Receiving a negative response is so powerful that it can move our emotions, make us doubt or simply give up; however, a “no” can be taken in a positive way to learn from the situation and improve our work day by day.
When you know how to take it constructively, you can boost your business by identifying your areas of opportunity, or even your skills to make yourself stronger. Similarly, a timely “no” will prevent you from professional relationships that will stop you from creating unnecessary alliances that will not help you achieve your goals.
How to turn rejection around?
Avoid taking things personally, because a “no” to an idea, proposal or project of yours can be due to various situations beyond your control. Also, practicing active listening will be more useful to you than trying to convince the other to change his answer to a yes.
Are all “no’s” the same?
When you present an idea and get a negative response, it is important that you identify where the no comes from so that you can act accordingly. Guide yourself by these 3 types, since the “no”s are not always the same:
1. The “no” without knowledge.
This type of rejection comes from someone who does not have the ability to understand what you are proposing due to lack of knowledge on the subject.
If the person gives the guideline, explain more in depth and give examples so that they can better understand your idea; if he is not interested, do not take it personally, rather he does not connect with you, because he is not familiar with the concepts you handle.
2. The busy “no”.
In this case, the person telling you is because they are overloaded with information and activities; therefore, his mind and agenda do not have room to process your proposal.
Thank you for your time and move on. Remember that, if it did not happen, it is because the other has his thoughts on other things.
3. The analytical “no”.
This type of refusal is the most useful to you, because whoever tells you will ask questions about your idea, analyze your answers and give you feedback and constructive criticism about it.
This type of “no” will help you identify the opportunity areas of your project to make the necessary changes and strengthen it.
Sometimes, handling rejection can be complicated and especially in the first two types; however, with time and experience you will learn to identify each of them and decide which one you let go of, which one you appreciate and which one you learn from.
Remember that, as a leader, your job is to guide and be resilient to change and/or unexpected results in order to finally get a YES.