major ways : it keeps you from feeling discouraged when you get a “ no ” because you can see clearly that the call wasn ’ t a waste of your time ; it just means you ’ re that much closer to getting a “ yes ” in the future . It also empowers you to help prospects end conversations that clearly aren ’ t going anywhere , rather than drag out a process that won ’ t end up benefiting either of you .

CELEBRATE AND REWARD

YOUR WINS . You ’ ll experience countless rejections in your work as a salesperson — but you ’ ll also land wins that make every rejection feel like a necessary building block . Those sales will demand hard work , and when it pays off , you and your team should absolutely be rewarded and celebrate your successes .

We ’ ve drummed up quite a few incentives for our own sales team when someone makes a sale : we ring a bell for our team to hear and celebrate , and our sales team leader sends out a message to the entire team to congratulate us . We ’ ve also rolled out a “ Sales Call of the Month ” contest to highlight salespeople who do truly awesome work on their calls each month and to learn from each person ’ s approach .

Knowing what kind of praise , rewards and other incentives motivate you and your fellow salespeople is critical to moving past rejections and focusing on the next opportunity . The better you know the feeling of getting to a “ yes ,” the more motivated you ’ ll be to continuously strive for the next one .

Rejection is a fact of life for every salesperson . And while rejection sounds negative on the surface , it doesn ’ t have to be a bad thing . Handling sales rejection is all about looking at the silver lining of each “ no ” you receive . There ’ s opportunity all around you — you ’ ve just got to be in the mindset to see it . n

Remember these quick tips when analyzing your sales rejections and preparing to take on your next challenge :

AUTHORS

Don ’ t take it personally . Hold yourself accountable by focusing on the parts of the process you can control .

Learn from your mistakes .

Uncover the reasons behind each rejection ; you might find valuable information to help your team and the company as a whole improve .

Don ’ t be afraid to ask a lead who said “ no ” to give you a referral to someone else who might be a better fit .

Always stay top of mind ; you might not be a good fit now , but you could be down the road .

Know your numbers and the value of each call , email and touchpoint .

NATALIE STEZOVSKY currently serves as the vice president for Influence & Co ., which is a content marketing firm that specializes in creating engaging content that fuels companies existing content marketing efforts to position key employees as influencers in their industry . Her role is centered around establishing valuable partnerships with agencies , companies and brands to support their clients with their content marketing initiatives .

MORENA MOUSER is the assistant vice president at Influence & Co . You can find Morene getting a deep tissue massage or sipping an iced caramel macchiato at the local coffee shop .

38 PULSE ■ July 2017