I Eat No's For Breakfast

I do not know anyone who enjoys rejection. It probably started when we were curious toddlers getting our hand slapped and being told no over and over. However, it is helpful to understand that a no can mean many things. The worst case scenario is that you are one step closer to a yes! Recently, I had the pleasure of having breakfast with David Loy, COO of Andy Andrew'sorganization and we were discussing perseverance. He mentioned that Andy's business manager Robert D. Smith claims, "I eat no's for breakfast." Robert understands this philosophy considering that Andy Andrew's bestselling book "The Traveler's Gift" was rejected by fifty-one publishers before going on to sell millions of copies. Unless you boast a closing percentage of one hundred percent then you will feel the sting of rejection. For example, if you have a closing percentage of sixty percent then four out of ten people are choosing to not do business with you. There are numerous reasons why a prospect will say no to your offering. Here a few things to remember in the process. Don't take it personally. You will win some and lose some. You may or may not be to blame for the decision of your prospect, however, spending too much time in mourning over a lost sale will cause you to lose momentum when you should be looking at ways to improve and move on to the next prospect. Don't close the door. Be gracious and thank them for their time. Make sure you leave the door open for future opportunities. They may have a good reason for not buying and if you approach them with the correct attitude, they will be more likely to explain why you lost the deal and give you hints on how you can work with them on a future project. What did you learn? If you did not learn something from the experience, you are missing a valuable opportunity to improve. If the no was your fault, you should want to know why. It is possible that you did not listen intently to their needs or you did not spend enough time building trust and rapport.You must also consider that your proposal was rejected due to price or a relationship with a competitor, but it could be that the project was abandoned due to funding. Consider this  the next time you are rejected. Beethoven was told he was hopeless and would never compose. Elvis was told to go back and drive a truck. Walt Disney was fired and told he lacked imagination and had no good ideas. Edison was told he was too stupid to learn anything. I will save Abraham Lincoln for another blog. Have a great week! Pierce