How To Deal With Rejection In Business
The business world is no stranger to rejection. Even the most successful companies have been rejected and failed at some point.
If you don't experience rejection, then you're either not trying new things or simply not making enough effort.
Rejection can be a harsh word. It's okay to feel bad when someone rejects you, but it's important to not let it stop you. There are many possible reasons why someone might reject your idea, service, or product, so you shouldn't feel embarrassed that you're not being accepted. It might be that you are not a good fit for your prospect or client.
When starting a business, you must get used to rejection. There are always going to be people who won't like your service or product, and there will be people who won't think you deserve their money, or they just don’t need it now. But that's OK! You can't please everyone, and the only way to figure out what works for your business is to try and try again.
Have you ever felt like your idea is just not good enough? This is a common pitfall even the most experienced entrepreneurs go through. The truth is that being rejected is a part of entrepreneurship. If you are an entrepreneur, you will experience rejection over and over again. You need to learn how to handle it.
Think about why someone might reject your idea, and then look at ways to improve it in order to make it more appealing. Did the person just tell you that they liked the idea but didn’t go for it ?
1 – Don’t take it personal
Rejection isn't the end of the world. It's important not to take it personally, and not to let it stop you from learning what you need to learn from that interaction. Sometimes, it doesn’t make sense and doesn’t seem fair at all, I know, but it’s part of the game. Don’t let rejection make you feel bad about yourself and your skills and don’t let it stop you from reaching your goals.
When you look at it closely, we need people to reject us to improve ourselves because if everyone would agree with us, we wouldn’t think one second about becoming a better person. The more you can embrace it, the easier it gets. Remember that the person didn’t say no to you but to your service or product that doesn’t define who you are. You are a lot more than that. No one can stop you from being a better person than you are today. It’s all about how you see it. You can choose to let it define you or see it as a stepping stone to improve.
Even though it is hard to handle rejection and you have to work towards improving yourself, in the end, you will find that it was all worth it. You will start to feel more confident in your abilities and you will meet people who are more accepting of you. You will be more comfortable with who you are and what you can do. By trying to be more open-minded and understanding of the people who reject us, we can make things easier on ourselves.
2 – Don’t resist the rejection
It’s kind of frustrating, isn’t it ? You might feel a sense of unworthiness or guilty for doing something wrong. I highly recommend just letting it go.
When your prospect or client says no, don’t try to convince him or her to make business with you because you will only make things worse. Business developers might say that we have to push and make our best to get the deal. But I think, doing this, would only make them run away and we will stop them from calling us back in the future. Even if they don’t call you back a few months or a year later, that’s OK. You can always send them an email, put a link to your new work since the rejection and just tell them that you are still here if they need your services or products.
By resisting rejections, you create a battle in your mind that will prevent you to keep going and move on. I think this is the universe’s protection because if something doesn’t happen, it simply means that it’s not meant to be. Plus, you prevent opportunities to come to you.
3 – Always thank the person who rejected you
When you get rejected, you might tend to hold some kind of grudge towards the person who says no and feel angry and resentful. None of that is beneficial and healthy for yourself and your business because you will end up causing stress and anxiety. You will be so focused on that rejection that you won’t be able to move forward and see other opportunities that might turn out to be greater ! Sometimes, we think that setbacks will bring us deep down but they are actually setups in disguise.
Never say for example, “I am sorry I couldn’t meet your needs”. Never apologize for not fitting in ! If you apologize, you place yourself in a low position, whereas there is totally nothing to apologize for. You are not responsible for everyone else’s choices. Instead, thank the person for the time you spent talking together, that you are happy to know each other, and wish the person all the best. Don’t only write it or say it to the person just because you want to prove to the other person that this doesn’t affect you, but feel it, it must be sincere. What you wish for others, you wish it for yourself too.
4 – Asking for feedback
There is no shame at all to ask to have the reason for your rejection. It is just a simple way for you the see where exactly you can adjust things. It allows us to improve our products or services and ensure that we meet our customers’ needs. Maybe, it can help you get unstuck where you were stuck for a long time and didn’t understand why.
However, asking for feedback can sometimes be difficult.
Here are a few tips on how to ask for feedback:
1. Be specific in what you want feedback on. This will help the person you are asking to give you more focused and helpful feedback.
2. Ask open-ended questions. This will encourage the person to give you more than just a yes or no answer.
3. Be prepared to listen to constructive criticism. This can be difficult to hear, but it is important to remember that feedback is meant to help you improve.
4. Thank the person for their feedback. This shows that you appreciate their input and value their opinion.
5. Follow up with the person after you have made changes based on their feedback a few months later. This lets them know that you took their feedback seriously and shows that you value them and their business.
Closed doors only mean that you are destined for so much greater. So don’t give up !
