Find Out How Your Response To Rejection Can Affect Your Business Success

If you are an entrepreneur, a business owner, an independent professional, you have faced it. We all have. I’m referring to the often dreaded “R” word:  Rejection – business rejection.

It comes in different forms, doesn’t it? From the high quality lead that you’ve been working with for a while, you know, the one you’re “sure” will hire you for your services, but decides differently;  to the prospect that says “no” to meeting with you even for a quick conversation. How about the one that has made a “commitment” to follow up with you, but doesn’t “for whatever reason,” or the one that simply will not respond to your messages and communications?

Does any of this sound familiar?

During my 17-year professional career in this great country, as an entrepreneur, business owner, mentor, strategist, I have generally seen three types of business professionals when it comes to handling, reacting, responding to rejection:

The first group: The Give-ups 

These are talented individuals, smart, and  often brilliant minds. They are working in markets were there is still demand for their services, but they just give up.  Promising careers have been ended, in large part because the individuals could not handle the “R” word. Or, at least manage it.

The second group: The Rising Stars

Business people in this group have experienced the rejections, frustrations, fears, even heartbreaks of the first group, and almost gave up. But somehow along the way they experience that BREAKTHROUGH moment -that inspiration! They discover that “inner strength” that propels them to Superstar status.

The third group­­: The Superstars

These business professionals are the ones – who no matter what – keep on pushing. All though they may be working in highly competitive markets, they simply claim their share of the business. They pursue their aspirations with vigor in some cases achieving phenomenal results.

For this group, rejections, recessions, downturns, really don’t matter. At least they don’t matter a lot. And if they do get temporarily derailed – “thrown off course” – due to unforeseen circumstances, somehow they jump back on the path to success. They understand, or have made the commitment to learn, how to channel rejections, roadblocks and challenges into opportunities for development, growth, and expansion.

“Give ups” have the potential to become “Rising Stars” and “Superstars”

What does it take to achieve these transformations?

Is it skill development, business acumen, and better support systems? This is part of it. 

Speaking from experience, the most important factor is developing the right mindset. It is learning –all though this may be difficult to reconcile - not to take rejection personally. It is having clarity about the vision of the business that they desire to create, an unshakeable sense of purpose, and a deep desire to pursue their goals, dreams and aspirations despite the number of rejections they may face along the way.   And of course, it takes a very strong commitment to take intentional ACTION no matter what.

In following blogs, I will be sharing some specific ideas and steps on how to develop your mindset in overcoming rejection, and even turning it into opportunity.

Your comments are welcomed.

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