Let’s face it, as a business owner and entrepreneur, you have to sell. Anybody who sells knows that rejection is just part of the game. If you aren’t willing to hear “no” dozens of times, then you probably aren’t going to get too far. However, even the most confident business owners can get frustrated when deals don’t go through or when prospects don’t want to hear their pitch.

While every industry has certain techniques to overcome rejection during the sale, it is important for leaders to be able to handle it after it has happened. Dwelling on rejection can lead to a vicious cycle of self-doubt, demotivation and decreased performance. As your company’s leader, you can’t let that happen.

If rejection has been weighing on you recently, consider some of these motivational techniques to get yourself out of that rut.

Focus On Other Tasks

Although selling may be a vital part of your ownership role and a metric by which your company’s performance is measured, there are inevitably other leadership tasks that must be completed. Don’t let rejection put you in a spiral of lethargy or apathy. Get right to those other tasks before concentrating on sales again. This can help take some stress off of your plate and get your mind into a better place.

Look At The Numbers

It is a numbers game. After making 10, 30 or even 60 rounds of sales without an affirmative response, it may feel like you’re never going to hear the word “yes” again in your life. When this happens, take a step back and run your historical numbers, as well as numbers from the industry. Chances are that conversion rates are pretty low across the board. That’s the reason you need to take so many sales actions in the first place. Sales is a numbers game, and you simply can’t expect to close every lead that you handle. Take a deep breath and know that your numbers are likely to level out after a bad day.

Remember That It’s Not Personal

It can be easy to place the blame on yourself and to feel like you just aren’t good at sales. But the cold, hard truth about sales is that most people you contact won’t need your product or service. There are thousands of prospects that even the top salespeople in the world can’t close on. Part of your job is to find the right prospects, not to succeed in closing the wrong ones. If you have trouble connecting or making a pitch to a particular prospect, it just might not be the right time to sell to them.

Look At The Big Picture

Pounding sales for hours and walking away empty-handed can be defeating, but it’s not the end of the world. Your goal isn’t to close on every sale that you attempt — that would be impossible. Instead, you should be focused on the big picture and your long-term objectives. Think about what your reason behind this is — your Champagne Moment — and let that dive into your motivation. Consider where you want to be at the end of the month, quarter or year, and determine if you are on track to reach your goals. If you are, then this is just a minor setback. If you aren’t, you can use this time to develop new strategies.

Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help

As a business leader, you cannot work in a vacuum. Sales is not a solo sport. You have internal resources you can ask for help — there is no loss of face in doing that. Maybe you need to seek advice from someone external. An executive coach may be the right place to turn, or you may get the accountability you need and the emotional support from joining a peer-advisory board.

Learn From Your Failures

After you've finished a disastrous sales action — or a disastrous round of sales actions – don’t give up, but don’t just keep doing what you’ve been doing. Take some serious time to analyze what went wrong and to figure out what you can do differently next time. Is your pitch too long-winded? Are you using too aggressive of a tone? Maybe you’re just not focusing on the right targets. Sales is not just about smooth-talking and negotiation. There is a lot of analysis that needs to be done in order to be sure that you are working effectively and efficiently. If you aren’t currently learning something from every sales attempt, then you need to start paying more attention.

Sales, for a business owner, is a key factor for future success. Don’t think that you can only be born with the skills to sell well. It’s a key strategy, and just like everything else in your business that should be planned, it involves getting a strategy defined and tactics built, measured and constantly improved. Now, go get ’em.

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Six Techniques To Help Business Owners Handle Sales Rejection