Giggling at Rejection as a Consultant

Not every prospective client turns into a client. Sometimes they say no.

That’s part of the deal with being consultant. You’re going to hear no sometimes.

You can do things to reduce the number of nos, but they’ll still happen.

And it can feel like all-out rejection.

I know that because that’s how it felt for me.

In reality, it’s not like my first experience with rejection happened when I became a consultant.

Becoming a consultant triggered my fear of rejection, big time.

But, like most consultants, I was carrying baggage related to rejection into my new career.

And it wasn’t carry-on size, I can tell you that.

Past trauma, actual and perceived rejections in my life. And don’t get me started on dating!?

My past experiences had implications that were significant.

Now, it felt like my livelihood was under threat by the potential of rejection!

It wasn’t easy to handle at first.

Every no got translated in my brain as, “See. You can’t do this. You’re failing.”

And it didn’t matter how many yeses I got. The nos seemed so much heavier and “informative.”

Over time, I’ve learned to except rejection without using it to build a case against myself and my abilities to succeed as a consultant.

Now is rarely bothers me. And sometimes it even makes me giggle.

Seriously.

Especially when it’s not a straight-up no.

I have to chuckle when prospective clients find creative ways to say no.

It can still sting, but, personally, I like to add some of my own humor to it.

So I came up with these bingo cards. The first one is to laugh at all the ways you could get a no without always hearing the word no.

How many can you check off?

But I also hear yes a heck of a lot more. So I had to have a bingo card for that, too!

Again, I imagine you’ve heard these as much if not more, right?

As your consulting business matures, you gain more skills, and pick prospects who are better fits, you’ll find you’re using the good bingo card more often.

In the meantime, I hope this brings a little levity to what can feel like a big bad thing!

If you need more help managing the fear of rejection, check out my latest podcast where I share a slew of strategies.

Cheering you on!

Deb

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