Rejected by Prospects – Is it me or you??

Please note this transcript is machine generated so it is not perfect and should be used for reference only, you will get the best from the podcast by listening to it in it's designed format.

00:00 Have you ever been rejected by a potential client and dubbed them as the one that got away, the one that you were so excited to work with but were absolutely gutted that they said no. Well, in this episode we're going to be talking about rejection and how to avoid it.

00:22 Hi there, Jen hall here. Your business positioning coach and market leadership expert. And on today's episode we're talking all about rejection. Now this time of year that I'm recording this podcast, eighties, approaching Christmas time and this morning I was up bright and early, bushy tailed to stand in line at my daughter's school at 7:40 AM to collect her Christmas concert tickets. Now every year we have this palava where we are, a split family. So and he has a stepdad and also a a stepmum. So my ex also has a long term girlfriend and so we always have this palava they give you two tickets per family. And they only allocate those two. And so we have to scramble to the front every year to try and make sure that we get enough tickets so that the entire family can go and see our lovely Ellie appear in her Christmas concert.

01:26 So we were up early and it's interesting that we were talking about rejection today because the goal is right, is to be as in demand as these tickets were, that I had to get up so early for. And is that is the goal. I also remember the beginning of this year, I think it was for my sister's birthday. She's obsessed with panic at the disco with Brendan Urie and Oh my gosh. He's like, even if you don't like Panic at the Disco, you can't not like that man. He's absolutely wonderful. He's one of the most likeable people you will ever come across. And she's obsessed with them. And I also realised without realising it before, was that they were playing in Cardiff, which is where we live, which is where my sister lives. So it seemed a bit stupid for me not to try and find these tickets anyway.

02:22 It so happened that all of those tickets were completely gone and I had to then pay, I'm talking maybe six times the price of the usual ticket, so then buy it off of somebody else to make sure that we, that again, totally in demand, this guy on, we were willing to pay over the odds to make sure that, that we got that we'll put it this way anyway. My sister desperately wanted to see him and I knew that it would make him ginormous, be happy if I put myself out there and got these tickets when I when she finally got out of me how much they were, she was, she was nearly sick, but also very grateful. But again, very, very in demand. And I remember when I went to both a coaching event and also just before I started working with my coach for the first time, Jessica Lorimer.

03:13 I also remember having those same, like, I must make sure that I'd get a space on this program. I must make sure that I take one of those one-to-one coaching spots and I had this real fear, passion, FOMO, , excitement, strike fear and scaredness, and all of these different emotions going on at the time when I wanted to make sure that I didn't miss out on getting a spot. And that's where you want to be, isn't it? You want other people to feel that way about your business. You want to have that sought after in demand status so that we don't experience that hot wrenching rejection that we all fear. Rejection is one of the hardest things I think in business to overcome because it can feel very personal when someone says no to you. It can really hit you where it hurts and it can really put a downer on your energy and how you promote yourself for the days, weeks and for sometimes for some people, sometimes it can hit them to the point of they actually stopped running their business because they can't take it anymore.

04:27 But I'm here in this episode today to stop all of that to help you get that in demand status. And if after this episode you want to chat and book a call with me to discuss how we can start implementing the things that we're discussing on this episode and in the podcast, then do you make sure you book your call. That link is in the show notes. So today I really want to dig into this because I think it's really important that we are able to confidently deal with this rejection. Now, during your time in business, I can almost guarantee that you would have been told this lie at some point, whether that's from one of your best business friends perhaps what a mastermind or that you work with a colleague or even your spouse, you may have been told, Oh, but they just weren't your ideal client.

05:28 That's, you know, that that's why it's a lucky escape. They weren't meant for you. Now as as well, meaning as this advice is this type of advice can absolutely kill your business and it's likely that you may have also told, told someone else the same lie and the reason we tell it is because we want to soften the blow of that rejection for the other person. But it's doing you a complete disservice because we need to understand that actually. Yeah, maybe sometimes it's a lucky escape actually. Maybe in some of these circumstances, maybe they weren't quite your ideal client, but let me ask you this. How many times do you get rejected? Is it one out of 10 clients or are we talking a little bit more than that? And we have to look at each of these cases case by case. It's really important that instead of shoving it under the carpet and hoping that it might go away, that we actually analyze the reasons behind why these people said no because it they will come a time if it hasn't already, where you get the best person on a phone call.

06:39 I certainly have or I've got them onto a sales call and they're chatting away. And you completely blow the call or they come up with something on the call that you don't have an answer for or that you don't overcome. And when they leave that phone call with the, I will think about it. But really what they're trying to do is weasel their way out of the call to just get off and get on with their life. And then you never hear from them again. It is blaze a massive blow because you know that you could've done better and you know the impact that you could have made on their lives, on their business, on whatever it is that you help help to serve them with. And it can be really hard to get your head around, but it's also very easy to kind of move on and keep telling, telling, telling ourselves this lie around or were they just weren't my ideal client.

07:30 Because in actual fact, it may not actually be them. It could very well be you. So we have a choice. We can either keep telling ourselves this lie and experiencing the same outcomes or we can actually face the truth. We can make a change and get a different outcome, so we have to look at why are we being rejected? Because a lot of the time when we experience rejection, it's not that people don't want to buy from us. Sometimes people absolutely love you and what they, what you do and they truly want to, but they just can't seem to justify it in their heads. It seems like a lot of money for what they're not sure that they'll be getting. Now you will unsure. Prospects generally reject you for one of these reasons. Okay? They either can't see the return on investment, which basically means they can see them selves paying out a lot of money, but they're not sure on what value is that they're getting in return.

08:30 Another reason could be is that they don't trust you to help them achieve that result. Now, it's one thing that you're promising it, but have you positioned yourself as somebody who is credible and who that they trust explicitly to help them achieve that result? It also could be that they're not clear on what they'll actually be achieving when they work with you. If your outcome is too fluffy and that can kind of play into their, well, I can't really see a return on investment because I don't fully understand what it is I'll get after working with you. I really like your content. I see you around that. I've met you and you know I love what you do, but actually what am I going to receive in return? I can't see the results. The other reason is that they might just have a better option.

09:22 Now, this is always a blow because this is kind of second best syndrome. This is okay. Well, I'm liking what you're saying, but there's something else out there that's better for me. Now, this can hurt sometimes even more so than the other ones because you know what? Sometimes you know, particularly if you're starting out or you know that your marketing isn't up to scratch, you have something to blame, but when you're really putting effort in and at the end of the day someone turns around and goes, yep, this sounds fantastic, but actually I'm going to go with this other business, this other person because they're offering me something better for whatever that reason might be. This probably can hurt the most, but the one of the last reasons that they might reject you is because they're scared that they themselves can't achieve what you're promising and I'm going to tackle this one here and now.

10:13 This is something that you can absolutely help them with before they get on the call. Helping them believe in themselves in your content is really, really helpful. And also even whilst you're on a sales call, telling them about people that are just like them that have achieved the similar results can really help to boost both the confidence in themselves but also their belief in you as a credible expert that you are showing and demonstrating that you have helped people just like them achieve that particular result. Now, if after all of that, they are still wavering on their self belief, you know there's only so much you can do and this is when you have to decay. Okay, all day, really the best client for you at this time. Or they perhaps is this showing up as a lack of commitment? Is this showing up as, do you know what, they're not ready to work with you because at the end of the day we have to keep our moral compass and we have to really look at is this the best person that I can help?

11:17 Am I really going to be able to get results with where they're at at the moment? Because something that I see happen a lot, particularly in the coaching industry, is that people are taken on board at the wrong time. Yes, they're promising the right goal in terms of that's the ultimate goal that they want to achieve, but they are far too soon in the process to make use of what you're offering. And to me, it's completely out of integrity. For people to be doing that, we need to have some kind of prerequisite list when looking at our particular client. In order for them to achieve the result, they need to have these things in place first. And if you're not helping them do those things, or if you're not the right person to be helping them put those first things in place, then it's, you need to be sending them elsewhere and not taking them on.

12:10 Because I do think that it's, it's, it's just a shame because this is where we get so many people who are going, Oh, do you know what? I spent so much money. They're not afraid of investment. They've already invested, you know, hundreds if not thousands of pounds into that to their learning development. And you know, building those foundation, those supposed foundations. But actually when they look at it, they weren't building those foundations at all. They started working on something that was way too far ahead in the journey for them to make any real progress. And so it's really important that we recognize that and that we have that set of prerequisites for the people that we take on board. So let's talk about return on investment because this is a big one that I think a lot of people get confused on. You know, I hear a lot of the time people saying, Oh, you know, well you're a business coach.

12:59 It's easier for you to sell something and not be rejected because it's very money orientated. But actually if you look closer at what I do, yes, money is, is, is a big draw for people because the end of the day, if you're a business owner, you should hope for, he wants to be making more money. But you know, a lot of the people that buy from me, yes, that is one of their primary motives, but they also want that sought after status. That's what they are truly after because they know that with that will come. The element of getting the money, and when I first started out in business as in the guise of a business coach, I was selling clarity. I was selling clarity on finding your niche. Now that was what people wanted. Again, because they had a high awareness of their problem, they knew that if they got that clarity on their niche, they are not only going to make the money eventually because we know that's the first step to doing it.

14:02 They know they're not going to get there unless they get that in pace fast are they're going to be able to actually start marketing properly. They're going to be able to call in that ideal client. They're going to be able to start producing that content around what they do. They can start speaking and talking to the right people and feeling in alignment and passionate about working with somebody that they are passionate about working with. Really connecting with the why, so the return on investment doesn't always have to have to be money. The best way to look at return on investment is to ask yourself the question of what are they really buying? Now, FedEx had this excellent way of looking at their business and they said this truly, when they realize this, this truly was the turning point of their making, the amount of money that they now make as a business when they realize that there's a difference between an external problem and an internal problem.

15:08 So yes, FedEx helps to get a package from one place to another. You know, that's what they do. But what they are really selling is peace of mind. That trust to know that that package will get there in one piece at a specific time brings peace of mind to the customers that use them. They said that when they realize this, they were much more able to sell the benefits of their service. So it's about looking at that external and internal problem. So for instance, when you're, when you're buying insurance, you're buying peace of mind and security. When you're buying a cleaning service, you are buying serenity. You are buying that environment that you can just come home from your, you know, a stressful day from pound, the safer that has been neatly arranged. W you know the cushions perfectly PERTs you know, everything's absolutely pristine.

16:15 It looks like a hotel room and you start feeling these feelings of peace and relaxation rather than, Oh gosh, okay now I need to go and do the washing up. I need to Hoover cause it looks like a mess and I can't relax in this environment or weight loss. You are buying vitality and confidence. So obviously these are very kind of high level things that I'm talking about and the impact of all of those things run much, much deeper. So it's about looking at, okay so what is the external internal problems that I'm solving? And then also what is the impact of getting that in your life, you know, on your finances, on your mindset, on your health and really looking at the entire picture. Because when you can really fathom the entire impact, you are much more able to work out the entirety of the return on investment.

17:11 And then of course it's ensuring that you are articulating that every step of the way, preferably before they even get onto a sales call with you. So, but the time they get there, they really understand the true value of what you're offering and also knowing it for yourself so that when you are on that call you can very easily explain how you benefit their life. And obviously, you know, and hopefully we're going to get Jessica Lorimer on this podcast, my cage, my sales coach, because she is the queen of sales calls to come in and talk to us a bit about, about how to communicate on the actual call itself. But it's also about listening to your ideal client to listening to them on that call to find out, you know, what are the problems and how do your solutions help those problems and what is the then the impact of that.

18:07 So there is a little bit of fact finding problem solving and really looking at how you can best serve that person and help them achieve their goals. But my specialism is around creating that content before they get on that call. To really articulate what it is that you're offering them so that they're already a yes and that really the sales call is more of a decision making call. It's about dotting the I's and crossing the T's, working out payment and those kinds of things versus trying to convince somebody that are the best option. I would much rather you sorted all of that out before they got onto the call or at least as much as you possibly can because it makes your job a lot easier when it comes to securing that sale. So articulation of the return on investment of the value of what you're offering is very, very important.

19:06 Now, the last point that I wanted to cover off here is this whole, I found a better option reason, and this is a tough one because this could be for various different reasons, which is why it's important to look at your business as an entirety that it's not necessarily a quick fix when it comes to becoming the first choice and you know, not second best, but here's some things that really help to ensure that you are picked as the first option and that first thing is, is obviously to create a concrete USP that helps with their specific problem. Now that's really important because you could have a lot of different selling points in your business. You might even have an order different perhaps unique selling points in your business, but which specific USP helps with that primary issue that they have going on? The more you can relate it back to the thing that's stopping them, the more compelled they're going to feel to buy from you.

20:13 And if you need some more information around creating and a concrete productized USP that specifically helps with your prospect's problems, then do check out the first episode of the expert on rival podcast, the first full episode, not the trailer. That will take you through how you can start to do that. Another way in which you can do it is through specializing in people just like them, so helping people that are labeled as people just like them so that the service that you're providing fits them like a glove. It's not a service for everybody. It is a service that is specifically bespoke to people just like them. Now it's important to differentiate here between a bespoke package for them specifically because everyone likes a bit of special treatment. Absolutely, but actually what's more powerful is to say that you have helped people just like them because my third way of being able to show that you are, you're the best.

21:18 The first option they should, they should be looking at in the front. They shouldn't be looking anywhere else is looking at the fact that you're the best business. The best person to be helping them is showcasing results for people just like them. Because when they see they can get that belief that, wow, you know, I can do this. You know, I'm exactly like that person that they've helped and they're helping people like them day in, day out. So not only have I now boosted my own confidence in my ability to achieve the results, but I've also boosted the confidence in you as a business because I now believe in you because you have helped this specific type of person, specific type of business, you know, over and over. So you have this proven process that clearly works. So you can showcase those results. And then obviously you've got the fact, you know, showing that you're the best business or the best person to help them are all in all of these different types of credibility pieces around, you know, have you written that?

22:19 But are you positioning yourself as that market leader by doing the things that other people are not willing to do in the industry? Are you putting yourself out there all you were thought leader in your industry, all you somebody who is challenging other people out there in, in, in your industry to think differently. You know, what is it that you are leading with that really puts you up there as somebody to listen to? Because it's very rare that people will quibble about money and pricing. It's normally about, you know, all you the best person to be investing in. It's not what I can see. You're the best person to be investing in but actually want a cheaper option over there. And even if that were the case, do you really want them as a client? So if you've ever been rejected or you in the future get rejected some questions that you can ask yourself to analyze the situation to up your game and take your sales and your marketing to the next level is to actually look at did I truly show them a return on investment to its full extent?

23:27 Have I shown them the value? Have I done everything I could to present myself as credible to build that trust with my prospects? So much so that they feel totally confident in my abilities? Have I been really clear on the solid results and outcomes that they will actually get? Why didn't they choose me? What could I have done better to tune into what their true desires, true wants or true values, where perhaps you are offering a solid result or outcome. There really wasn't speaking to any kind of emotion. So what can we do to fix that? How can I help them to build confidence in themselves so that they too can believe that they can achieve the results that you help others to do? So when you stop running from the truth around the reasons as to why you might be getting that rejection, you'll find the answers and those answers will allow you to get a different result.

24:31 A yes. So I hope you've enjoyed this episode. I really do love hearing from you, and again, if you'd like to chat and discuss about working together to move forward, articulate with full clarity on the return on investment and value that you bring to the table so you can position, position yourself as the number one option in the market. Then do you make sure that you book a call and I'll see you in the next episode