Get Used to Rejection

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Generating sales is one of your top jobs as an entrepreneur. Build something, pitch it, sell it, and repeat. The process is easy to understand, but hard to execute. Especially early on, for every “yes,” you will hear “no” dozens (or hundreds) of times. Colonel Sanders got rejected 1,001 times before he signed his first customer. Not everyone is an early adopter, and most people have trouble trusting a brand new company.

If you want to start a company, get used to constantly hearing “no.” Some days, it will feel like the world wants to hold you back. Because of this, the people who build companies are among the toughest around. They have to be—they wade through miles of rejection for that one redeeming and glorious customer.

There are two ways to look at rejection—you can take it personally or use it to make your pitch stronger. Great entrepreneurs love to hear “no,” because every rejection teaches them something. Do the same, and keep your sanity by turning sales into a game. See how many rejections it takes to get to a sale. Then try to beat that the next time around. Use rejection to build better products and a stronger company.

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