One of the biggest obstacles new entrepreneurs face in building their business is prospecting to grow their business and learning how to overcome rejection so they can find success.
The Story Of Catherine Lanigan
First I want to share a true story with you about Catherine Lanigan. she had dreams of being a journalist. However these dreams were shot down when a Harvard professor told her that she “had no talent” and would be giving her a failing grade. They came to an agreement that so long as she promised never to take a writing class again, he would give her a passing grade so she could keep her scholarship.
Catherine Lanigan, Author
Fourteen years later she approached a group of writers commending them that she felt they did important work as writers, searching out and reporting on the world’s truths. She shared that she always wanted to be a writer. One of the writers challenged her to write something and give it to him. One year later she handed him a novel she wrote. He read it and the end result was the publication of that book and later her works of Romancing The Stone, Jewel of the Nile and many other of her works.
The key point is don’t let the rejection of others stand in the way of your greatness and the calling your were meant to fulfill during your lifetime!
Put Prospecting Into Perspective
Active daily prospecting, exposing your business and products to people, is the bloodline to building your business. But the fear of rejection, or people saying “no” to your business opportunity or products, may keep you from doing those activities necessary to build your business. so it’s important to put prospecting into perspective.
No prospecting means no enrollments which means no success in your business.
The truth is fear and anxiety is just an emotion that comes from not knowing the outcome of an event or action taken. Your emotion may be very real, but you can control the fear and even overcome it if you incorporate the following prospecting tips and activities in building your business.
Tips To Overcome Fear Of Rejection
Detach yourself from the outcome – If you embrace this concept of detachment you will truly be set free and enjoy the journey of building your business.
In building your business you are just looking for people who are open and looking for what you have to offer. Timing is a key factor for when someone is or is not ready to join your business or buy your product.
You are there to identify and help solve the problems of others. So your job is to listen intently to what they tell you. If they are dealing with some life circumstances like a house move, the loss of a loved one or filing for bankruptcy they probably need a listening hear more than a sales pitch. So be sensitive to their needs. Leave the conversation with a positive experience and follow up with them later.
Go for no – Exposing your opportunity is just a numbers game. Marry the process not the outcome. This concept is discussed in the book, Go for No! Yes is the Destination, No is How You Get There
Don’t take it personal – If people make fun of you or the profession you have chosen, understand that it is not YOU they are rejecting so long as you have approached them in a professional, serving way. Your prospect may come back to you with a “no thank you” response to your opportunity or product, or they may try to attack you personally about being in the home business profession. In both cases it’s important NOT to take their rejection personally. Because it’s not about YOU. It’s about them.
If they say no to your business or the products tell them that’s okay. And it is! You’re just looking for the people who are looking for what you have to offer. Thank them for their time and their honesty. Then ask if you can follow up with them with additional information as it becomes available.
Let the naysayers propel you – Those who reject you for the profession you have chose, consider them a blessing! I personally love it when people I can’t do something or accomplish something because it just makes me more determined to be successful and prove them wrong!
People who attack you about your profession of direct sales have some underlying emotion behind their behavior. Again, it’s about them and not you. But it’s important to ask them why. They may have tried network marketing and failed because they never did the actions required to be successful. Most times they are just repeating what they have heard about network marketing but have no facts about the legitimacy of network marketing. Finally, they may be lazy and should you actually become successful they will have no excuses for the limiting lifestyle they have chosen for themselves.
If you learn their attitude toward you is based on misinformation or a bad experience this warrants a deeper conversation to educate them if they are open to it. If not, just be polite and change the subject. Most importantly keep your belief and vision in check and don’t let them shake you.
Know your success (sales) ratio – Exposing your opportunity is just a numbers game. Track your numbers so that you know how many people you need to talk to before you get a “yes”, or an enrollment into your business.
The more exposures you get the better your ratio will get, but only if you stay consistent in doing your daily exposure activities.
Have a daily routine – Having a daily routine will help ensure that you are doing those activities that will set you up for success.
Your level of success and productivity for the day starts with your morning routine. Start each morning by investing in yourself. This means getting up at least 1 hour early to do those things that will set you up for success in achieving your goals.
I highly recommend the book, The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM)
Set goals – Set business and non-business goals. Non-business goals help with visualizing what you want in life and the person you need to become in order to accomplish those goals. Non-business goals, like establishing a charity or donating to your favorite charitable cause, can also provide you the added motivation to see you through the obstacle you will face while you are building your business.
Setting goals help you keep you focus for what you are trying to achieve. Goal setting also provides you a road map for what you need to do to accomplish success in your business. Goal setting also provides you a measurement of accountability to hold yourself to.
Build relationships – The key to prospecting is building relationships. No one wants to be “caught”. Genuinely building relationships is the only way you will be successful in network marketing and building your home business. That’s because it’s through building relationships that you will find out what the needs are of your prospect. When you learn the needs or your prospect, then you can provide the solution. One day, perhaps, it will be your products or your business opportunity that will solve their problems. But you will never know until you build those relationships.
Acknowledge your accomplishments – As entrepreneurs, we tend to be very critical of ourselves, pointing out first what we have done wrong or where we have failed to meet our objectives or goals. However, this practice is self-defeating and non-productive. The law of attraction states that whatever you focus on you will get more of. If you focus on your failures you will get more failures.
Acknowledge and focus on those things that you have done right. If you set out to do 10 calls that day and you did those calls give yourself credit for that. Imagine the people close to you applauding you for your success. Imagine their smiling faces looking at you.
Don’t Let Fear Of Rejection Keep You From Prospecting Those People You’re Meant To Impact!
In closing, can you imagine if Catherine Lanigan would have succumbed forever to the rejection she got from her professor? Fortunately, the universe was working for her and she never truly let go of her dream to be a successful writer.
The same lesson applies to you. Don’t let anyone take your dreams away. People you are meant to impact are waiting and praying for you. You just need to take action and find them.
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Alycia Skousen
Email: alyciaskousen@gmail.com
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Need help? Do you have a problem you are struggling with? Considering coaching? Check out my Work With Me tab. I love helping people and I’m here to help you succeed and achieve your goals and dreams.
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