Sales Tip 1216: Rejection – Charlotte Lloyd

What does NO mean in sales? NO simply means you are closer to a YES.

Look at some of the most successful NOs in history:  

Bestselling author Stephen King`s first book Carrie was rejected by publishers many times, his wife found the novel in the trash and encouraged him to keep approaching publishers, it eventually sold 350 million copies.

Apple`s first tablet computer was laughed at in 1993, look what happened to Apple. Sometimes rejection can mean you are ahead of the pack.

Winston Churchill said “Success is stumbling from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm,” Michael Jordan said he “has failed over and over again in his life and that is why he succeeds.”

What does it really mean when the prospect gives you a no?  

Your product wasn’t what the prospect needed.  you are trying to sell a pick-up and that is not what the client needs, it`s not you they are rejecting it`s the product.

Get feedback and shift your pitch to what the prospect wants and how it solves their problem.

Rejection is important in businesses because it can help you identify improvement opportunities in your selling strategies. Handling rejection can also help you learn more about your customers or target market.  

Limit objections to avoid rejection – Remember that most people will not say yes until they have said no at least once. If you are pitching a product that is so good that people want to say yes, they`re going to think it`s too good to be true and say no anyway. If you ask your friends out for drinks and they say no, do you take it personally? If they say no today, then they will end up saying yes another day. It isn`t charm or whit that closes the sale, it`s persistence and adding value. Most objections fall into one or more of these categories: 

Lack of Trust  – This is something you must build and look to bring value to your sales conversation, demonstrate what the product can do and how it will help your prospect solve a problem.

Timing – Maybe now is not the right time, be sure you have given them enough reason to want to act immediately. If they want to buy in 4 months, explain how this product will improve their life now rather than wait, uncover the impact of delayed action.

Fear of change – Most people say no as they fear your new solution could be more, humans don`t like to have to make choices. If your prospect`s business stays the same, their competitors are gaining ground. What looks good and comfortable now, could be taken away in the future.

Confusion – Perhaps your prospect just doesn`t get it yet, have you assumed they,

Be persistent:  

Measure your progress:  

Don’t take the rejection personally.

Look at how to prevent rejection from affecting your mentality so you can understand the conversation from a professional perspective versus a personal one. Reflect on your successful transactions in the past so you can better manage a “no” conversation. After getting a no, call on one of your customers to get positive feedback on how they use your solution.

Check your sales strategy and practice your listening skills and responses.

Developing your active listening skills can help you understand more about your potential customers. Practicing your responses can help you effectively relay information and increase customer interest. Some ways to help you develop your listening and communication skills include: 

Learn from other sales professionals.

Analyze the techniques and strategies of other sales professionals can help you improve your skills. This can help you identify new approaches to customer calls or creative ways to send emails, trial some sales tech tools which help you write emails better or that your cold calls.

Improve your mindset.

Look to engage in activities that leave you feeling positive and energized, do some workouts, get to the gym. Practice meditation and therapy so you can understand your mind and better adapt yourself for the no and instill calmness into your working day.

Celebrate your success. 

Get comfortable celebrating your successes and those of your other team members can help you reaffirm your positive mindset. This can also help you recognize your growth and skill as a salesperson. 

and LASTLY, I have a challenge for you.

Set up your own rejection challenge daily, whenever you ask for anything, no matter how small, be prepared to get a no answer, chart your progress on this and keep a journal of each response and how you felt after each response. Could you ask the request again but phrase it differently to get a YES.