From border to border and coast-to-coast, sales pros line up to confess, "After I hear enough objections, I feel like a whipped puppy and want to limp off into the sunset with my tail between my legs." Then with a hint of hopeful expectation in their eyes, they ask, "What can I do to keep my attitude up?"



Staying upbeat in the face of rejection is not as hard as you may think. In fact it isn't difficult at all, however, it does require that you be in control of you.

You must make a choice to change your thoughts and words from the negative to the positive. You must decide you will not allow anyone's negativity to suck the life out of you. If you're willing to give it a go, you'll be glad to know that, yes, there are ways to stay pumped up, yes, even in the face of rejection.

Not long ago, a group of executives and sales professionals attending a strategic planning workshop in Las Vegas wrestled with this very issue. The question on the table was this, "What tips, tools, and techniques could they pass on to their sales force that would help them stay up in the face of objections that seemingly always lead to defeat?"

Toward finding an answer to that question, I asked them, "What is the first word that should come out of the mouths of you and your sales pros when greeted with an objection?" ? "Great!"

As I looked into their deer-caught-in-headlights stares, I yelled out, "GREAT!"

Those folks looked at me as if thinking, "Is she serious?"

I responded to their disbelief with examples.

"If your busy prospect says, ?We have contracts with all of your competitors and have no room left for you.' What do you imagine will happen if sales pros retort with a big smile and an exclamation, ?Great!'"

"If your prospect is pressed for time and says, ?I don't have time to talk; call me in a year.' How will they react when sales people look ?em in the eye, smile and say, "Great!'"

"If your prospect says, ?How was your week?' Say, "I'm not sure I recall, but you can bet it was ?Great!'"

Do you know what happened? The whole audience of top-notch sales professionals and sales executives laughed-loudly.

Here's why ... they immediately recognized these simple truths ? we're each responsible for our own attitudes and when you greet every objection with a totally unexpected, positive exclamation, you maintain control of the tone of the conversation.

A positive response in the face of a potentially negative objection pleasantly surprises prospects and serves to keep the attitude of the sales person upbeat. A light heart and an upbeat attitude increase the odds of your ability to get mentally unstuck and overturn any and all objections to scheduling a sales appointment.

The camera man who was filming one of my workshops in Kansas City returned from a break saying he had tried immediate application of greeting each objection with "Great!"

Of course I was tickled to hear he was paying attention and glad to hear he took the matter seriously and had such quick results to report.

The camera man went on to tell his story, "During the break I approached a woman in the lounge and our conversation went something like, ?

"Do you want to go out with me?"

"You're not interested? Great!'"

That was not exactly the application I anticipated hearing, but it brought a smile and reinforcement for the learning.

Here's the bottom line for you. There is no need for you suffer from the pain of rejection. There is no need for you to give up your cheerful countenance to a prospect who tries to take your sales presentation into a downward spiral. You can turn that downward spiral into a tightly wound spring and bounce back with enthusiasm.

Your words determine the direction of a sales presentation. Follow the prospect's lead and the call will spiral downward. Inject your own upbeat response into the conversation and watch that downward spiral turn into a tightly wound spring that'll bounce the tone of the call upward toward your goal.

Expect "Great!" things when you plan your positive responses and be creative in where you apply them. They will come in handy when you need to slay a giant.