Posts Tagged ‘Challenging market’

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.

As a professional living and working in a highly competitive business world were the rules of success are often re-defined, it’s likely that you have experienced some degree of fear regarding your business and your future.

Can you totally eliminate fear when it shows up uninvited?

In my opinion, at the very least, you can overcome it. One day at a time.

Four Steps for Overcoming Fear:

1.     Accept it as a normal response of your mind. Don’t panic. We are emotional beings. Everyone experiences fear regardless of their level of success or type of business; from country leaders and successful CEOs to students, interns and support staff.

2.     Focus your attention on the here and the now. Dale Carnegie offered us great perspective in his book, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living: Live in day-tight compartments. You cannot worry and be fearful about yesterday because it’s long gone. You cannot be fearful about tomorrow because tomorrow is not here.  Of course, plan for tomorrow, but don’t worry about it.

3.     Focus on everything that you can control. Do you have any control over the declining business markets? Of course not. However, you can control the types of business goals that you set for yourself as well as the actions that you take.

4.     Begin every single day with a very clear set of goals and immerse yourself in action. The more clarity you have about your goals and the more you commit to taking action, the more your fear will dissipate. Action is critical. It cures fear, worry and reluctance. It creates positive energy and opportunity. Put your daily goals in writing, prioritize them in order of importance and simply make the commitment to yourself to accomplish your goals by the end of business day.

You can overcome fear.

One day, one hour, one minute at a time.