Part of the journey to success is learning how to hear the word “no” without being crippled by feelings of disappointment and a sorely dented ego. There is not a success story in the history of the world that hasn’t had someone at some point say “no”. If “no” stopped everyone in their tracks then it is unlikely civilisation would have progressed much beyond caves and firesticks.
The entrepreneurs that have gone on to great things and become household names, have changed the world or even both are the entrepreneurs who kept moving past every “no”, instead using each rejection as an opportunity to make their idea, product and themselves even better.
People will always have a reason for saying “no”. It’s up to you to dig deeper and find out why. “No” can be a result of a plethora of reasons, such as they think the idea downright sucks or they don’t believe in the size of the market, however it is worth considering the following:
Your audience doesn’t hate the idea but they default to “no” because “yes” makes them feel uncomfortable. This sort of “no” can be a feedback goldmine. If you’ve pitched your idea and your audience is uncertain about their response that generally means that they can see both pros and cons. You may not be able to convince your audience to change their mind but you can definitely go away and work to remove the cons as excuses for future audiences saying “no”.
If you detect any sort of hesitation in the response of your audience you owe it to yourself to engage further and get that gold. Be prepared, however. Hearing the reasons behind the “no” can require a lot of self-control and some pretty solid listening skills. First and foremost, ask for an explanation politely – don’t be aggressive about it or you will shut down the communication and annoy your audience. You need to keep your emotions in check and not get angry or upset. You also need to focus on what your audience is telling you instead of arguing the toss, either out loud or in your head.
Chances are that you will pitch your idea multiple times to different audiences which means that you will hear “no” numerous times thereby providing numerous feedback opportunities. After a while you will start to see some basic themes emerge. Apply the 80/20 rule and spend your time working on the common themes before you try and fix an issue that only one person has mentioned.
The world is a continuous feedback loop so make sure you’re listening closely. Use the momentum of the feedback loop to continue your growth and development and improve your chances of success.
Don’t believe me about the most successful people in the world also suffer rejection? Here is the proof that you are not alone!
