I had a call with a potential client the other day. Here’s a rough idea of how it went:

Client: I want to scale my business.

Me: Great! First step is to increase your price.

Client: What? No. I can’t. I’m not that experienced.

Me: Sounds like there’s a money block…

Client: No. Money and I are friends. You and I are not. Bye.

Okay, so there was a bit more to it than that. But that’s the general basis of the call. He was charging too little. I suggested a price increase. He disagreed.

And so he decided he didn’t want to work with me because we “have different values”.

Fair play – the truth is, not everyone is a good match. We said goodbye with a smile & carried on.

As a B2B entrepreneur who provides a service to others, you HAVE to become familiar with that word that everyone hates…

Rejection.

It’s inevitable. But it can also be a great lesson. Here’s why:

☝ Rejection is often a result of resistance.

☝ Rejection builds resilience if you use it properly.

Let’s unpack those a little.

• Resistance

It’s natural to assume (or to believe them when they say) that rejection is all about your price. But in reality, price is just the easy thing to point fingers at.

Mostly, they’re NOT resistant to paying your fee. If they truly wanted to, they’d make a plan.

They’re resistant to changing. To doing hard things. To getting uncomfortable. And to “being told” what to do – even if they sought you out for help.

The good news is that this helps you see things more clearly.

Either, a) you already know you’re not a good match, or b) you already know one of their greatest weaknesses if you start working together at a later stage.

• Resilience

You can take rejection to heart. Or you can take it to your head. Study it. Learn from it. Understand it. And use it to build yourself up.

Objections aren’t usually personal. Rejection is usually more about the potential client than it is about you. But it’s the perfect occasion to remind yourself of your strengths, make sure you’re playing to them, & firm up your foundation.

How to handle rejection: 

👽 Keep being your authentic self. If people don’t like you for you, they’re not a good match.

😇 Be gracious. Don’t make enemies of people who don’t want to work with you.

👐 Use it to help others. Rejection is universal. Use your experience to help others going through the same thing.

💪 Clarify your purpose & direction. If you’re being rejected often, it’s a sign to reassess and make change. Consider it a business arrow, pointing you in the right direction.