One of the most important distinctions between an average agent and a champion is the way in which each handles rejection. To succeed as an agent you need to embrace rejection and recognize it for what it is – a necessary stepping stone to success!

First of all, every single “no” from a client puts money in your pocket! We spoke about this in Chapter 2. If your average commission is $2,000 and you generally have to meet with ten clients before closing – each client you meet, no matter what they decide, earns you $200! Do the math and come up with your own cash value for apartment showings. Keep this in mind with every appointment you go on. Soon you’ll find that you’re more relaxed and won’t be discouraged by the clients who say “no.”

The Attitude of Champions!

When it comes to dealing with rejection, champions have a winning attitude. This attitude is based on a few positive assertions.

1. Rejection is NOT failure; it is a learning experience.
2. In every rejection I receive feedback that helps me improve.
3. I value every opportunity to practice and perfect my techniques, even if the opportunity doesn’t result in a closing.

It doesn’t matter if you hear “no’s” all day long, you’re still learning and perfecting your skills. The more you learn the more you’ll be able to improve your ratio of clients to closings. Soon, instead of ten clients per closing, you’ll have nine! This means that the cash value of every client you meet just went up!

Think of your sales techniques like the skills needed to play a sport. Let’s say you just picked up a basketball for the first time and are standing in front of a net. Your first shot is an air ball that bounces two feet short – that’s your first client “no.” So you adjust and throw harder this time, but the ball whizzes past a foot to the right of the backboard – your second “no.” You adjust again, throw with the same force and aiming more to the left, but the ball bounces off the back board – your third “no.” Based on your last throw you adjust once more and give the ball more of an arc and – WHOOSH – you make a basket! If you hadn’t “failed” the first three times, you wouldn’t have had the information you needed to make the shot. Those misses were necessary steps to success, just as client “no’s” are necessary to getting the eventual “yes!”

Humor Helps!

“Laugh at yourself, but don’t ever aim your doubt at yourself. Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don’t leave any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory.” – Alan Alda

“It wasn’t funny at the time, but…” You may be having the worst day of your career. Every mistake you can make, you’ve made. You mixed up your notes and took a woman to an apartment that met none of her needs. You lost track of time and came to an appointment 15 minutes late – the client was ready to leave! Then the keys didn’t work and you couldn’t get a hold of the super, so the appointment was a wash anyway! Finally, you meet with a man and his wife. Things are going well until you, expecting to talk up all the kid-friendly aspects of the neighborhood, ask about the wife’s due date. Smiles fade and you realize the poor woman is overweight, not pregnant!

No doubt about it, mistakes are real learning experiences! But don’t let that take away from the humor inherent in the way we all bungle through life at times. It will take the weight off these experiences and help you give yourself a break! Give it a couple of weeks and you’ll look back and laugh. And don’t forget to share it with fellow agents – they’ll find it hilarious and will probably have a few stories of their own!