Are you paralyzed with fear? Good. Too Many Entrepreneurs, Business Owners, and Salespeople Freak Out at the Word no . I understand why. If you're like most people, your earliest childhood memories were like, "No! You cannot have the cookie. " " No! You can't go out now. From an early age, we learned to recoil from the word.
But if you can't overcome your resistance to the word no , you will never achieve your goals. As my colleague says, "get out on the thin branches." He compared success to climbing the skinny branches of a tree. “The most important virtue of success is courage,” he says. The best performers take risks. They create strategies to deal with rejection and accept that failure is an inevitable and necessary stop on the road to success.
Over the years I have developed methods that help me deal with my fears and cultivate courage where I thought they did not exist. Here are five that have worked well for me.
Related: 3 ways to bravely face your fears
1. Either no fuel you.
Think for a moment about our successful heroes, entrepreneurs and thought leaders, and their accomplishments. I guarantee they all made their mark in the face of massive opposition. Once you realize it, you can too.
J.K. Rowling was rejected by dozens of editors before Harry Potter The series was picked up by a small London publishing house, all because her 8-year-old daughter persisted and insisted that Rowling keep submitting her manuscript.
Decca Records told the Beatles:"We don't don't like the sound, and guitar music is about to die out.
In Black’s Law Dictionary, 3rd edition (published before 1969), the definition of commercial impossibility is "a trip to the moon".
Courage is the virtue that allows people to go through rejection and become stronger. No one will ever escape pain, suffering and failure. Yet out of pain can come courage, and out of courage comes strength and success.
2. Act massively.
“I learned that courage is not the absence of fear, but triumph. The brave man is not the one who is not afraid, but the one who overcomes this fear. -Nelson Mandela
The call you're afraid to make is the call you need to make.
The question you're afraid to ask is the question you need to ask.
The conversation you're most afraid of to have must have.
Try it. Right now, make a list of the 10 people you are most afraid or embarrassed to contact. The big accounts, the ones you're not ready to call, the scariest. This is the easy part. The hard part, but the most satisfying part, comes next. Pick up the phone, knock on the door, reach out to these people and go for what you want.
3. Face your fears.
We all have fears and I am no exception. But when I pick out exactly my fears and ask myself, What's the worst thing that can happen? I am less afraid. In reality, the worst that can happen is that I might feel embarrassed or unworthy – and that's not as bad as not wanting what I want.
The best thing you can do when you have fear is to take a chance, be bold, and tell a friend or mentor exactly what your biggest fears are.
Here are mine:
I will never be as good as (fill in the blank:my mother, my brother, my colleagues, my competitors).
I really don't know what I'm doing; I'm in over my head.
I have nothing new to say.
I am a has-been.
People will laugh at me.
My life will make no difference.
Ugh. It was hard. But I feel better now, and so will you, if you try it. Take a moment and write down your biggest fears. What's the worst thing that can happen if...?
Related: 4 reasons why you should risk rejection
4. Navigate in no.
Courage is not the absence of fear, but triumph. When you develop your skills, you increase your courage.
You will have no at every stage of the business:
Prospecting:CEOs, lenders or potential candidates do not return your calls. Your emails go unanswered, and people who promise to contact you disappear like Houdini.
During a negotiation:Their arms are crossed, their iPhone is more intriguing than your stories, and they suddenly need to leave for an urgent meeting.
Objections:They read you a laundry list of what's wrong:why the competition is better, your product is too expensive, and your customer service is lousy.
The following techniques are useful whenever you hear no .
Listen carefully before responding. Don't get defensive. To breathe. Let the other person finish their thinking. Now ask yourself, Is this a killer okay? Many objections are valid; the other party just needs more information. Some test you to gauge whether you are sincerely addressing their concerns.
Answer a question with a question. Listen carefully and clarify their no with a question. This is an extremely effective way to reduce ambiguity. Remember that questions are often disguised objections.
Know when to isolate a no . You've done it before:they slam question after question, concern after concern. It looks like an endless sea of no . Do not abandon. Instead, ask a question that isolates their concern and listen carefully to the response.
5. Use humor.
When it comes to negotiating, hiring, or pitching, "No never means no." It takes tenacity and courage to achieve what you want. When you hear no , shop around, through and over to make the sale, get the deal, or beat your competition.
Average entrepreneurs say things like, "I left a message and he didn't call back." … I emailed but got no response… She must not be interested. These days, people are busier than ever and on information overload. If their first answer is no , they may not be interested; it's just that your priority isn't their priority until you do it . Surprise! The last thing you want to do is continually present someone the same way with the same message. Try something creative.
For example, I got one of my biggest deals yet by sending pizza and a poem to a busy executive who just wouldn't return my calls. His assistant repeatedly told me, "He's in a meeting. I thought, Geez, this poor guy is still in a meeting. He probably never goes out for a walk or bends over at lunch for a workout. I'm not even sure he even eats!
"Has he had lunch yet?" I asked his assistant.
"No." "
" What's the best pizzeria around? I asked.
"Pauli, just down the street."
"Great," I replied. “I'm going to buy Simon a pizza and have it sent to the office. I will order enough for everyone. Oh, and I'll fax you a poem. Do you mind tying him to the pizza box for me before you bring him the pizza? She chuckled and did as I asked. The poem read:
Is it sunny or raining?
The weather is always good with online training.
I know you're busy playing business and banker.
But isn't time to drop our anchor?
Think of the increased volume it will produce.
Consistent messaging on the pitch.
So when you're done with that last pepperoni .
Pick up the phone and earn money!
Did I hear? You guessed it! I got a call within 90 minutes. It ended up being very important.
Courage is not something that happens to you; it is generated by your actions. Courage must be practiced. If you wait to take action until the fear wears off, your inspiration might never come.
Related: 15 Courageous Quotes to Awaken Your Inner Courage
