Most will agree that being rejected feels icky. Once you know what’s behind the “no” it is possible to completely remove all feelings of rejection in business. The sting of the no comes into play when you become emotionally attached to the quote, to the cold-call experience, to the get-to-know-you consultation or whatever it may be – associating it as a part of you. But you need to detach. It’s not to say you cease caring instead you remember you personally aren’t defined by business happenings.
When a customer declines working with your business it’s typically for one of these reasons:
- The customer doesn’t have the problem(s) your product/service/business solves. That’s okay. That’s not a poor reflection on you. Your product/service/business won’t be the best solution for everyone.
- The customer doesn’t want to invest, right now. The timing may be better in 6 months or 1 year. Unless the customer firmly shuts the door, add them to your follow-up system and circle back later on to see if circumstances have changed after some time passes.
- The customer isn’t at a stage in their business where they are ready for your product/service/business. Every business progresses through stages and you may need to wait a bit until they grow into your offerings.
Remember you are not personally being rejected when you get a no. The customer is declining the opportunity you are presenting. Now that business rejection is deflated, will you change how you conduct business?
Will you…
- do more cold-calling to introduce your business to new people and industry leaders?
- be more confident when networking?
- review your follow-up procedures, perhaps revamping the touch points when you circle back to inquiries and warm contacts?
At MaplewoodVA you’ll get steady support in deflating rejection whenever you may waiver plus support in setting up systems to ease follow-up and enhance your networking efforts. Allow our marketing passion to help you define who can benefit the greatest from your offerings – turning shrugs into giant smiles and happy “Yeses!”
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Bonus Resource: For an excellent resource discussing and understanding business stages be sure to read Charlie Gilkey’s Kindle eBook titled, The Small Business Lifecycle: A Guide for Taking the Right Steps at the Right Time to Grow Your Small Business. As a small business owner myself it was incredibly easy to identify where I am right now and what stage is next. After reading the book I have ideas on how to maximize where I am now as well as laying the foundation for the next step.