How do you handle rejection or negative feedback from prospects or customers?

Rejections are not always a firm "No" sometimes a rejection simply means, "not right now" or "I am not ready yet" and "I need to gather more information internally before deciding." I view rejections as an opportunity to fill my opportunity or lead pipeline. Asking open ended questions and inputting the answers into some sort of CRM for tracking I found helped. You would be shocked 3 months down the line product XYZ has a great promotional offer and you remember that client ABC was interested. Check your notes and sure enough they rejected you because of pricing. Now follow up and lets see where the conversation goes.

I’ve always said you grow through challenges and rejections more than successes. When I used to make cold calls regularly and have people hang up, act cold or spout abuse I did get affected early on. Since then I’ve found from sales coaching/training and listening back to my calls and meetings I’ve improved. This is from looking at my repetitions, structure of speech and temp checking when speaking to a cold, warm or hot prospect. And making a bloody lot of uncomfortable calls…. Becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable is what I focused on from the rejection. Now I use structured social media outreach and engagement to overcome rejection easier with simplistic and focused messaging.

10 Steps to handling negative/rejection feedback by understanding reasons: 1- Listen actively 2- Seek clarification 3- Accept and acknowledge feedback 4- Analyze it objectively, 5- Learn from it 6- Address concerns 7- Adapt and modify approaches 8- Follow up 9- Maintain professionalism 10- Embrace a growth mindset. Understanding reasons turns feedback into a learning opportunity, enhancing products, services, and customer relations.

Important to understand that objection is not rejection. It might just be a matter of timing and a customer not understanding the product or it's benefits. It might also be a financial constraint or that they don't actually need the product. Essential not to get defensive when faced with an objection or a NO. 100% conversion rate doesn't exist.

One thing I always do is collect information why and turn that knowledge into action. Rejection is not a loss but a challenge! For me rejection is never a reason to quit but instead is an opportunity to gain knowledge on best practices and a challenge of change!

Large financial decisions in an organization are rarely made by a single person. Know that multiple people have shared their perspectives and the ultimate decision is the consensus of multiple individuals. It is likely that a rejection is the result of a combination of factors, some of which may be out of your control

In my view, when someone takes the time to respond, even if it's a rejection, it signifies that something piqued their interest. It's important to seize this opportunity to gain insights into the reasons for the rejection, whether it pertains to timing, budget constraints, or strategic considerations. Don't hesitate to pose a direct and concise question for clarification. However, ensure that your outreach is underpinned by thorough research on both the company and the individual you're reaching out to. This approach fosters more meaningful interactions and demonstrates your commitment to understanding and meeting their specific needs.

Customers will not always give you feedback on why you were rejected. Just because they did not supply this information doesn't mean they can't share the information. Always follow up with the customer and ask for the reasons that the opportunity did not work out. Be sure to ask about what could have been done differently to win their business. Try to understand the nuances of procurement that are specific to their organization.

A successful Inside Sales person should have an endless supply of opportunities. I personally have so many opportunities to work on that I have to choose which ones to prioritize and which ones I won't have time to work on. If you have such a supply of opportunities, then a failure means closure on the outcome of that opportunity. Do not waste any additional time on an opportunity once you know its outcome. Move on to the next one!

Especially if you are working in a large organization, it is important to reflect (in writing) on your wins and share this intel with your boss. Your boss needs to know what you are doing and it needs to be brief. This will help your boss to do their job, which reflects good on you.

Inside Sales, perhaps, is the only job role in this world that gets more number of rejections and negative comments than any other role. And it's not just external, but internal too. A good IS onboarding material or TL would make you aware with all the measures to deal with it. Something that's not mentioned above is, consuming content that makes you happy, motivated and get back on track like, a song, motivational speech, comedy videos, family photos. But if you still struggle to cope up, sorry to say, you are in the wrong job even if you are able to meet your numbers. Staying emotionally strong is the primary requisite for this role, and if you are not, you will loose out on your health or personal relations.