They Are Not Rejecting You!

There is a lovely Andy Capp cartoon which sees Andy bemoaning his fate and saying that everybody hates him. Flo, his ever tolerant and pragmatic wife replies, “Well, that's not possible because not everybody knows you”.

One of the biggest challenges in sales is managing the conversation in your head. This is particularly important when you are asking the customer if they would like to go ahead and accept your offer. (Often called “the close”)

If you understand what the customer actually wants and why they want it and you've been focused on fulfilling their needs, this part of the sales process should be easy. Your role is to create an enjoyable customer journey and experience. If you have been fully focused on the customer, then it is likely the customer will feel like you genuinely want to help. Many reps fail at this point because they stop focusing on the customer and allow their internal doubts and fears to drown out the reason they are with the customer - which is to serve them! Instead of focusing on helping the customer advance to the next step, they allow their own fear of rejection to dominate their mind and then, inevitably, they project this uncertainty onto the customer. Nobody wants to buy from someone who lacks confidence and conviction.  

So how do you manage the voices in your head?

Be prepared; focus on the customer; bring the best of yourself and genuinely want to help. This does not mean that they are going to say “Yes!” - but if they say no, it is only because they are rejecting your timing and/or your offer. They are not rejecting you as a person.