How to Deal With Sales Rejection

Having someone reject you is never nice. Putting yourself out there only to get your efforts thrown back in your face. And no, I'm still not bitter that my childhood love said no to a date when I was 15. I'm talking about sales rejection; always being told no, can damage anyone's confidence. To me there are few this worse than the gut-wrenching feeling when you do get close to a deal, only for it to be cut off at the last minute.

Even the most experienced sales rep never gets used to hearing the words, 'NO, THANKS.' (If you're even lucky enough to get the thanks!)

Sales rejection is part of the job; not everyone is going to say yes. So, you need to get used to dealing with it to move forward.

Here are 10 of the best ways to help deal with sales rejection, all taken from personal experience.

Are you Hearing a Non-Existent No? 

Are you sure it was a definite no?

Before you take a look at the other ways of dealing with sales rejection, was it one?

Typical responses like, 'we don't have the funds' is not a no. Consider when the customer/company will have the funds, jot it down and call again in the future.

Another standard reply will be "we already have something like that." Ask what they already have, use this as a way into the conversation. Here you can explain why your service is better, and if it's not, you can win them over with your charm!

Don't give up so easily, but don't be forceful. By just asking questions, you can get the information you need.

Keep Emotions In Check 

Keep Emotions in Check

Handling rejection in sales is never easy when you are low on confidence and not reaching your targets. But you can't afford to take it personally. Maybe the product is too expensive for them, or they already have one similar, and they don't need it. Whatever the reason, it's rarely got anything to do with you.

Letting emotion get the better of you will always carry on to the next call. Then you are in a spiral of constant rejection as each sales call becomes a desperate cry for help.

Also, don't carry the stress home. When you leave work, that should be it done for the day. Otherwise, you'll just be miserable at home being worried or upset, and nothing good will come out of that!

Get Others to Analyse Your Performance

There is nothing wrong with admitting that you are struggling. I do it every day.

You will find you will go up in your manager's estimations by being open about your troubles. If you ask for help, you are more likely to receive kinder treatment than hiding the problem until you have to discuss it at an appraisal. By the time this comes round, it won't be a pretty sight, and your manager is unlikely to have sympathy if you haven't brought up a difficulty previously.

From failure, you learn to succeed, cheesy but true. Having one of your colleagues/managers monitor your calls gives you another perspective. Others may notice the smallest things, like how you breathe heavily down the phone, or don't confirm certain pieces of information.

When you talk to your colleagues, you begin to realize that everyone is in the same boat. Everyone is dealing with sales rejection. Discussing the obstacles to a sale with each other is an excellent way to dissipate your anger, have a laugh and joke, whilst discovering ways to improve from each other.

Cxceed can be a great way to learn where you're going wrong, with opinions from your customers, colleagues as well as yourself.

Remember to Ask Why

There is nothing wrong with asking! Finding out if it was something you said that put them off can be the perfect way to improve in the future. Not knowing what you are doing wrong will slowly destroy your enthusiasm one call at a time. Ask why, so you can do better the next time, it's better than making the same mistake time and time again and not understanding where you are going wrong.

If you find its something small, you may even be able to fix it there and then, and turn the result around!

Asking why every time, turns every phone call into a personal training opportunity!

Be Positive, Not Negative

be positive

Negative thinking causes a spiral which affects your body language, tone, and most importantly, attitude. You can't afford to beat yourself up. After hearing plenty of noes, tell yourself that the next one will be a yes.

The best salespeople are mission-minded. They focus on the primary objective of pitching a product/service, not worrying about the response from the customer. They understand that rejection is part of the process and don't get thrown off track from a bad call.

A rejection is in the past, and you can't change the past (unless you have access to a TARDIS).

Stick to a Routine

Having a pattern to the way you deliver sales can be a great way to carry on from rejection. I used to set myself goals of making a certain number of calls in the morning, then again in the afternoon. It's also essential to have regular breaks in between to follow up on potential customers.

Personally, routines keep you on track and prevents a defeatist attitude.

Always Remain Professional

From time to time, you're going to get aggressive responses from your sales pitch. For the companies' reputation, if not your own, it's so important to remain professional and polite. Word of mouth is a powerful thing. A certain stigma can arise from rude salespeople, so take rejection well, or just don't let the person on the other end of the phone hear your frustration.

You don't know when you might need their services again. As I've stated before, a 'no' is not always a definite no in the world of sales.

Always Follow Up

Just because they say no today it doesn't mean that they will say no tomorrow. Schedule a follow-up call in a few months. In the meantime, regularly send them product information via email or even a letter to build their interest.

Send them letters and emails, stay on their radar by connecting with them via LinkedIn and Twitter. Here you can post relevant content that promotes your product, making it a lot easier to sell.

Play the odds, you know that a certain number of contacts will eventually become customers. That's why it's vital always to follow up.

When you are making sales, always translate "No" to "No, not today." I've lost count of the amount of business that I have got from people that initially said no. We are all short of time, and sometimes the easiest thing to say to a salesperson is "No."

Always follow-up and then follow-up again and again!

Improve your Environment

improve your environment

Put your rubbish in the bin and take your jam jars to the bottle bank! Yes, you should be doing that, but I'm talking about improving your physical and psychological working environment.

Improving the physical environment is essential as it helps create a great place to work, which helps reduce stress and produces positive results.

A clean office can make the world of difference. A clean desk is a clean mind.

Enjoy Your Downtime

Sales can be hard, but it is even harder if you have a miserable home life. Get out, let your hair down and party! Tomorrow is another day.

Note 1: Don't get so drunk tonight, that you make tomorrow a lousy day!

Note 2: I need to take my own advice!

The End of the Line

The 10 ways of how to deal with sales rejection above will hopefully help; however, it's down to you to change your fortune.

Sales is a very strategic game, you will lose form from time to time, but you can control the number of times you do. So keep your emotions in check, and at the end of the day Sell, Sell, Sell!

And if you don't make a sale, chin up there's plenty more potential customers in the sea!

If you have any ideas on how to deal with sales rejection, drop us a comment below.

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