Too many promising careers in sales have been cut short by the all-too-present fear of rejection.

Fear of rejection, in my experience, ranks right up there with fear of public speaking. Most people admit that the fear of death is nothing compared to the fear of public speaking. Rejection seems to give rise to the same levels of fear. What is this all about? Let me tell you a story…

I have a “friend” (me) who was once active in a Network Marketing company marketing a very useful service in the form of Pre-Paid Legal plans. This “friend” understood the service offered by the company. He also understood the compensation he’d get for successfully marketing the service to receptive customers. He knew enough of the book knowledge about the services and the company.

But this “friend” failed miserably in this company. Why? He was afraid of rejection. He would stick himself out there and told someone about this remarkable company and the wonderful service being offered. Sometimes, the people he talked to said “NO”.

He got a bit more depressed each time. Each rejection got to him because he took it personally. Each “NO” seemed like a personal attack and made him less and less likely to want to stick himself out there.

Eventually, he stopped working his business altogether. At first it just started as excuses like “I need to organize my desk” or “I need to rethink my approach”. Eventually it snowballed into downright apathetic laziness.

Eventually, he found his way into another gig, which was door-to-door, going from one business to the next and peddling different things. Things from discounted oil changes to cheap tickets for the local sports teams. This gig didn’t pay exceptionally well, but he eventually learned a few lessons about rejection in the process.

1. Never Take Rejection Personally

When a person tells you “NO” regarding your offering, product or service, in most cases they are not saying no to YOU. When they say “NO”, what it normally means is “Not right now”. Even when you hear “NO”, ask the person, “Is it OK if I get back in touch with you in a few weeks/months to let you know how my business is growing?”

2. How much is each NO worth?

When you are marketing a product of service, something interesting happens. You will eventually establish a baseline for what your success average is. If it takes you talking to 10 people to get 1 “YES”, you got 10% baby! Assume that that one YES pays you $100 for a commission…

Each time you get a “NO”, think to yourself “That’s another $10 in my pocket!” ($100/10 people means each no is worth $10!)

3. Be grateful for the opportunity

Businesses are built on value and opportunity. Any business that is worth anything of real value won’t attract every single person. If you went out and talked to 10 people and they all signed up at once, that indicates you just might be on the tail end of the curve for your service or product. The opportunity is weaker than it would be in the beginning. Each time you get a “NO”, silently tell the person thank you for allowing you to have the opportunity to position yourself for success!

4. Attitude is what determines your altitude!

If you start to feel youself getting discouraged when you hear a “NO”, don’t just say “thank you for your time” and go to the next door. Take a short break, take stock of yourself. What I usually did is go to a restroom and stand in front of the mirror. Then I would do my best imitation of the old “Whozza!” Budweiser commercials. That gets me laughing (at myself) each time. It helps me to not take myself so seriously. This also really helps me if I’m really needing to make sales. It keeps my mind off of the “I need money” mindset and gets me into a more playful mood.

5.  Rejection is just a state of mind!

When you get a “NO”, just remember that rejection is only rejection if YOU let it be that way in your mind.  What most call “Rejection”, I call “a matter of timing”.  Going back to tip #1, just get permission to get back in touch with the person at a later date.  Not necessarily to try and sell them on your idea again, but to treat them as a human.  Let them know how your business has grown in the time since your last contact.  Find out if there’s any way you can help them succeed in their own business.  Take them to lunch. Whatever you can do to let them know you’re more than just a suit with a blank application to fill out.

While the stuff I’ve listed here helps me through the day, I imagine that since you are reading this, you may have some other tips/tricks to help with rejection. Let me know in comments what some of yours are!

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