The Art of Bouncing Back: Handling Professional Rejection With Grace

Rejection doesn't discriminate – it visits all of us in real estate, but those who learn to handle it with grace find the path to lasting success. 

Today I'm pulling back the curtain on what rejection really looks like in the trenches of real estate prospecting. After making 55 phone calls, I experienced seven hang-ups from expired listings, an unprofessional disconnect from a fellow agent, and challenging conversations with prospects demanding unrealistic prices for their properties. Rather than sugar-coating these experiences, I share how each interaction taught me something valuable about perseverance.

What makes rejection particularly challenging is that it often has nothing to do with you. I connected with someone facing serious health issues, another who had been fired just minutes before my call, and someone in the middle of a personal emergency. These moments remind us that behind every rejection is a human being with their own story. The magic happens when you can maintain empathy for these situations while not allowing them to impact your momentum or confidence.

Developing thick skin isn't optional in real estate – it's essential. The most successful agents simply treat rejection as confirmation they're doing the work that matters. Through consistent action, the emotional sting diminishes, and you begin operating in what I call your "genius zone" – that mental state where you perform optimally, free from emotional baggage. So keep dialing, keep following up, and remember: work works. You are the solution to your challenges, and your resilience will ultimately define your success in this profession. Ready to transform how you handle rejection? Subscribe now and build the mental toughness that separates top producers from the rest.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You have to be able to handle rejection at a high
level.
So today I made 55 dials and Igot hung up on by seven people.
Seven people hung up on me.
An additional person hung up onme.

(00:21):
That was an agent that didn'tlike the question that I asked
them.
Person hung up on me.
That was an agent that didn'tlike the question that I asked
them, and so instead of them,instead of them just having a
normal professional conversation, they decided to hang up.
So I called the main agent, whohappens to be the broker in this

(00:45):
case, because they are actuallythe listing agent on the
property.
It's a good clarity.
And they said well, you know,they're new and they don't know.
And I said that's all fine andnew, but to be new, the thing is
, I don't care how new you areas a professional.

(01:06):
You don't hang up on otherprofessionals and yes, hi, it's
my life.
How are you?
Nice to see you here today,thank you for joining us, but
you don't hang up on otherprofessionals.
Now, the other people that hungup on me are expired listings,

(01:28):
oh, and a couple of peopleactually that I talked to a few
years ago that probably don'tneed our services or don't
remember or who cares.
The point is is that it doesn'tmatter that they hang up.
What matters is that you don'tget ruffled by it and you just
keep hitting next, next, next,next.

(01:50):
I also had a potential sellerarguing with me about a price of
vacant land commercial in WestPhilly, and he wanted about
$100,000 or more than theproperty's worth and wanted to
convince me of why he was right,which is fine.
Try to convince me all you want, although I've sold a lot of

(02:13):
properties over the last 20years and I understand the
market, I understand the values,I understand what's going on in
the commercial market and indevelopment market and the
property is never, ever sellingfor the price that he wants to
get.
So I told him let's not wasteeach other's time anymore and
let's kind of move on, becauseit doesn't make any sense to

(02:34):
take a listing that you're nevergoing to sell and you know off
the gate it's never, ever, everselling this year or next year
for that price.
So why bother, why take thetime, why take the effort?
What is the answer?
And the solution is to talk tomore people.
Talk to people that are readyto do something or will be ready

(02:58):
soon, or you're just followingup on those that you've spoken
to before and you're touchingbase and seeing if there's
anything you can do for them.
How are they?
How are their families?
How's their health?
I also spoke with somebody elsetoday.
Her health is not good, she'snot well.
I felt really bad.
I also called somebody, and 10minutes before this and he's

(03:21):
somebody that I've spoken tobefore about selling his
property.
Literally 10 minutes before Icalled, he was fired.
So I had somebody with badhealth.
Somebody was fired.
Somebody else I talked to todaywas having a small catastrophe
and then I got hung up on sixtimes plus a seven time by the

(03:43):
agent.
So, yes, hung up on six times,plus a seven time by the agent.
So, yes, you have to be able tohandle rejection at a high level
.
You just have to got to be ableto.
And, yes, he might want todownsize and sell his house, but
today it's my life was not thetime for that conversation.

(04:06):
I'm going to let him be.
I told him the best thing to dois to go ahead and file for his
unemployment while he looks foranother job, but to do that
right away, since he's alreadypeed into it.
And he was fired and he did notquit.
So be able to handle rejectionat a high level, you have to
have thick skin, you have tounderstand that it's not about

(04:27):
you, it's about them, and peoplehave their own agenda and it's
our job and our commitment tokeep on moving and find those
who are willing and able to dosomething, and not worry about
the ones that don't want to,don't want to hear from you or
are not willing.
So to be able to do that, yougot to get up every day and just

(04:50):
keep doing the work.
And as you do the work, you getstronger and stronger, and that
rejection doesn't bother you.
Gotta, let it not bother you,because if it does bother you,
then it's gonna hold you backfrom being in your genius zone.
And when you're in your geniuszone, that is when things happen

(05:12):
.
So how do we get tough?
We get tough by doing more.
We keep going at it by doingmore, by doing the gritty work,
getting our hands dirty and justdoing it, and just keep hitting
next, next, next, till you findsomebody.
And when you do actually speakwith somebody, be kind, be

(05:36):
gracious, thank them for theirtime.
I always thank people for theirtime on the phone, taking my
call, especially somebody that Ididn't know before this
interaction, and I did actuallyend up setting.
I set two appointments todaynot my best day, not my best day

(05:56):
, probably set about 10.
I said two.
I felt like today was slower,just generally with calls coming
into the office.
I could tell on call volume.
But you still have to do thework day in, day out and handle
that rejection at a high level.
And when you learn to handlethat rejection at a high level,

(06:17):
things start to change.
And when you learn to handlethe rejection at a high level,
things start to change.
So you don't get disappointed,as you may keep getting hung up
on, but I kind of giggle andlaugh and just keep carrying on,
keep doing the work.
So handle the rejection, don'tbe scared of it, take it on,

(06:38):
it's all part of the rejection.
Don't be scared of it, take iton, it's all part of the process
.
And remember work works.
You are the solution.
Be the solution.