Learning to learn from sales-call rejection

You pick up the phone and call a prospect, but before you can get through your opening introduction, they say no thanks and hang up.

That instant feeling of rejection can be overwhelming.

While there's no avoiding rejection in sales, understanding how to cope with it and learn from it can only help ease your anxiety next time around and get you one step closer to a sale, say experts.

"It doesn't matter how great a salesperson you are, there are going to be some people that reject your offer or the idea of having a conversation with you," says Richard Isaac, president of Sandler Training of Hauppauge.

 Redefining the rejection.  You can't take it personally, he notes. "You need to draw a line between who you are as a person and the role you're playing as a salesperson," says Isaac.

Mentally prepare yourself for rejection and understand going in that it will take a number of no's to get to a yes.

"It's a numbers game," explains John Sena, president of JAS Consulting Inc., a Port Washington sales consulting firm. "The more people you call, the higher your hit rate."

Of course, you can help improve your odds by doing some prep work in advance.

Find out all you can about a prospect ahead of time, including who the decision maker is, says Sena. Understand the challenges and issues he or she faces so you can tailor your pitch accordingly, he notes.

For instance, if you are calling a bank, you might leave a message with the decision maker that says: "I've dealt with many banks of your size, and one of the things we've done successfully is xyz. That's the reason for calling, and I'll call you back," says Sena.

You might mention another industry leader you've worked with on a particular solution.

Be specific, rather than just make a generic blind call, Sena says. And approach each one with a positive attitude.

"One of the reasons we get so uptight when making these type of calls is because we take them too seriously," notes Isaac. "If we can learn to 'lighten it up,' even use a little humor, it will make it much less intimidating for us."

For instance, when calling a prospect you might say, "This is John Smith from ABC company. Does that name sound familiar?" says Isaac. If the response is no, you could reply, "Well, this is actually a sales call. Would you like me to hang up?" he adds, noting, this will always generate a chuckle.

And even if you don't make the sale, look for a win in every call, says Art Sobczak, author of "Smart Calling: Eliminate the Fear, Failure and Rejection from Cold Calling" (Wiley; $21.95) and president of Smart-Calling.com in Omaha.

Use the opportunity to ask a question about their present vendor or when they will be in a better position to speak with you, keeping the door open for future contact, he notes.

 Learning process. Rather than thinking "I got rejected," say, "At least I received a decision," adds Sobczak. This will help you move on to the next call or prospect, he notes.

"Having a definitive 'no' is better than a 'maybe,' " says Fig Gungor, chief executive of OneSource Document Management Inc. in Ronkonkoma, which processes medical records requests primarily for hospitals, health care groups and insurance companies.

You can cross that person off your list and move forward, while gaining valuable insight along the way, she notes.

"There's always a learning lesson buried in the 'no,' " says Gungor, who has used Sandler for training. "Treating the rejection with the respect it deserves is necessary in taking away something from that 'no' you could use toward a 'yes' tomorrow."

Rejection jitter aids
1. Practice an opening dialogue

2. Perfect your pitch

3. Research the prospect

4. Know your value proposition

5. Have purpose (i.e. solve a prospect's challenges)