The 8 Sales Prospecting Mindsets of Top Earners Pt 7: Dealing With Sales Rejection

By Jeff Shore

“Bring on the rejection!” said no one ever. However, in professional sales, we should know by now that rejection is part of the job. No, it’s not fun, but to be expected. What separates good salespeople from great salespeople is how they handle rejection.

Like other facets of sales, dealing with rejection depends heavily on how we interpret and react to it. Let’s consider how successful salespeople accomplish this. 

We’ll start with a fan favorite, prospecting. People will likely say no when you contact them out of the blue, and they’re not expecting your call. Not only that, you’re going to get often people who will say no, and they’re going to mean it. They’re going to be forceful in their no. Now I don’t find that when I’m prospecting, I get many people who are just flat rude. But I certainly get people who will clarify that they won’t buy what you’re selling, and I’d prefer you not contact me again. 

That’s fine. That’s their prerogative. I respect that. The question is, how will I deal with it? How do I deal with the no? How do I deal with “go away?” How do we deal with someone who says, “I don’t want you to bother me anymore?”

I’ve got an assignment for you. It’s going to sound like a pretty wacky assignment. But here’s my assignment for you. Just go to a public place, a restaurant, a mall, wherever it is. Walk up to somebody randomly and say, “Hey, can I have $100?” And see what happens.

I know that sounds crazy, but let me keep going. I was recently at a coaching session. We talked about dealing with rejection, and I wanted to make my point.

I ventured into the resort lobby, and somebody, a stranger, passed by. I said, “Excuse me, will you give me $100 right now?” That’s literally what I said, “Will you give me $100 right now?” They said, “No.” I said, “Great, have a good day.”

I walked back into the room, looked at these sales professionals, and said, “Ok, how are we doing? There are no bullet holes. I’m not bleeding. I have not been massively insulted by anybody.” I asked for $100. They said no and life goes on.

The fact is that the “no” is not the problem. It’s the fear of the “no” that is the problem. The fear is that we will get rejected more than the rejection itself. So what do we do with that?

So glad you asked! There are a couple of different opportunities. One must buck up and say, “I’m going to do this. I’m going to do this.” There’s something to be said about that. It’s that willpower approach. However,  there’s a better way to do it. Thankfully so, because willpower isn’t always the best resource to depend on for us humans. Here’s what I want you to consider doing.

I want you to think about not just HOW you respond to rejection but WHEN you respond to rejection. If I don’t handle my concern and fear of rejection until it’s time to ask the question, what will happen? I will probably not ask the question. But if I handle it before I ask the question, that changes everything because that fear is absent.

If I’m not in that moment, thinking about it and planning for it logistically in advance, I’m thinking out of the logical side of my brain. Logic trumps emotion here.

I want to suggest that you could do that right now. I mean, literally, like right now, while you’re watching this video. You can plan for your subsequent prospecting calls knowing that you will get rejected. You can now decide how you will feel when you get that rejection. 

You could decide that right now. You can make a moral decision on how you’ll react to the rejection. This can be something as simple as telling yourself, “Cool. I’m closer to a yes.” You can decide now what your attitude will be even when somebody says no in a way that’s very snarky, curt, or even rude.

You can decide your attitude, and you can do it right now. The fact of the matter is that rejection is not a big deal. The fear of rejection is a huge deal.

One last thing on rejection. If you want to get this right, I highly recommend renting a movie called Door to Door with William H. Macy. It was made several years ago about a door-to-door salesperson in Portland, Oregon. It is one of the most inspirational movies you will ever see. If you think you have reason to complain about how tough sales is. Watch this true story. It’ll change your paradigm.

Spend some time right now to choose your rejection attitude in advance. That’s what great salespeople do. That’s what makes them six-figure sales professionals. 

I hope you see a lot fewer rejections in your day. But more importantly, I hope you learn how to choose your attitude in advance so that you’ll be able to bounce right back. Resilience is an undervalued sales skill, and you’ll build that resilience muscle by dealing with rejection in advance.

Until next time, learn more to earn more!