Every person who has become a Champion in any endeavor has one way or another experienced rejection. Everyone be it in sports, music, sales, acting etc. has their fair share of denial. In fact the more rejections these people had, it is more likely that they become more successful.
The business of Network Marketing is probably one of the biggest industries where huge amounts of rejection can happen. Nobody is exempted, be it a new member who just signed up, top 500 distributors, hall of famers, marketing team, our Vice Presidents and even our Board of Directors. Yes, rejection happens even to the very best in the business.
Now this may sound scary to some but the truth is, rejections are part of life. Even when you were not with AIM Global, rejection is already happening to you. You just didn’t notice it because it has become part of your background. For example, this morning on your way to work, when you hailed that first taxi you saw and for some reason it did not stop to pick you up. Isn’t that called rejection? When you were applying to get a job, and the company you were applying for did not hire you, isn’t that called rejection? If you are a man and you are courting a girl, and every day you give gifts to that girl, you send her flowers, you buy her boxes of chocolates and after a month or two, you saw that girl, holding hands with another man, now that is called rejection!
The question is, despite all these rejections, why is it that you were still able to get to your office today, why is it that you were still able to find a job, and why are you today married with a great family?
The answer to all these is simple. You did not stop. You just went on to the next thing or person that is available, and this brings us to our first tip in handling rejection.
Do not take “NO” personally.
If you want to be successful, you have to understand what the word NO means. You should put it in a different perspective and find a way to work that NO towards a YES in the future.
The world is filled with great people who have learned how to apply these lessons.
Stephen King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy. One of the best movies he wrote was the Shawshank Redemption starring Tim Robbins. But did you know that when he was starting, he almost burned the manuscript for his very first book entitled Carrie. He did that because he was rejected by many publishing houses. It’s a good thing his wife Tabitha hastily grabs the copies and told King to finish it. The book eventually became a best seller and also a successful movie and King went on to become a successful author selling over 350 million of his books worldwide.
Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player ever up to this date. He has won 6 World Championships and numerous MVP awards, but did you know that he was rejected and cut by his high school team coach. He was told that he was not that talented enough.
But that did not hinder Jordan. He then eventually became so successful that a statue was built for him outside the Chicago Bulls home court. In one of his Nike commercials, he said that he missed over 9,000 shots in his career, lost 300 games and missed 26 game winning shots. He has failed over and over again, but because of his failures, he then succeeded.
Gemma Jamisola, AIM Global Ambassador, this lady started our business with very humble beginnings. She worked as a factory worker in MEPZ (Mactan Export Processing Zone), and she was invited to an opportunity meeting just like you in AIM Global. The problem is this lady was raised in poverty, no money and experience in business. She once lived under a bridge. (Mactanbridge). The worst thing about it, Gemma was pregnant when she started AIM Global, and her hubby was negative initially about the business.
She was rejected by a lot friends and relatives; in short she had all the reasons for failing in this business. But her living condition and rejections did not deter Gemma from succeeding. Just this year, she was one of the awardee at our Profit Sharing Rally held at the MOA Arena, Gemma received a fat bonus check of over P127,000.
The industries for the three examples above are different, but the process is the same with AIM Global business.
You just have to realize that there is no one magic bullet in closing your prospect. Sometimes you just have to go home empty handed. The key is to remember that when somebody says no to you, it does not mean you already failed or you are an automatic failure.
We do know that when somebody rejects you most especially your closest friend or relative, it makes you feel miserable and painful inside, but you must understand that many moments of rejection are actually opportunities for learning.
A study has been conducted that an average person won’t say yes – meaning yes to becoming a member – before they first come up with some type of a no. If you find that hard to believe, ask yourself, “did you automatically said yes to joining AIM Global or network marketing when this was first offered to you?” Now some of you might say yes, but you would be surprise that almost 80% of other people came up with a no first before saying yes.
You have to handle that concept, and then learn the script or dialogue that would keep your prospect moving toward a yes. We have found out all over the years that our distributors who earned the most money are actually the ones who got rejected the most – they just didn’t take it personally.
AIM Global business is very simple, it is not about luck, charm, intelligence, like most people think. AIM Global business is a science. You just have to let go of your fear of rejection and then learn what to say when somebody says no to you.
Alternate meaning when a prospect says NO
- 1. I don’t understand – This happens when your prospect has questions that are not yet answered. Our suggestion is to just keep going, if a prospect has a lot of question, it could be a great sign that he or she is interested with our business, or it could really mean that they are confused by your presentation. When it’s the latter, we suggest you try to adjust your presentation, study which part of it isn’t clear to your prospects.
- 2. Now is not a good time – The prospect maybe just buying some time. Maybe he or she is thinking of some problems at home or at the office. When this happens, just give them some breathing room to think and follow them up some other day.
- 3. You’re missing something – Perhaps you have yet to explain how the company earns if they have a huge pay out to all distributors. You have to yet to explain our safety net.
- 4. Not yet – Your prospect maybe saying no because he/she does not have money yet. Or maybe he/she has the money but wants to know how much support they are getting once they join. Ask questions to clarify what your potential client means.
- 5. Not from you – You did not make any personal connection to your prospect. It maybe during the presentation they felt that you were insincere or impolite to them.
Tom Hopkins, a master trainer of sales said that handling rejection is not a matter of skill, but of preparation, right perspective and attitude.
People will say yes more on your belief, excitement, and conviction than on your product knowledge or technical skills. They can see it in your eyes how serious you really are in this business.
The key here is to listen to your prospect, listen to them by heart, and know what their needs are. You must have passion in every aspect of our business. We have distributors who did not get high school or even elementary diplomas but are so doing well and the reason behind that is they have passion.
There are three types of listeners, the poor listener, the one who does not hear a word on what the prospect say because they are focus on what to say next. Then there is the average listener, the one who only hears half of what is being said, and the emphatic listeners, these people are so focused to their prospect and can hear the hidden meanings behind the words of their prospect.
So we suggest you become an emphatic listener, because our prospects have their own defense mechanisms. When you listen, you become a creative thinker.
Your prospect may be saying no because they are afraid of speaking to people to present the business. When you realize this because you were listening, you can then reassure your prospect that you there are people who can help them do the speaking for them. It could be you, your upline or the best speakers in our Company etc.
What if the prospect still says NO
Always remain positive. No may not mean never, it could mean not NOW. Let your prospect think. Tell your prospect, when you say NO, it would only mean nothing.
You will gain NOTHING from the benefits or our products.
You will earn NOTHING from our compensation plan.
Then be silent and let the prospect ponder it over.
Silence is a powerful tool. Remember that.
So listen to your prospect, always keep learning. Don’t be afraid to get rejected.
Rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success!