Rejection is a Hallucination

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  JacquesWerth05/24/07 Report as spam
  1

  Many Times Rejection is Real

  I agree, rejection can be hallucination. However, most salespeople who use telephone to do traditional "Cold Calling" feel rejected after almost every call. They feel rejected because they are being rejected - personally rejected. The rejection is caused by their prospecting methods. Their goals and objectives cause the recipients of their calls to feel pressured.
  
  The usual goal of people who do Cold Calling is to create interest and desire in their products and services. Their objective is to get an appointment with everyone that they call if the prospect meets certain qualifications.
  
  Most people who feel pressured react defensively. Those reactions include annoyance, rudeness, anger, hostility, and severance of communications. The salesperson is correct to interpret those reactions as rejection.
  
  True personal rejection is not something that will go away by rationalizing that it is not personal. The only solution to the problem is to learn how to prospect without creating pressure. That requires changing goals and objections.
  
  Upwards of ninety percent of all rejections can be eliminated by using a more effective prospecting process. The goal of that process is to find prospects who already want the benefits of your products and services.
  
  The objective is to only make appointments with the high probability prospects and to quickly - but temporarily - disqualify all the rest. That eliminates the pressure on both the prospects and the salesperson. It also makes telephone prospecting efficient and enjoyable.

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  JohnOnSales05/26/07 Report as spam
  2

  Is that you, J?

  Is this the Jacques of "High Probability Selling" fame? JohnOnSales

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  dionmcinnis05/24/07 Report as spam
  3

  Learn from the shoeshine man

  Great comments about rejection. I thought I'd share lessons I gleaned from a shoeshine man. This article ran in AdvantEdge Magazine. http://www.nightingale.com/tAE_Article.asp?ArticleID=158&Title=ShoeshineSalesLesson&WCU=B1E0DC6186D80CC9819715E1
  
  Keep on selling!

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  darinp05/24/07 Report as spam
  4

  Don't own their stuff

  To second that last point, people must accept and realize that relationships are a two-way street, but you can only take ownership for your side of the street. You cannot take ownership for other people's 'stuff'. Everyone bring a lot of baggage and you rarely get time to go through all of it to figure out what makes them tick. That takes a lot of time and most folks are rejecting you in the first two minutes so there is absolutely no time to get further than first impressions.
  
  What are some of the filters that affect those first two minutes (and beyond)?
  What our parents taught us
  Religious beliefs
  Interpretations of prior experiences
  Attitude at that moment
  Diet and exercise/Health
  Decisions that others made just prior to this sales call
  Prejudices (accents, race, sex, etc.)
  Personal economics
  Institutional experiences (school, college, military, etc.)
  Personal goals
  Chemicals (caffeine, nicotine, etc.)
  Recent trauma
  Family/relationships
  Vocabulary
  Communication style preference
  
  So think about where you personally stand in each of these areas. Are you also affecting your ability to be affective when you are making a first impression?
  
  One more hint: people like the sound of their name and the sound of their own voice. So use their name and let them do most of the talking. Don't be too quick to inform or ask for the sale...

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  mcontois@...05/24/07 Report as spam
  5

  Great Points Made

  One thing I remember from sales training (I'm a marketer) is that if you have the goal of making someone's day then the pressure can be alleviated at least somewhat. That kind of works for me when I remember it. I'm not an outgoing person. I'm not a great speaker. I get too nervous and tongue tied. I think I'm better at writing though not great. I have perfectionist tendencies.

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  ollyl@...05/24/07 Report as spam
  6

  Rejection is HALLUCINATION

  Whilst I don't agree with the title of the article, I applaud the statements made. Rejection is real. It can be defined and we all experience it from time to time.
  
  What is critical is whether you treat the experience as a learning experience or the beginnings of personal purgatory. Rejection is often accompanied by the word 'NO' It really should be spelled KNOW, particularly in the cold call or prospecting stage of the selling process. The person doesn't know you, your company or your product, and they don't want to.
  
  You must decide how you respond because it is your decision how your life develops. That power is exclusive to you.
  
  Use your power in a positive way. You owe it to yourself.
  
  Ollie Lind