Overcoming Rejection

When I was a first year in high school, I took a summer course called Rejection Therapy. Essentially, we walked around Castro Street in Mountain View and asked people random things to get rejected for. We had a new assignment each time: Ask people to sign your fake cast. Ask a restaurant to hire you. Ask someone if you can draw them. Ask people for a selfie.

As expected, a lot of people said no, but I honestly don’t remember any more detail than that. What I do remember, however, was the nice family from Ireland who signed my arm cast, the two young workers at Icicles who let us draw them and then wanted to keep the papers, and the people who had actual discussions with us considering our inquiry.

I told Gary about this experience because I saw a video on his YouTube channel titled, “How To Deal With Rejection,” and we thought it would be a great topic to learn about for our final meeting.

It was a sunny August day and Gary was in the car while Meagan was at the office. For someone driving, he sure had everything thought out in what he wanted to say.

In sales and business…

• Never shy away from rejection, it doesn’t make you better 

  • Most people don’t like talking about it 

  • If you don’t uncover rejection, person is most likely to say no

• Impossible to be rejection proof (like the book ;)

• “Do you have any objections to this proposal?” Encourage critique 

  • How do you overcome them?

    • Ask why they feel that way (pricing, rate) so they can provide you information and you know how to overcome it

  • Negotiation should be give and take 

  • “I can do this but you have to sign the contract today”

• Negotiating 

  • Be extra nice and likable (they will do what you want them to do)

  • They won’t chase after you 

• Don’t let emotions get in the way of the result of what will happen

  • Be able to walk away from it, the better deal you’ll get

• Come across as confidence, great to have coming across objection 

  • DON’T BE DESPERATE 

• Address objection in proposal 

  • What will they have an objection with?

  • Mostly all the time, “How much will this cost?” for litigation 

• Take the risk

  • What are you worried about? 

  • Don’t be emotionally tied to your ego 

• Watch tone, pitch, and volume when trying to be confident 

  • Don’t go too high or too low 

  • Don’t trail off 

  • The louder you talk, the higher your IQ is portrayed (LOL)

• Body language

  • No slouching or squirming 

  • Always be respectful

I wanted to learn about something more vast for our last meeting, not so tied to marketing itself for some reason. Maybe I’m tired? Not sure.

After this, I thanked Gary and Meagan endlessly for their time and support this summer. Like, they taught me A LOT. And as a business owner, a lot of what I learned also applies to what my dad does too. He’s self-employed and now I feel I have a better understanding of how he is successful.

Through this internship, I was able to influence several audiences on J2’s client’s platform, J2’s platform, and Gary’s platform (mouthfull). I learned that the best way to do business is to be human and to treat others with respect. From the first phone call I had with Gary, to my first Gavel Club meeting, to my first day taking Principles of Marketing, I had decided that those activities would occupy my summer - and I don’t regret it one bit.