Right behind Passion, to me, is persistence. A salesman must be persistent. This embodies a lot of things. We have always heard that a salesman needs to learn how to accept rejection. This is pure unadulterated bullshit. I’m sorry that is the first bad word I have used in any of my blogs but it does apply here. I want to meet the person who is accepting of rejection. It is harsh, it is uncomfortable, it is demeaning and even a bit humiliating. You put yourself out there. You ask for the order or whatever it is you are asking for and they say “No”. Not interested. It hurts and it hurts deeply. I have never been able to truly accept rejection. Anyone who tells you they have learned to accept rejection has lost all credibility with me.
I have become a world leader in rationalizing rejection. Maybe it wasn’t the right product at the right time. Maybe the customer was having a bad day or my presentation didn’t hit the mark. Whatever helps get you through it…but it is still a rejection. There is no way to sugar coat the event. So how do we deal with rejection. You persist. You continue on to the next opportunity. I did say opportunity. One rejection then leads to the next opportunity. When that leads to the next rejection…oh well.
Whatever it is that you are selling it is incumbent on you to move on. Move on with vigor, each presentation must be like the first one you did. It must have the same level of enthusiasm and dare I say passion that was present in your previous presentation. In addition, just because your ask was rejected do not short cut your next attempt. Believe me, each time you present whatever it is that you are selling it needs to have the same elements that your best presentation ever had. This is very hard to do. There are times when you need to step back, reevaluate, reconsider, maybe change something that isn’t working but you must always keep your eye on the prize. Don’t give up. Winston Churchill said it best, “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm”. The sale will happen on the next try and if it doesn’t there will be the next try and so on. Finally….Success. Oh my god. It worked. Remember the feeling, savor the experience, replicate your effort. We all must be a critic of what we do and how we do it. I know that normally I am harder on myself than anyone else is. Listen to yourself. Know what you have done. Make any changes that you feel are necessary to your success and eventually you will create that approach that works for you. As you succeed you will gain confidence and your persistence will pay dividends.
