How to Overcome Your Fear of Rejection in Sales: 3 Proven Tactics

The fear of rejection does not have to get in the way of success in sales.

So, you just signed the lease on your new office space and moved in. It is now time to get out there and start selling. It is imperative to the survival of your new business that you are able to attract new customers.

Everyone you know in the biz keeps telling you to go out and "Prospect", but the thought of walking up and talking to folks you don't know scares the heck out of you. If this sounds like you, then you are not alone. Many new business owners out there are terrified of the idea of being "rejected" when trying to sell.

After almost a decade in the Insurance sales business, I can offer ( with absolute confidence) these three rules to help you deal with rejection in sales:

1. It's not personal

Let's face it, humans are, for the most part, emotional beings. This is what makes us better than the other creatures on this earth. Emotional motivation is what caused Galileo to dedicate his life to exploring the cosmos. It is what would drive Jean-Michel Basquiat to produce some of the most fascinating works ever seen in the art world. Emotions, however, sometimes lead us astray.

Such is the case when it comes to sales. We invest a lot of emotional capital into each and every outcome of the sales process.

We get crushed when our prospects end up not buying from us. Remember, sales is really a numbers game and our prospects may have a million reasons why our product is not "right" for them at that time. Your job is to play the odds- having a high number of prospects at a time so as to end up with an acceptable amount of closed sales after each sales period.

2. It's not about you

In my experience, and maybe I am being a tad bit cynical, but most of the kick-ass sales people I have ever met in my life tend to be ego-driven, self-absorbed blowhards. They tend to see the sales process as a performance with them smack dead in the middle of it all as the star.

The reality is, folks buy from you because they like dealing with you, but also because they have a genuine need for your product or service. Focusing your attention on the customers' needs helps you serve them better. You get to anticipate their needs and wants by paying attention to what their experiences are like.

Setup a Follow-up system

Ok, so the prospect you have been "working" for weeks finally told you that she is going with a competitor's product. Or, perhaps she said, "Now is not a good time". Try not to take this personally.

After all, your prospect is human and they may have some stuff going on in their lives at the time that makes it impossible to buy from you. Heck, they may simply not have the cash to buy your custom dog sweaters at the moment.

The delayed closure is an inevitable part of sales. It is best to construct a system to help follow-up with some of the folks who were not ready to buy from you in the past. Simply ask if you could follow up with them in say a few weeks and keep these contacts in rotation to followup. You will be amazed at how much of a difference a few months makes.