If you’ve been in sales long enough, you’ve felt it. The prospect who ghosts you. The deal that was a sure thing until it wasn’t. Any decent sales process has to include what we call a dose of mental shampoo — rinse out the negativity, condition your soul with a positive mindset, and get back on the phone.
How It Looks
Sometimes the customer just doesn’t pick up. That’s rejection by omission. Other times you do everything right and still need three more calls to get a “yes.” And sometimes, even after the yes, the deal falls apart. People will agree to things on a call just to hang up. We like to say yes is the hardest objection to overcome — but that’s a topic for another day.
Accepting that rejection is real is one thing. Knowing what to do about it is something else entirely.
Dealing With It
There’s no trick that makes rejection stop hurting. But there are ways to keep it from knocking you off course.
Have a system
Good salespeople don’t just white-knuckle through a bad stretch. They have a reset process.
Ours is simple:
“Some will, Some won’t, So what, next!”
Say it out loud if you have to. It works because it keeps you moving instead of sitting there replaying a lost deal in your head.
Take a breath
Losing a big one hurts. Give yourself a minute to absorb it. But don’t let that minute turn into an hour. The longer you sit with it, the harder it is to pick the phone back up. Momentum is everything in this line of work.
Perspective
Honestly, if every pitch turned into a deal, it would get boring fast. It’s the losing that makes the wins feel like something. Disappointment comes and goes, but the people who last in this business are the ones who get back on the horse every single time.
Move on
Next time a phone slams down or a deal goes sideways, shake it off. Move on to the next one. That’s the whole secret, and every salesperson worth their paycheck already knows it.
If you’re in sales and the grind is getting to you, or you’re looking for a better fit somewhere else, we can help with that too. Check out Find Your Dream Job or just give us a call.
We also wrote about sales movies if you want something lighter.