No thank you. Nope. Not now. Not today. No way. Does any salesperson ever enjoy hearing those words?
The 3 things you can’t avoid in life are taxes, death and rejection…… if you’re in ad sales, that is. It’s part of the ad sales game, and if you don’t develop a strategy on how to deal with all the rejections, you’re not going to win the game.
Let’s face it—the odds are stacked against you. In baseball, the very best hitters get a hit once in 3 home plate appearances. That player would go to the Baseball Hall of Fame with a .333 batting average! If an ad sales person makes one sale in 10 attempts to a new prospect, they would certainly be inducted into the Ad Sales Hall of Fame as well. (Not sure where that Hall of Fame is–but I’d love to visit.)
So how do you deal with all that rejection?
Here are 5 helpful tips that work for me:
1. Acknowledge the odds are stacked against you. Be realistic that not all new prospects are going to do business with you. Basically, give yourself a break and celebrate your victories.
2. Which leads to…remind yourself of your victories. I used to decorate my whole office with all my big contracts. It was fun to do and the visual was a constant reminder how successful I was. Ad sales people often hang onto the defeats. Don’t do that! Keep it positive always.
3. You’re got to have a tough ego. When new prospects are turning you down, that does NOT mean you’re a bad person or a bad sales person. I look at it this way: The prospect just made a very poor business decision. And here I was going to find a way to help them figure out the right business decision!
4. Don’t take it too seriously. Thank god we’re not brain surgeons. We’re selling advertising, after all. This perspective gives me confidence to be assertive in going after sales. The worse thing that can happen is… the ad sales prospect says “No.” Definitely not life and death. So, go for it!!
5. Group therapy works! Every day at about 4 PM, I used to meet with my ad sales team and we’d go over the calls for the day. We’d pretty much talk about all the idiots that turned us down, what we could do better and generally start laughing. We also did a lot of one-upmanship with our stories—who had the worst prospect call of the day, etc. Sharing your trials and tribulations with your ad sales team can really boost your spirits and your confidence.
We’d also help each other with creative ideas that could work and often the next day I’d call back the prospect with a new idea and turn the account around. Try group therapy with your ad sales team, it really works!
Media sales is one of the highest forms of salesmanship. You’re basically selling the idea that your magazine audience is worth investing money in. It’s not easy. But you’re the key person at your organization. You’re the one bringing in the money. Be proud of what you do as a media ad sales person. We are very lucky to have these jobs!
Have fun with it. Yes, rejection is part of the job. But don’t let it take over what you do. Deal with rejection in a positive way. You can do it!
Happy selling out there to all my ad sales peeps!
Carl Landau is Grand Poobah of Niche Media. He is a media/event guru, SF Giants fan and part-time blogger. His 15 minutes of fame took place in the mid-eighties when he launched his famous, “Buy an Ad, Get a Cat” ad campaign. He has long since patched things up with the SPCA. Click HERE to learn more.
