Rejection.
Being told “No thanks.”
Being ignored.
Being put off.
It sucks. It’s also definitely part of being an entrepreneur. Our vision requires us to constantly step into the batters box of life and business DAILY… Our goals demand we have magnificent drive and determination… and — equally important — a short memory.
Because if you’re in the game of business,
rejection is simply reality. But knowing this doesn’t make it any less daunting, disappointing, distracting… and if we’re not careful, paralyzing.
Rejection NEVER feels good, and when you are upping your game, becoming MORE visible, selling MORE often and swimming in new waters… it can begin to mount. One no on top of the next, on top of the prospect(s) that ghosted you, building, building…
Until one day it feels like if each NO was a rose, you’ve collected enough to make your office smell like a musty funeral home.
Here’s what to do in those moments when you feel like NO ONE wants what you’re selling, that you’ve reached the FURTHEST END of your market and there’s no one left to sell, when the burden of the NOs becomes — at first glance — too much to bear.
💥 Step ONE: LOOK FOR WHAT THE MARKET IS TELLING YOU.
No one LIKES silence, no’s and rude disappearing acts as “feedback,” but that’s exactly what it is. So, examine it without emotion.
Side note about the “without emotion” part: This is a decision, friend. You can get your panties in a wad, or you can deep breathe and decide to exhale the emotion, at LEAST temporarily. Breathe in determination. Breathe out emotion.
Then, begin to examine where your offer or brand may be “off” in any of the following key areas:
💋 Is your market the RIGHT market?
Do they know that they have the problem you solve?
AND, can they afford to pay to have it fixed?
And are they WILLING to pay to have it fixed?
Additional questions to ask about your chosen market:
Are they easy to reach?
When I began my 1:1 coaching business, I got NOTHING but Nos. I was marketing to the woman who wanted to make money from home. The WAHM as they were called. I had a HEART for this market. I was one of them. BUT, I quickly realized that I simply couldn’t afford to target them. Those that identified as “mompreneurs” (back then, in the early days of coaching) were largely unwilling to INVEST money in a coach.
I didn’t WANT to change markets.
But, my bouquet of NOs were serving up quite a stench, and so I pivoted… ever so slightly… to a new market.
Same offer.
Same price point.
Different market.
VOILA… money started coming in. A SMALL change in my chosen market made all the difference.
💋 Media: How / Where are you being VISIBLE to your target market?
Media can be social media,
print media,
paid media,
real media,
real stages,
virtual stages,
whatever.
Simply…. They have to know you exist in order to choose whether or not to do business with you. So, where are you showing up, and how are you showing up? Do they know you exist? And do they know what you do?
Words of warning: You do NOT want to be over networked and under paid, as MOST women entrepreneurs are. So, take care in showing up DELIBERATELY & STRATEGICALLY rather than CONSTANTLY. Also, if you are hoping to be PAID because of your expertise, do not EVER risk showing up as a peer.
So, where are you showing up?
And how?
Where SHOULD you be showing up?
Where WILL you begin showing up?
Commercial message: There are a couple of spots left in the NYC Marketing, Media & Money event I host annually with @Diane White PR. This event brings together thought leaders and experts with the top decision makers from the top outlets including:
👉CNN Business
👉Fox News Edge
👉Dr. Oz (THE top producer for Dr. Oz.)
👉Rachael Ray (THE top producer for Rachael Ray)
👉 The Tamron Hall Daytime Talk Show launching 9/9/19
👉CNN Special Projects (THE producer who is planning these segments)
👉Entrepreneur Magazine (THE editor-in-chief, of course… PLUS the woman in charge of the women’s column on Entrepreneur.com)
👉Forbes Magazine
👉The Wendy Williams Show (THE TOP producer here…)
👉Fox Business, and more!!
Message me FAST for details.
💋 Message: Are you speaking their language and making them an offer they can’t refuse?
The #1 sales killer is a message that never asks for the sale. 😊
After that, the top sales killer is a message that has no sense of urgency and shows up as something “nice to have,” but not mission critical. Whether you sell the “mommy makeover,” or supplements, or essential oils, or coaching, or retreats or houses, or PR services or cooking classes… it doesn’t matter. You NEED to make your messaging (what you say to your market):
- consistent (Don’t shoot me, but when I say consistent, I mean daily.)
- compelling (urgent, critical)
- solution oriented. (Let them know the problem you solve.)
Does your messaging CALL OUT to your target market? Does it let them know you are FOR them? Does it say out loud what they are thinking? Does it reach into their soul to shine light on a problem you can solve? Does it ASK them to say YES?
As an aside: All three of these areas should be being examined and tweaked regularly… not JUST when you’re overwhelmed by the rotting corpses of sales that died on the vine.
💥 Step TWO: REMIND YOURSELF OF THE IMPACT YOU MAKE IN THE LIVES OF YOUR MARKET.
The other day I heard from a woman who couldn’t “put into words” the difference I’d made in her business. She is on fire. She is confident. She is clear. She is living her best life. Another client wrote that she’s making DOUBLE the income, but her biggest win is how peaceful life is and how much more available she is to her family. Another wrote that she’s “giddy” and can’t believe she makes so much money doing what she loves. 😊
Notes / testimonials / comments like these keep the wind in my sails. (And the wind in my sales, lol….)
It is necessary to remind yourself of the ULTIMATE reason you are selling to begin with: to make a difference. This simple step can take you from a paralyzed rejected former dreamer… into a driven, determined do-er in 30 minutes flat. 😊
💥 Step THREE: RECONNECT WITH YOUR DESIRE TO SERVE
There’s this doctor on the other side of the country. She’s teaching other doctors about something that has a HUGE impact on women nationwide. She’s an author, expert and COULD BE a national media sensation. YET…. she so far has ignored my emails about attending Marketing, Media & Money this year.
Now, If it were about me,
if it were ONLY about filling that seat,
I’d SIMPLY go to the LIST of doctors inquiring about attending.
IF it were about ME,
I’d lick my rejection wounds and make the offer elsewhere. 😊 INSTEAD, I am SO connected to my desire to SERVE this woman’s ultimate goals… on a SUNDAY AFTERNOON…
I connected with her former ghost writer,
then got the name and email and phone number of her current publicist,
and called them both. 😊
Basically, connecting with what your market REALLY wants makes you a very effective sales woman for your ideal tribe. They see it, they feel it…. they trust it. And for you, it takes your own ego out of the mix.
Service is synonymous with selling.
We just sometimes need to deliberately connect them in our hearts …
💥 Step FOUR: IF YOU’RE STILL FEELING IN A FUNK, DON’T IGNORE IT. DON’T ALLOW THAT BALL OF MISERY TO FESTER. INSTEAD, WRITE IT OUT.
I’m no stranger to a “hard times” journaling session. Journaling out how sucky it is, how I hate feeling this way, and how I am DONE with this low level feeling. I journal from the heart… paying no attention to how things are “phrased” or anything like that.
I write it out
and then burn that sucker.
But I get it OUT of the container of my soul….
through a hard times journal entry.
💥 Step FIVE: FIGURE OUT HOW TO NOT BE HERE AGAIN.
One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself is learning how to daily generate DEMAND for your work and your brand. This is different than marketing in the same way that flirting is different than foreplay. Generating demand is about HOW YOU SHOW UP…. it’s about ACTUAL demand for your work… how many people want access to it… how long they are willing to wait for a spot to open up… and how much they’re willing to pay.
When I decided I would be eliminating the 1:1 coaching model from my business, I refunded 9 (If memory serves me) people who had put down a deposit to get on my coaching calendar. The longest standing person on my wait list had been on it for 7 months.
I had done a superb job generating DEMAND for my brand of business coach-suiting using TWO primary techniques:
💋 MEDIA ATTENTION — message me to get in the media if you’re feeling led to THAT level of “being seen.”
💋 SOAPBOX SERMONS— I also created my own soapbox and took that stage every day in various ways. I held my own events, printed my own media, and more. I ENJOYED the outside media attention and translated it into major increase, but I didn’t WAIT for them to recognize me… I also ran my OWN media machine using whatever stages and pages were accessible to me at the time.
So, there you have it.
5 things to do when the NO start piling up.
Please comment below if you have anything else to add,
and please share this if you know of any women entrepreneurs who need to hear it.
