We have all been there. I hear it all of the time from the salespeople I talk to.

We make professional sales presentations to well qualified prospects and then face rejection and disappointment.

I hear…..Why does this keep happening? What am I doing wrong? What am I not doing?

Sales have always been one of the most difficult, challenging professions, and it is more complex today than ever before. Learning to bounce back and respond constructively to setbacks in your business will be one of the most important determining factors to your success.

Here are some suggestions you can use to cope with sales rejection, stay positive, overcome adversity and get back on top of your game.

Don’t take it personally. Really. Not everyone needs or wants what you are selling, even though you are convinced that what you are proposing will be helpful to your prospect. You are going to hear a lot of “no’s”. It is all part of the selling process. It is part of your reality as a salesperson and it is not personal at all. It is just the way it goes for even the most successful sale professional. Often rejection is due to poor timing. What is a “no” today can be a “yes” at another time.
Keep your sales funnel full. Always focus attention on creating your ideal customer profile and systematically grow your list. Keep your funnel full in good times and in bad. This all by itself will change everything. The more contacts that you have in your target market, the more prospects you will have and the bigger your pipeline will be. Greater opportunities will help you to keep a healthy perspective on rejection.
Know your sales ratio. Knowing what to expect helps a great deal. You understand that you will need to give a certain number of sales presentations to make one sale. Don’t forget this. By knowing what the numbers are, youwill be able to anticipate the business flow and you may not get as discouraged if you know how much to expect. Pay attention to you sales rates to help estimate how many rejections to expect before you make a sale.
Acknowledge your accomplishments. Keep track of your achievements. Keep a success journal. Write down everything you feel proud about in your life and career. Write in your success journal on a daily basis. When you're having a bad day, open your success journal and read previous entries to help get you back into a positive.
Take good care of yourself. Eat well, exercise and get adequate rest. No matter how busy you are during a day, find the time to eat a balanced diet, to exercise (even if it's just a walk around the block), and to get enough sleep each night to allow you to feel rested and refreshed. The better you feel about yourself the more positive you're going to be. As a result, you'll have a much easier time dealing with any obstacles that may come your way. Participate in activities that bring you joy and fulfillment. The best way to do this is to schedule those activities just as you would an appointment with a client.
Develop relationships with successful people. These should be people you can trust and on whom you depend. Ask them for advice and feedback on how they would respond to similar challenges. Is there someone in your office that you would like to emulate? How about a successful client? Another way to do this is to create a personal board of directors and meet with them once or twice a year. You may also want to join or start a study group with like-minded colleagues. Such a study group will allow you to share ideas and to glean inspiration from each other. Like-minded individuals will also have a much easier time relating to your thoughts and feelings and vice-versa.
Know that you will succeed no matter what. Never give up. Know ahead of time that you will be successful. Everyone faces adversity, and everyone goes through bad periods. The key to your success, both professionally and personally, is to never give up. Remember that every disappointment or failure, is leading you one step closer to success.
Rejection is something we need to deal with in sales. How you handle that disappointment will determine whether or not you move forward to achieve your goals.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Winston Churchill

Good luck to you on your journey to success.