How to Make the Most of a Sales Rejection 1. Be rational about your rejection.

Stay rational, not emotional when you hear "no." Convince yourself that it doesn 't mean you or your offer are being rejected, but that the customer merely needs more information. No doesn't mean you are deficient or personally being rejecte d. There is zero value in getting emotional about a client's rejection. Instead, find out what the no means. 2. Figure out what they don't like. When clients say no, find out what they are rejecting specifically. Ask them: "W hat is it about my proposal you are saying no to?" Most people assume a rejectio n is about everything being offered, when it's really only a small part your cli ent doesn't like. Break down the no to clarify what exactly your prospect is rej ecting. 3. Don't take no for an answer. People often say no as an automatic reaction. You could offer more than your cli ent wants and still be rejected. My first high rejection sales job was cold call ing multimillionaires. They were telling me no before they even heard my offer, just to get rid of me. Keep a positive attitude, smile, get the buyer's full att ention and say, "I appreciate your position, but I refuse to allow you to not ta ke me up on my offer." 4. Be persistent with strong personalities. The stronger a buyer's personality, the more difficult it will be for your compe tition to get in front of them. Strong personalities tend to be the most loyal c ustomers. When you hear what feels like a serious rejection, bone up for the cha llenge. Remind yourself you have a great opportunity to show that you are a trul y exceptional professional who doesn't take rejection personally or quit in the face of it. 5. Keep track of your rejections. When I get shut down by a buyer for what appears no apparent reason, I will put them on a help list. A help list is comprised of those people in a market I'm un able to sell to or even get in front of. I keep this list with me everywhere I g o so I can ask a client to scan the list and see if they can help me with anyone on it. This has resulted in many more deals for me. 6. Get great at closing. The best way to handle rejection is to turn rejection into a closed deal. Most s alespeople never become great at closing and quit selling because they don't lik e rejection. The close is where you will experience the most rejection and the s ingle area of sales most responsible for your compensation.

Prospecting - How To Handle Rejection This sales prospecting technique isn't specifically about how to prospect. It's a technique for dealing with the ill effects of prospecting, how to handle rejec tion. Being able to overcome the ill effects of rejection is vital to success in sales. This technique for handling rejection comes from one of my mentors, Tom Hopkins. If you focus on this sales prospecting technique when you get rejected you'll tu rn the bad feelings into good feelings. If you're constantly risking rejection, finding it, overcoming it and closing sales you may not need to use this techniq ue. If you're not doing all these things, you need this technique. It will incre ase your sales your confidence if you do. The first step to using this sales prospecting technique is to determine the cas h value of each rejection you receive. How do you do that? Let's say for every s ale you close you are paid $500. Then 1 sale = $500. The second step requires that you're tracking your contacts-to-closings ratio. T he top sales people track this and other information daily. Tracking requires li ttle effort and yields valuable information. For example, when you see negative changes in your tracking information, you become aware of challenges you need to address before they affect your sales. Let's say you contact ten people to make a sale. This means your contact-to-clos ing ratio is ten to one. The top sales people are always striving to improve the ir closing ratios; however, the ten to one ratio is a reasonable average. Now, 1 sale = $500, 10 contacts = 1 sale, therefore, 1 contact = $50. If you look at getting paid for each contact instead of each sale you'll see rej ection in a whole new way. Aren't you paid by the contact and not the sale? Afte r all, if you don't make contacts, you don't make sales. Top sales people look at the value of the activity as well as the result. Using this sales prospecting technique, making contacts and handling rejection b ecomes fun. Every time a contact results in a rejection of your product or servi ce you can view the rejection as making money. In the above example you would ma ke $50 for every rejection and be one contact closer to making a sale. It changes the way you look at things, doesn't it? If you place a dollar value on prospecting and rejection as an activity, you wil l look forward to these activities. You will view the activity as making money a nd be inclined to do it more often.

How to Handle Sales Rejection

1. KEEP YOUR COOL.

We know it is hard when a prospect makes a dozen demands, badgers you for time a nd asks for lengthy presentations, only to give you thumbs down. You probably fe el like punching them, but whatever happens, keep your cool and be polite. Thank them for their time and the meeting. You never know when your paths may cross a gain. 2. DONT BEAT YOURSELF UP OVER IT. Think of a rejection like a bad breakup- the sooner you get over it and focus on what lies ahead, the better! In order to do so, do not blame yourself incessant ly. Rejections happen. Take stock of what went wrong and see how you can improve . Did you give away too much information and not ask the prospect what they want ed? Tone it down. Did you misread the prospects requirements? Be more careful in future. Also, dont dwell on invalid or baseless rejections: for example, a no fr om an angry or frustrated prospect. Shrug it off, move on. Do not take it person ally. 3. CHECK YOUR EMOTIONAL INVOLVEMENT. When you build a relationship with a prospect, you may become emotionally attach ed- and this is where obligations creep in. You may feel that the prospect is bu ying out of remorse or compulsion, or conversely, you may close at a much lower rate for fear that the prospect will stop liking you. Keep the personal and prof essional aspects separate, and focus on selling the benefits of your product- th is way, you can sell even to your best friend. 4. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO APPROACH THE BIG GUYS. A lot of times, sales executives are afraid to approach the real decision makers and top management, because rejection coming from a higher level may seem to ca rry more weight. You should not consciously avoid speaking to them. Remember, th ey all started in the same position as you and worked their way up. Plus- you al so get a chance to make an impression and establish contact. What you need to remember is that rejection can happen to the best and most expe rienced of sales people- sometimes the prospect is just not the right fit; or ma ybe they are just not ready for your product. Sometimes, it could have been a la ck of information or a wrong approach. Whatever the reasons, walk away learning something more from the experience, and the next call is sure to be a success!

How to deal with rejection when selling

Rejection is arguably the hardest part of selling, but with every rejection shou ld come a lesson of the dos and dont of selling which separate the successful sale s professionals form the rest. Callan Raine, manager of our Brisbane sales division says Learning how to deal wi th rejection takes experience in negotiating and effective communication. It is imperative that the potential customer clearly understands what you are selling

this works both ways as it is critical for the salesperson to understand the nee d of the customer in order to tailor the presentation or sales pitch to the pros pective buyer.

Take the time Successful sales take time, as you need to build up a rapport and create trust. Saying no is a rather innate defence mechanism used by most people when they are uncertain or dont have enough information to hold a positive response. Rejection and sales to go hand in hand and should be taken as one of the steppin g stones in sales. Persistence through all the rejection is a valuable quality t o have in this competitive environment, where you need to take the time to under stand your approach to selling and what can be further improved.

Changing the way you look at sales Rejection can be better dealt by changing your outlook on sales, when a customer is just looking for information you should understand at that moment that a dea l may not be on the horizon straight away. In this case acceptance is the key an d should be taken as an exercise in building your sales conduit for the future. The aspect of this experience and practise is equally as important as making a s ale. Have a discussion Rejection in sales usually occurs when the sales person tells the prospective buye r what they need to solver their challenge. This type of pitch does not give roo m for interaction with the customer it is a tried and tested method of most sale s professionals, of memorising the pitch and telling the customers the presentat ion, instead of tailoring it to them and allowing room for feedback. This is some what an old fashioned manner of doing things, an innovative approac h would be to ask the client to tell you what they think they must do to get the results they were after or how to avoid the challenge they are currently facing . Ultimately every customer has a specific need, and by asking them their opinio n on what the answer should be rather than you telling them, you will be closer to fulfilling that need. Most of the time the solution proposed by the customer should match your solution and this will give you a chance to tailor the present ation more to suit their needs and make the customer feel a part of the presenta tion. Techniques to keep you motivated Writing down comments or notes for every setback or negative feedback will help fine tune your approach for next time. It will also help you plan your strategie s and perfect your skills. More importantly, it's essential that you as the sale s professional understand the potential buyers needs or problems in order to giv e them what they want. Experience is a learning opportunity Take every experience as a learning opportunity, by using your defeats to perfec

t and develop your skills. Even finding out what went wrong from your colleagues experiences or by speaking to other sales professionals, will help you avoid th ese mistakes in future. Any negative feedback should be taken as relevant information hat could help you to improve. It should not be taken personally but should motivate you to perfor m better next time. Leading recruitment consultants like Robert Walters are perfectly positioned to provide you with expert career advice and interview tips that help you secure yo ur dream role.

5 Types of Sales Approaches

The Instant Buddy People will be more willing to buy from someone they like. Salespeople who use t his approach are warm and friendly, asking questions and showing interest in the ir prospects. They try to connect on an emotional level with a prospective custo mer. This approach can be very effective, but only in the right hands. Don't try to m ake friends with a prospect unless you really mean it people can tell if you're faking it, and they'll be very unhappy with you. You'll also need to do some fol low-through to demonstrate that you really do like the prospect. For example, if you chat about the prospect's eleven-month old baby during your appointment, yo u should follow up by sending a card and/or small gift on the child's first birt hday.

The Guru Salespeople who prefer a more logical and less emotional approach often set them selves the task of becoming experts in anything and everything related to their industry. They position themselves as problem-solvers, able to answer any questi on and tackle any issue that the prospect lays before them. The guru approach requires plenty of work learning the relevant information and keeping up with changes in your industry. But if you're willing to put in the ti me it takes, you can do very well both in selling to your prospects and generati ng plenty of referrals. Once customers realize what a great resource you are, th ey're quite likely to send friends and co-workers with questions straight to you . The Consultant This approach combines the 'guru' and 'buddy' approaches. The salesperson who el

ects to use the consultant approach presents herself as an expert who has the cu stomer's best interests in mind. She knows all about her company's products and by asking a prospect a few questions, she can match him up with the best product for his needs. As an approach that combines the best qualities of the of the first two methods, it's extremely effective. But it also requires a great deal of time and effort on a salesperson's part. You must be both knowledgeable and able to make an emot ional connection with your prospects. If you can manage both of these feats, you r sales will take off like a rocket.

The Networker Networking can be a big help for any salesperson. The dedicated networker takes it to the next level, setting up and maintaining a web of friends, co-workers, s alespeople from other companies, customers and former customers, and anyone else he meets. A strong enough network will create an ongoing flow of warm leads tha t can provide most or even all of the salesperson's needs. With this approach, you'll spend a great deal of time cultivating people. It's a highly effective technique for salespeople who enjoy attending various events, parties, and so on and meeting new people. Just remember that you'll need to rec iprocate by doing favors and sending leads back to the people who've helped you in their turn.

The Hard Seller Best described as scare the prospect into buying, the hard sell approach is what g ives salespeople their bad reputation. Hard selling involves getting someone to buy a product even though he doesn't want or need it. Methods range from bullyin g (Buy this now or you'll feel stupid tomorrow) to manipulation (If you don't buy f rom me I'll lose my job) to outright deception (This product has a much better saf ety record than the competition). No ethical salesperson should use a hard sell approach. Sadly, there are still s alespeople who use this type of sales strategy, even though the result is custom er who never buy again and, sooner or later, a bad reputation for the company as a whole. Stick with one or more of the first four approaches they are all both effective and ethical.

Close the sale. Once you observe buying signals, stop selling and close the sale. A common mista ke that can lose a sale is to continue to sell and offer products/services *afte r* the customer has already indicated that they are willing to make the purchase . a) Close by asking if the customer would like to make the purchase. This is the

most simple and straightforward way of closing. b) Close by alternate choice. Questions like, "Are you ready to sign the documen ts?" put the customer in a situation where they are not given the option to refu se the sale. If they answer with either of the options you've given them, then y ou've made the sale. c) Close the sale by attaching accessory products or services to enhance the pro duct they are interested in. "Let me get you [accessory] to enhance [product]." If they accept the accessory, then you've made the sale on the original product.