Facing & Overcoming the Fear of Rejection
Sales can be a tough job for those that are overly sensitive or have a fear of rejection. The latter has created bad habits for all too many IT professionals. What I mean by this is that a fear of rejection creates reactive ways of doing business or approaching potential sales in a way that minimizes the risk of rejection.
For instance every time we send an email proposal, do not make a follow-up call, or otherwise do not take action, we are reducing rejection. Though the price of this reduction generally comes at the risk of success. This is the inherent problem with the fear itself.
Fear is the cause of these bad habits and fear is what needs to be overcome. IT professionals tend to be tech-minded individuals, most would say introverted, and for some not always relatable. Having run many sales trainings with individuals that meet the qualities mentioned, it is not that any of these are bad qualities, instead they bode well to their specific duties and most of them make for great technicians.
The problem is that these qualities do not always equate to good sales people or business people. Many IT professionals start their own businesses based around these specific qualities, many so they can be their own boss, “geek” out on the latest technology, and many to follow a passion of computers and technology.
This usually means that business, marketing, and sales are not at the core of the business owner’s strength, hence the bad habits we were talking about earlier. SO what can be done? Really there are two paths that can be chosen for the tech minded business owner. One path is self-improvement and the other is hiring/outsourcing.
It can be argued that you should always do what you are good at, and leave those things that you are not to someone else. A good example of this is our vehicles. Though every one of us could probably learn how to work on a car, it is so much easier to leave the work up to a well trained individual or team of individuals that can get the job done.
This is the same in our industry and the reason businesses and individuals call on us to help with their technology needs. If you look at your business similarly, it is easy to make a case for hiring qualified people for each required skill, sales, marketing, etc.
This might be easy for some but the reality is it takes time to grow and build a business, especially to the point of hiring qualified and/or seasoned professionals. What this means is that to overcome fear, improve sales, and become more business savvy, self-improvement is not just a want; it is a requirement.
Simple Steps to Overcome
A simple step to overcoming the fear of rejection is to always question your self and to not take the easy road when it comes to sales. For instance, if a customer asks for a proposal and you create the proposal, ask yourself “should I email this or take it to the customer?” Don’t think of what “you” would rather have, instead ask, “What would make a better impression and potentially get me the sale?” The answer is to always take it to the customer’s office providing an opportunity to discuss, go over the proposal, as well as answer any questions that they may have.
Which leads to another simple step, which is to always ask questions. It is easy to nod or shake your head but in questions you can always dig further, understand more, and even overcome objections/rejections. There is a great book call QBS “Secrets of Questions Based Selling” by Thomas Freese which I would highly recommend.
Of course the real help will come by getting out to industry events, finding training organizations that can help with sales and marketing, and lots and lots of reading…
Frank Gurnee
VP, Channel Services, ExchangeDefender
(877) 546-0316 x4777
frank@ownwebnow.com