Whether it is cold calling, pitching that dream client, or just working a day-to-day sales job – what no one prepares you for is rejection. You know the feeling – you set up the pitch, you handle the objections and you still hear the word no. Rejection in sales or hearing the word no can feel like a slap in the face.

I’ve been in sales for over 8 years at the time of writing this, and I’ve faced my fair share of rejection in sales. In my VARIOUS sales jobs, rejection has looked like this:

Why would I buy a shirt when I can get it for $5 next door?

Why would I pay more for chocolate?

Why would I get a massage membership?

Why would I even pay for a spa day when I can go down the hill and get it cheaper?

It’s not that you aren’t cut out for sales (or business ownership) – rejection in sales is NORMAL. This is your crash course in rejection in sales.

Why do you face rejection in sales? 

Sales is simply a numbers game, and if everyone said yes – it wouldn’t be sales. You are going to have people who look on paper like they are PERFECT for whatever you are selling… and then through prequalification – you realize that they aren’t.

Rejection in sales is NORMAL.

Comparing yourself to the business owner who is closing at 90%, and thinking that something wrong with your business is not normal. The average business owner who is selling is closing around 30%-40% of all their sales. If someone is closing higher on sales calls, it’s the prequalification process.

While it’s easy to say on paper that it is a numbers game, there is something larger at play.

Further reading: How to Handle Objections in Sales Calls, how to Find Your Ideal Client, From $500 to $100k in Sales in Six Months, How to Launch a New Program

Why do you fear rejection in sales?

What rejection used to mean

Belonging and rejection go hand and hand. Remember, that your lizard brain has not developed to understand that this experience has more safety than before.

Think about it in the most basic terms as an animal. Rejection from the pack, traditionally meant that your rate of survival went down. As an animal, your goal was to stay in the pack.

The same feelings of fear are stored in your body when you hear no or are rejected in the same process.

Rejection sensitive Dysphoria

While some people find it easy to manage their emotions and be able to navigate the negative feelings associated with rejection. You may have heightened, intense negative feelings, and severe emotional pain that’s difficult to control. You have Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria

While they are unsure of the correlation between neurodivergent and RSD – there is a surprising number of entrepreneurs (and people working in sales,) who THRIVE regardless.

How do you deal with rejection in sales?

So, before you open up your next tab and look at jobs, do this instead next time. 

Ask honest questions – if they say no, you can say something like “I understand and respect your decision, just for my curiosity, what was the reason for not moving forward today?” (if they didn’t give a reason.) 

Understand that No is not a reflection of you – you say the word no more than you realize. Sometimes your days feel like you’re the toddler who just learned the word no. “No, I don’t like that.” “No, let’s go somewhere else.” Remember that allows you to stop taking no as a no to you, what you believe in, and everything you built.

Further reading: I got caught using a sales script

It’s not a no forever

It’s not right now or it’s not the best fit & that’s okay. 

No can be a no right now, but not forever. It doesn’t mean keep pitching to them and handling every objection under the sun. It just means that in their current situation, time, or their business is not in a place that you are in. 

No doesn’t change your value, your worth, or even your expertise. It’s a reflection of the lead and where they are at. The thing is that you are constantly told to charge your worth and then wonder why you are so stuck. 

Further reading

• 
  I’m Writing a Book and I’m Terrified
• A Signature Offer Formula
• Posting Screenshots Isn’t Enough with Jocelyn
• 
  I Don’t Teach The Unicorn Sales Framework
• Content Creation
• Sitting down with my COO Rain to spill all the tea
• Blending Intuition and Strategy in Business
• Fast Cash Pivots
• Working together for Two years with Stacy Braga
• You Aren’t Going to Wake Up and Be Good At Sales