How do you handle rejection? For most people, the answer is badly. Think back to when you were a small child and hearing a ?no? from either of your parents would result in tears and tantrums. Somehow, this powerful, albeit miniscule, little word packs a punch that can reverberate through your entire sales career. This creates a problem because in the sales profession there is no other word that you will hear as frequently as you will hear the word ?no.?

We have been trained to believe that the worst and most debilitating thing we can hear in response to our requests is the answer ?no?. Our natural instincts have linked the word with disapproval, lack of support and personal rejection. Though the selling game has many rewards, the obstacle course is strewn with the word ?no.? Though seldom taught, there are methods that you can use to navigate your way through rejection without allowing it to sink your best efforts for success.

Imagine the following situation. You are very excited about a new opportunity and have decided to approach your neighbor about joining up. After you explain to Joanna about the opportunity, about the products and about the payback schedule, she seems far less excited than you. Rather than simply telling you ?no? or that she is ?not interested,? Joanna decides to heap the troubles of her day down onto your shoulders. Her reaction sounds something like this. ?What are you doing selling this nonsense? I thought you were supposed to be some big business success and you are knocking on my door with this garbage? Well, I guess you are not the hotshot everyone thinks you are. You must think that I am stupid to fall for one of these ponzi schemes.?

What is your reaction? Is it to stumble and stutter under the weight of the embarrassment she has just caused you? Is it to run off dejected, sure that you will never succeed now that you barely even have the courage to knock on another door? Or is it to brush yourself off and go on, looking for the next sale with just as much energy and enthusiasm as when you approached Joanna. The category that you fall into here can be determined by the context that you choose to apply to the situation. This is a factor that can be fully controlled by you.

If the context that you apply to Joanna's insult is one that affirms her comments as correct, then you will have a hard time moving onto the next sale. Do you doubt the organization, the opportunity or the product/service you are selling? If so, it will be easy for someone to burst your bubble of hope, allowing all of your insecurities about what you are selling to negatively affect your future efforts. Your inner dialogue will sound something like this, ?Joanna was telling the truth. I have been kidding myself thinking this stupid scheme is going to make me rich. Why I could probably have more chance of landing in jail for trying to scam people instead of striking it rich. I'm just going to quit. I mean, I don't want to get that reaction from people again and that is what everyone is bound to think because everyone knows these things don't work.?

If, on the other hand, your belief in your company, your opportunity, your product/service is too strong to be shaken by Joanna's tirade, then you will begin to apply another context to her insults. For example, ?poor Joanna, she always seems to be in a bad mood. Never has anything good to say about anything. I guess that's why she doesn't want to see me succeed. It will be great to prove her wrong. I had better hurry up and find the next candidate if that's what I want to do.?

Action step: Write a list of all the reasons why you believe in the product/service you are selling. The next time someone shakes your belief, re-read the list.

If you gain control over the context you apply to the rejection you will often receive in your selling situations, you will become a powerful player in the selling game. Those who can choose their emotions can choose their reactions, allowing them to go from one sales presentation to the next with renewed energy, vigor and determination to succeed.

? 2007 Alvin Day