Most professional salespeople face some level of rejection as they perform the core activities of their respective jobs. They face the most rejection when they ask for an appointment, ask the customer to buy or ask for referrals to other potential customers.
Of all the salespeople in the world, the financial services and product salespeople face the most rejection. Of these, the life insurance salesperson faces the most severe rejection.
In North America and Western Europe there are many more institutions attempting to sell the customer their financial products. Many non-traditional institutions provide life insurance products. Here are some providers of our products: typical life insurance companies; brokerage companies, multi-level pyramid organizations, banks, trust companies, the internet, credit card companies and large food stores called super stores. Most shopping centers now have kiosks that sell life insurance products. So the customer is inundated with phone calls, face-to-face approaches and mailings from the agents/advisors representing these providers.
Therefore, the customers are very well informed about their choices. They also clearly understand their needs when they are thinking about life insurance. If you like, they have matured in their understanding of our products.
Their expectations of the insurance company and of the individual representing the company -the agent/advisor, is very high.
You may feel, in your situation -that the level of rejection you face is too high. In North America and Western Europe customers have found novel ways to reject and refuse the approaches of the agent/advisor. They have become creative in their attempts to slow the flow of overwhelming calls and approaches. Here is an example. When the customer is at home, they leave the answering machine on to filter out unwanted calls. When they are out they turn the answering machine off so you cannot leave a message. This is the reality I faced and I still sold at the MDRT (million dollar round table) level. How did I do it? Read on!
Having been a life insurance salesperson, I have experienced this rejection first hand. I therefore have great respect for my peers who get up each morning, do their jobs, face the rejection, then go to bed, only to wake up the next morning and do it all over again. Day after day they receive it, take it and get over it. Most other workers in other professions or jobs go through their life and seldom, if ever, receive rejection.
So what is it that all these people are rejecting? Are they rejecting the company, the salesperson, the industry and/or the concept? The answer, yes, yes, yes and yes, or maybe no! We don't really know what until we ask!
If we don't ask then we won't really know. We will just assume. When we assume, we take a great risk that we assume incorrectly. We then act upon an incorrect assumption and the result is very predictable.
So what have we learned? Assume you do not know the reason they are rejecting your idea. Ask why? When you are armed with good information, you improve your chances of a successful result.
Many salespeople make a critical mistake when dealing with rejection. They take it personally. They assume it is because they are lousy salespeople or just lousy people. Big mistake! Often the reason has nothing to do with the salespeople. At the beginning of my career, I took the rejection personally. I thought I was the reason. This attitude caused me to have some really horrible days and prevented me from reaching my potential. My advice is "Don't take it personally. It comes with the job!"
Professional salespeople are hired to push products or services out into the community. Often these products and services are not something that the customer is necessarily thinking about or looking for at the moment the salesperson calls.
Every individual faces a business reality. The reality is that your sales will happen in cycles and also the rejection will come in cycles. Sometimes it may seem that everything you do ends in a negative result. People choose not to talk to you, meet with you, buy from you, and, if they do, they decide to cancel their polices shortly after they purchase from you. This is a normal occurrence and happens to all of us, whether 1 year in the business or 20 years in the business. Rejection happens. Accept it, get over it and move on!
Professional sales require tenacity, persistence and most importantly, a thick skin. What helps me to cope with the rejection I face (yes I still get rejection), is being really clear about my purpose. The closer I am to my real purpose as a salesperson, the easier it is for me to handle rejection. I believe I make a real difference in peoples' lives. If they choose not to meet with me or buy from me, then it is unfortunate, but it is not my fault. I know who I am and that the services I offer are of value.
To summarize, rejection is a natural occurrence during the interaction between the salesperson and the customer. In other articles and on my website I show you how to manage the customers concerns, handle their objections and get past the rejection.
Rejection happens, so get over it and move on to the next opportunity.
