Rejection is a part of the sales process. The fear of rejection at times is more demotivating than actually getting rejected, which ultimately affects the sales pitch and overall performance. While it can be frustrating, there are techniques that sales reps can use to overcome rejection and close more deals. You might not see rejection as an opportunity – but it is. It is an opportunity to learn and become better at what you do. The day you’ve catered to failure (in this case rejection) in your sales process, is the day that you’ve mastered achieving targets.
Here are 8 techniques your sales reps need to know about overcoming rejections:
1. It’s not personal.
2. Expect rejection. It’s part of the game
3. Evaluate the context for rejection
4. Learn from rejections.
5. Get rid of negative emotions.
6. Share your thoughts and feelings
7. Move on to the next big deal
8. Celebrate Wins
1. It’s not personal.
One of the most powerful techniques for overcoming rejections is to acknowledge them. If a prospect says no, it’s not personal — it’s business. And it’s a good thing for you to hear that your product or service isn’t right for them. There might be endless reasons for the prospect to deny.
It’s important to remember that no matter what happens during the sales process, you can always work with this person again in the future if they change their mind. But if they don’t want you to sell to them anymore then move on.
Instead of getting upset, take it as an opportunity to learn something new. Try to understand the reason for rejection and convey it to your product team so that next time around, you’ll be able to provide even better value than before.
2. Expect rejection. It’s part of the game.
Rejection is part of the job. It’s more like setting expectations. Once the salesperson understands that rejection is a possibility and learns about the average rejection rate for a specific industry then managing rejection gets way more easier. A sale might not go through for multiple reasons but most of the time its something a salesperson cannot control or manage. It is important that a salesperson understands this aspect of the sales process. Stressing about something you cannot control will not help.
You’re going to get rejected and you need to know how to handle it. You don’t want to be “that salesperson” who goes into a meeting and gets turned down by every time.
The first step in overcoming rejection is accepting that it’s a part of the job. Remember that no matter how many times you’ve been turned down, there will always be someone who wants what you are selling and will pay for it.
3. Evaluate the context for rejection
During the sales process, you’ll hear the word “no” many times. Most of the time a “no” is just an objection to a certain term in the contract, service, or process. As a salesperson, it’s important to probe and ask open-ended questions that will help get a better understanding of the objection. This would enable you to address the prospects pain points and showcase features that could help close the deal.
For example, a prospect could come back with rejection reasons like “We already have a service provider and do not want to switch”. Salespersons in this scenario should probe the current service provider and ask questions about the existing features/services, basically getting the prospect to open up. These questions will help understand the actual context for rejection, may be the salesperson’s product does not support specific features, switching products could be difficult at this moment or the cost could be steep, etc. Once you’ve understood the actual context, you will then know if you should push harder to close the deal or move on.
Whatever be the case, accept the rejection positively and stay in touch with the prospect. Remember, you need to get the best out of every sales pitch, if you don’t close the deal, the least you can do is build relationships. You never know, if the prospect would need your service the next quarter or refer to an ex-colleague that needs your service.
4. Learn from rejections
Getting rejected is always hard, but it hurts more when it’s at the later stage of the sales process, especially after you have invested a lot of time. Deals have a funny falling off the table, one minute you were on track to close and the next minute you received an email stating that the deal is off.
Shit happens.
What’s important is learning! As a salesperson, you need to learn from every rejection. Sit back and evaluate what happened. The best way is to ask the client why they choose not to proceed. Then use this learning to better your product or your pitch.
5. Get rid of negative emotions
Rejection could get you frustrated or even upset at the prospect for being turned down. This could trigger a set of negative emotions.
Staying stuck in this negative mindset will only make things worse for you as a salesperson. You’ll have a hard time getting any feedback from the prospect or your fellow team members, which will make it even more difficult for anyone to help when your sales pitches don’t work out in the future.
Instead of getting mad about being turned down, focus on how this experience will help you grow as a professional and improve your chances of getting better jobs later on down the road. Evaluate, introspect and take action.
6. Share your thoughts and feelings
It might sound unmanly to many but speaking about your feelings and emotions will help you better manage rejection. Sharing rejections and seeking support from like-minded people (like your colleagues at work) works. The best part is that experiences are then shared both ways. You will also learn how they coped with rejection, and what worked for them.
Bottling up rejections will only get you more demotivated and demoralised. If this technique is used as a process and managed well by a sales leader, it could work wonders for a sales team. Besides, it would also build camaraderie and evoke healthy competition within the team
7. Move on to the next big deal
Another technique to overcome rejection is to focus on the next deal. It’s important to build a healthy sales pipeline. Salespeople with healthy pipelines are less likely to be demotivated or depressed due to rejection.
Rejection early in the sales process could be attributed to an unhealthy sales pipeline. Ensure that your sales pipeline is filled with prospects that need your product or use your product. There are multiple software and automation tools like SmartReach.io that could help you build healthy sales pipeline and automate your sales outreach. Remember, selling brushes to bald men will only increase your rejection ratio.
8. Celebrate Wins
Celebrating your successes and that of your fellow team members will reaffirm positivity. There are different ways to celebrate successes, it need not be a celebration every time you close a deal. It could be as simple as a standing ovation, job well done note or a mention during the team briefing. These small celebrations build you up for bigger things.
Don’t let rejection define you as a salesperson or an entrepreneur. Rejection is part of the sales process — so don’t let it get under your skin! The day you’ve catered to failure in your sales process, is the day that you’ve mastered dealing with rejection.
Make sure your emails are personalized, professional, and clear — even if the person isn’t able to respond immediately. If a customer rejects you, don’t give up on them, instead build relationships for the future; move on to another client who might be more receptive at that time. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for feedback after each interaction with a customer so that you can improve your skills in the future.
Hopefully, these secrets will guide you through the rough patches and help boost your business. Sales is never easy, and it’s just a part of doing business, so be patient and keep your eyes on the prize. Most of all, enjoy the experience of meeting new people and selling products that you believe in!
