Great Leaders are Great Mentors: Dealing with “NO”

“No is not the end of the world. It gives you insight and direction for the future.” ~ Danita Bye

Getting a “no” can be rough. When I started in sales, each time I got a “no” felt like that was it – the end. I’ll never get another chance. One day, one of my mentors told me, “Danita, never give up. Keep going!”

I had a lot to learn about sales…and life.

Another man I regard as a mentor and will always admire for his business acumen and wisdom was the late Zig Ziglar. He once said, “Sometimes adversity is what you need to face in order to become successful.”

Dakota Leadership’s Fifth Action Step to Live with an Outward Focus

Dealing with No: See “no” as a signpost. “No” gives you insight and direction for the future. “No” isn’t about turning the negative into a positive. It’s about recognizing that No gives us valuable information on where to go with our conversation.

Based on all the data we’ve collected from helping companies hire top performing sales people, we know that the majority of salespeople have difficulty recovering from rejection. On the other hand, leaders who are able to recover from rejection are OK with “no” because they:

understand they aren’t being rejected personally;
don’t allow the “no” to affect their self-image;
are willing to put themselves in “high risk” scenarios, noting that a “no” is an important part of the learning process;
probe for alternatives after getting the “no”, and;
are able to quickly put the last “episode” behind them.

Stop seeing “no” as the end. See “no” as an opportunity for bigger, better and brighter ideas.

Leader, are you going to leave a legacy of significant mentoring behind?

What is Dakota Leadership?

Dakota Leadership is resilient influence rooted in virtuous character that amid challenges determinedly acts as a catalyst for momentum and positive change.

In the next post I’ll tell you how you can become a solution provider instead of being a problem identifier.

Dakota Leadership question: How does it make you feel when your bright idea is rejected?

Dakota Leadership lesson: No is not the end of the world. It’s the start of finding a better solution.

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