Don't take sales rejections personally
Sales is full of rejection. People who are successful in sales have the ability to separate their personal identity from the role they take on. If they get a no, they simply perceive it as a poor business fit. Unfortunately, many salespeople don’t make that distinction. They experience “no†as a personal rebuke, which becomes a humiliating experience.
We previously worked with a client’s employee, Erik, who could not overcome taking rejection personally. One of Erik’s responsibilities was promoting training sessions to local business owners. Erik used several different promotional tools including email and direct mail invitations. He would also network on- and offline to promote the events. The trouble was that he was also provided a list of owners whom he was to call directly. While all his other activities happened consistently and effectively, his call list was always delinquent. Erik couldn’t even look at the phone without feeling anxious about being rejected by the people on his list.
Hoping to provide some inspiration, our consultant offered to split the list with Erik. The consultant would make a call and then Erik would make a call. He could get through the list twice as fast and the activity wouldn’t seem so daunting. It was an offer Erik couldn’t refuse, so they scheduled some time on a Thursday afternoon to make the calls.
When Thursday arrived, Erik entered the office looking bad. The consultant asked if he was OK and Erik said, “I just feel nauseous knowing we have those calls to make this afternoon.†The consultant tried to reassure Erik, to no avail. When they started making the calls. Erik performed exactly how you’d expect someone to perform who was getting physically ill over the task.
