Electronic Products & Technology

Dealing with rejection – an electronics sales professional's biggest challenge

Staff   

Electronics CEL

One of the biggest hurdles to successful selling is the fear of rejection. So why ARE so many electronic sales professionals, charged with deal origination or sales, afraid or unable to deal with rejection?

No one likes to be rejected. However, the most successful people in business are the ones who know how to deal with it.

They intuitively understand that when you are calling on companies or individuals to solicit new business, not everyone is going to want to see you or do business with you. Rejection is part of the process. The key to moving forward is all about how you deal with being turned down.

Rejection hits hardest when you are taken by surprise. For example, a flat-out remark such as “I’m not interested” can throw anyone for a loop. But what would happen if you were not taken by surprise?

My experience shows that when you anticipate you may not score 100% of the time, you won’t be surprised by the fact that someone, somewhere at sometime will turn you down. On the contrary, anticipating objections allows you to prepare effective responses to deal with them.

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After all, a “no” is often nothing more than a slow yes. Having effective responses will increase the likelihood of changing the prospect’s mind. Just the fact that you were prepared puts you in control of the situation and control is essential. Combining a lack of control with a fear of rejection is like throwing lighter fluid on a flaming barbecue.

Some people have questions or objections, which may add to this fear. However, an objection or question is a normal part of the buying process. How often have you yourself asked questions in order to make an intelligent buying decision?

Questions are a sign of interest, and should be embraced as an opportunity to promote your product and service knowledge. Objections give you valuable insights, too. An objection such as “it’s too much money” often means that you have not made the value of what you are offering clear.

Anything is expensive when there is little perceived value. If you are clear on the value, and still get comments on price, you might be targeting the wrong audience. Finding out why someone is not interested allows you to respond to their real concern.

An effective response to a question or objection also escalates the trust factor, and the faster you earn someone’s trust, the shorter is your sales cycle. In your own experience, the last time a salesperson didn’t have an answer to one of your questions, weren’t you likely to take a pass?

But when someone gave you a terrific answer, and delivered it passionately, weren’t you more likely to make that purchase, or at the very least take less time to make that decision?

It may sound simple, but who said sales has to be complicated? Perception is everything. Even in a worse-case scenario, where your objection or question handling does not result a sale, perception is the key.

You can look at the situation as a failure, or as a learning experience. If you apply what you learned before your next sales call, you will have instantly reduced the likelihood of being turned down a second time.

Mark Borkowski is president of Toronto based Mercantile Mergers & Acquisitions Corporation, a brokerage firm specializing in the sale of privately owned businesses. He can be contacted at mark@mercantilema.com or www.mercantilemergersacquisitions.com

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