I’ve heard SO many times over the years. When I started in sales — decades ago — I sold absolutely nothing for a long time. I learned later that it might take a hundred NO’s before you get to the first YES you may need for the day month or year.

I’ve learned that you have to stay focused, and work through the “process of elimination.” This means you have to talk to a certain number of prospective customers before you get to the buying customer.

Don’t take NO for a rejection of who you are — they are more likely rejections of your service or product.

Some may reject your proposals because you failed to articulate how you’ve done some work. I’ve had contractual obligations that prohibit me from sharing the specifics of what I have done.

I don’t feel that has been a loss — I say that because I’ve been blessed to have worked in over 100 countries, setting up and deploying entrepreneurship and small business programs, seeing what happens and the learning that comes from it.

What I desire from this conversation is to help those seeking to do better to learn and continue to improve — to keep going — no matter what happens, and create a journey that you focus on versus the number of positive or negative responses that come.

BEFORE YOU GO

We see our blogs as opportunities for dialogue. Please share your thoughts as comments.

1. What can you do to overcome the challenges you might face?

2. What can you do to articulate your story in a way that is meaningful for others?

3. What have you done in the past to stay focused despite challenges?

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Faris Alami is Founder and CEO of International Strategic Management, Inc. (ISM). He works internationally, presenting Exploring Entrepreneurship Workshops and other entrepreneurial ecosystem — related ventures.