How do you handle rejection?
Business development representatives need to be able to handle rejection because they will face it on a daily basis. The interviewer wants to know that you are resilient and persistent. If possible, talk about a time when you successfully dealt with rejection. Show the interviewer that you didn't give up.
"By nature, I am the type of person who perseveres, even when the going gets tough. Rather than being defeated when I encounter a difficulty, I rise to the challenge and enjoy working hard to tackle and conquer it. During college, I worked part-time in a call center making outbound sales calls. Many of my colleagues would become burnt out after being hung up on and cursed out multiple times a day. While I didn't necessarily enjoy that part of the job either, I chose to view these responses as a challenge. Every day I tried to hit a certain number of positive responses, and if I got a lot of hang ups, I would increase the number of calls I was making to ensure I hit my number. I taught myself not to take negative responses personally, and I rewarded myself at the end of the day with something I enjoyed if I hit my target."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
I am a master at handling rejection and I overcome rejection by understanding that is a natural part of the sales process. It is a skill that has to be earned over time and with my 5 years of sales experience I am not phased by it. If anything it inspires me and motivates me to work harder for the next yes.
Marcie's Feedback
Great! The interviewer will be happy to learn that you're resilient and accustomed to handling rejection. Can you talk a bit more about how you developed this skill? Did you do lots of cold calling and have to face rejection on a daily basis? Did you find that if you didn't learn to brush it off, you'd be unable to continue in this field and be successful?