As painful as rejection may be, it can prove essential to success. Those who let the fear of rejection rule their lives stay stuck. Don’t let that be your case. It’s one of the simplest challenges to overcome. Dive into opportunities head on, take the hits, and come out a winner. Those who won’t allow the sting of no stop them from moving forward are sure to come face-to-face with their own greatness eventually.
Rejection is a dividing line separating the achievers from the pipe dreamers and complacent. Those who’ve ever made cold calls can relate. They know they have to pick up the phone several times to get one yes. Every call besides the yes ends in rejection. Imagine being rejected several times an hour every single workday. Even top sellers aren’t exempt from this.
Top sellers are big earners. They excel at outreach and follow-up in volume and quality. They don’t let the disappointment of a lost deal throw them off their game. Hearing no doesn’t slow them down. They exude confidence, but not because they’re magically blessed with a high acceptance rate. Much of their confidence comes from knowing that every no is one step closer to that yes.
If you ever lost a competition you wanted to win, were skipped over a promotion you’re sure you deserved, or ever had your competitor chosen over you, then rejection is no stranger. The question is, have you learned to embrace it? Here are a few reasons why you should:
Rejection is a Stepping Stone to Yes
The benefits of being rejected become clear when you consider the principles behind conversion and closing rates. Sales professional map out their sales processes in the shape of a triangle or funnel. The widest level is cold prospects. The number of leads grows smaller as they move to through the funnel which ends at a single point: the customer – the yes.
If you call 100 prospects and only two become customers, your conversion rate is 2 percent. But what happens if you let fear of rejection stops you from reaching out to those 100 people? Nothing – no sales and no progress. You let rejection keep you in a state of want, using it as an excuse to allow yourself to fail. Becoming a master happens through practice.
It’s easy to win when you have the right mindset. See every no as putting you one step closer to yes. This motivating perception that’s often proven true can serve as the fuel you need to get yourself where you ought to be.
Rejection Helps You Find Your Place
A sales job is far from the only scenario where it’s normal to experience frequent rejection. It’s also common place for job seekers and no stranger to those who have jobs and are vying for a promotion. And we need not even approach the world of personal relationships to note the prominence of rejection there.
Rejection isn’t the part of life you should let get you down. It can be a blessing. It can guide you to your destiny; to the security, even greatness you desire. That person, position, or customer that rejection blocked you from wasn’t meant for you. He, she, or it wasn’t allowed to occupy the space reserved for the one that has a role in your happiness.
What should you do when you get rejected? Open your heart and your mind and take action. Keep looking with hopeful vision, confident the road you’re on leads to bliss, even if there are turns and curves along the way.
Rejection Can Bring You to the Aha Moment
Taking knocks is hard, but hard knocks teach good lessons. The weak give up and the strong grow in discipline and power. The latter wins, but being the first is a matter of choice. It’s training and a willingness to be trained. If you resist, that doesn’t stop the lesson. It just stops you.
Logic dictates that if all other options have been exhausted the one that’s left is the solution. You try and get knocked down. Then you try another way and take another knock. The cycle repeats. Not a quitter, fed up but optimistic, you ponder deeply. The light bulb appears. The breakthrough arrives.
The aha moment comes to open minds. It reveals what couldn’t be seen before. Some need less knocks than others to experience it. The challenge is in recognizing whether it’s time for persistence or a new approach. Be neither ashamed nor afraid of battle scars. They are the marks of a hero.
Rejection: Your Friend in Success
Great sales people welcome objections. They don’t expect for every prospect to buy. They even filter leads through qualification. Learn to embrace rejection. Let it help you achieve self-actualization.