LNCtips.com: Steps to Stop Rejection Fear

Fear of rejection can be more devastating than rejection itself.  For new legal nurse consultants trying to establish themselves, fear of rejection can stunt efforts to find clients or jobs in the legal field.  Selling LNC services doesn't come naturally to nurses, and if attorneys brush them off, those rejections hurt.  However, four steps can stop the fear of rejection.

Because they fear future rejection, legal nurse consultants make excuses to protect themselves emotionally.  They tell themselves that they don't want to appear pushy or that they're too busy to market to potential clients.  However, dealing with fear of rejection isn't an option.  It's something LNCs MUST do to achieve success.

According to Geoffrey James, author of the world's most-visited sales blog, the best way to deal with the fear of rejection is to take the sting out of it.  Here are his suggestions to desensitize yourself to the emotional aspects of rejection.

Understand why rejection hurts.  According to Art Mortell, author of The Courage to Fail, three circumstances make rejection particularly hurtful:

Frequent rejection.  One or two rejections seem bearable, but 20 or 30 seem hopeless.
Personal rejection.  Rejection by a stranger is distressing enough.  Rejection by someone you know is downright painful.
Influential rejection.  When you think the rejecter is important (smarter, more talented, better-connected, etc.), his or her opinion carries more weight.  If that person rejects you, it stings more than a less influential person's opinion might.

Now that you know the three situations in which rejection is most hurtful, determine your personal rejection fears:

How many attorneys can you contact and get a negative response before you start taking it personally?  Be honest with yourself.  If even one "No" makes you feel like a failure, you need to identify that.
How much emotional involvement can you have with clients before their rejection hurts?
How influential must a potential client be before rejection from that person is impossible to ignore? 

Change your beliefs.  This may sound overly simplistic, but it's not.  You just have to change your approach.  For example:

Instead of focusing on the bad reaction that you got from the last attorney, tell yourself, "Every contact that I make with an attorney is a new opportunity.  I can't change the past, only the future."
If personal rejection is holding you back, tell yourself, "A business relationship that's not worth risking isn't worth having."
If you're concerned about rejection by important potential clients, tell yourself, "Coping with cantankerous attorneys means I'm playing in the big leagues."

Fear of rejection can be crippling, or it can be an opportunity to succeed.  In the end, it's up to you.

...Katy Jones