“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” -- Thomas Edison
Successful salespeople are tenacious … but we’re not immune to the hurt of rejection.
After all, every salesperson is still human... contrary to some popular beliefs!
You can tell yourself that the rejection isn’t personal. You can tell yourself to grow a thicker skin. You can know that you’ll get 10 “no’s” for every one “yes.”
Still. Rejection sucks. And it’s a weekly – if not daily – exercise for many of us.
Buyers who don’t want to take our call or meet with us, and people who decide not to buy our product or service even after we’ve done a bang-up job convincing them that buying is a smart decision.
To stay sane in this line of work, we've got to maintain the right perspective.
Instead of “learning how to deal with rejection,” we should focus on staying positive no matter the circumstance. It’s a subtle difference in semantics I know – but it can make a huge difference in your outlook and to your motivation.
Enthusiasm Wins More Sales
You know the deal. To get more out of it, you’ve got to put more into it. To make more sales, you’ve got to make more calls. To get more “yeses,” you have to have better conversations.
We focus so much on the numbers and improving our sales skills, our enthusiasm is sometimes left in the dust.
And when I say enthusiasm, I don’t just mean “energy level.” I mean eagerness to help people, and passion for the product, too.
Here’s the thing we all know: People respond best to positive and helpful salespeople.
You might have been at this job for a while, but every new prospect you speak with is unfamiliar with you and your solution – and every new prospect deserves your enthusiasm. Don’t let your previous rejections take that away from a new prospect.
Give every sales call – whether it's in person or over the phone – all the enthusiasm that you have.
“Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.” -- Benjamin Desraeli
Don’t Blame Yourself
Sometimes an entire day will feel like wasted effort. But unless you know that you – personally and undeniably – blew the sale, don’t blame yourself and don’t give in to a self-defeating attitude.
Failures are often completely outside of our control. We all know this.
Your buyer could have been having a crappy day. The budget situation could have changed overnight. There may have been employee turnover in the week since you last spoke to your prospect.
You have control of only two things:
1. Your attitude
2. Your effort
Everything else is out of your control.
"Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude." – Zig Ziglar
Take the Time to Reflect
When was the last time you took a step back to reflect on the sales you’ve already made?
It’s probably been a while right?
We spend the bulk of our time chasing the next sale – but we don’t examine and give ourselves credit for our recent successes.
- Take a break from email and the phone for 30 minutes.
- Pull up your notes on your last three successful sales.
- Feels good reading those doesn't it? Pat yourself on the back for a job well done.
- Now, what did you do right with those three customers? What were the circumstances for the customer and for you? How can you recreate some of that for the buyers and leads on your list for the rest of today?
Now you have the beginnings of a blueprint you can follow for even more sales in the future. Plus, this exercise is an instant attitude booster. You're welcome.
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” -- Winston Churchill
Refresh Yourself With “Deskercise”
Apparently, sitting is the new smoking – and unless you have a standup desk or a treadmill desk, you’re probably sitting a lot while you work.
If you have a step or activity tracker on your wrist you probably don't need a study to confirm this but the average person with an office job spends 7-10 hours a day on their rear end.
That can do damage to your physical health, sure – but it also wreaks havoc on your mental health. Just as our bodies remain stagnant when we sit in front of our computers too much, so do our minds. Moving can help you shake off that last bad call and feel refreshed.
If you think that going out for a walk will give the impression you're slacking off try doing “deskercises” throughout the day.
Deskercises are small movements you can do right at your desk and as this clever slideshow points out with enough effort you can "get your booty as toned as the printer".
Yes, Scarlett, Tomorrow IS Another Day
If all else fails just write this on a sticky note and stick it on your monitor:
Every day is a new opportunity.
If today’s results weren’t what you expected, tomorrow is a fresh chance to meet or beat your sales goals.
"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." –Thomas Paine