’t taken any time off and treated yourself to a getaway – consider doing so.

While in sales “no” is heard more often than “yes” know that it doesn’t mean the end of the road. Don’t give up without exhausting all possibilities. If your product makes life easier and more productive for people, every “yes” that comes back and thanks you, will make the “no’s” pale in comparison. Persistence is the name of the game.