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9 Signals Foreshadowing Rejection

Written by: Cheryl A. Clausen

Article Overview: If you’re at all normal you don’t like getting rejected. Sometimes it’s over quickly and other times you think things are going well until…wham you get clobbered. With the way things are now you’re getting rejected more often and more quickly than ever before.

9 Signals Foreshadowing Rejection

If you’re at all normal you don’t like getting rejected. Sometimes it’s over quickly and other times you think things are going well until…wham you get clobbered. With the way things are now you’re getting rejected more often and more quickly than ever before.

The first step in correcting a problem is recognizing when you’re headed for one. Here are 9 clear signals foreshadowing rejection:

• When you first meet the prospect they’re rushed or defensive.
  
  
• The prospect isn’t responsive to your questions.
  
  
• The prospect is distracted.
  
  
• The prospect seems uncomfortable or their asking you questions they shouldn’t be asking yet.
  
  
• The prospect stops answering your questions.
  
  
• The prospect’s body language is closed, or their verbal and nonverbal communications conflict.
  
  
• The prospect responds negatively to trial closes.
  
  
• The prospect questions the value of your solution.
  
  
• The prospect is quick to offer stalls and objections.

My first question for you is, “Is this a legitimate sales appointment?” Far too often salespeople don’t set a clear objective for their appointments. That objective is to determine if there’s a reason to do business together. If you set an appointment to “get to know more about their business” don’t be shocked when they reject anything resembling a sales conversation. After all, you broke your word.

If they can’t trust you in a small thing like the premise for an appointment they certainly can’t trust you with anything important like actually buying from you. Don’t earn a rejection by invalidating your word. Establish a mutually agreed upon objective for the appointment and stick to it.

Now when you arrive if you discover the future client seems rushed or distracted don’t just ignore it. Flat out call them on it. Simply say, “Mr. Jones has something come up making it difficult for you to focus on our conversation right now?” When you do one of two things will happen.

Either you will reschedule for a better time, or Mr. Jones will shape up. That is either Mr. Jones will have to deal with whatever is distracting him so he can give you his full attention at another time, or he’ll have to set aside whatever is distracting him to give you his full attention now. If you allow Mr. Jones to treat you like an unwanted pest now you can’t expect him to respect you and buy from you later.

The bottom line when it comes to behaviors that predict rejection is you can’t ignore them. You have to acknowledge the behavior with the potential buyer. You need to discover what the behavior is really about. Then you need to work through the source of the behavior with your future client agreeing on a next step.

Related Articles
  Professional Sales People Do Not Fear Rejection
  Good Things Come to Those Who Ask
  McDonald’s Success is Built on Acceptance & Rejection
  Keys To Wealth And Success (part 2)
  Dare to be Rejected

Article Tags: answering your questions, appointment, appointments, body language, clear objective, conflict, legitimate sales, nonverbal communications, objections, premise, rejection, salespeople, signals, wham



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