Tag: faith

Sales Tips: How to Overcome Your Fear of Rejection

I’m not a salesman, but I’ve sold many things.

At the age of 11, I sold cellphones at my uncle’s telecom store in Makati. When I worked for GK CSI, I sold everything from kamoteng kahoy, talong, andĀ chicharon (no relation to Lapid’s šŸ™‚ ).

Me purchasing kamoteng kahoy from Ate Maricel at GK Enchanted Farm
Me purchasing kamoteng kahoy from Ate Maricel at GK Enchanted Farm

For my first full-time job in the States,Ā I sold consumer banking products. I was exposed to the world of cold calls and sales scripts. My personality wasn’t cut out for a “sales” job. Back then, pitching Ā for me was like pulling teeth.

However, a job in sales taught me many things. It taught me how to useĀ assumptive language, and never to make assumptions about a person based on his/her appearance.

I also learned how to pitch the sale to ALL customers who met the basic criteria. In my banking stint, one of the most successful salesmen in the region was selling credit cards. HeĀ never failed to ask every customer that he encountered about applying for a credit card. He wasn’t scared to ask, and most importantly, he wasn’t scared to hear:

Invitation_NO_GLOBALTOUR-800x575

That fear of hearing no, the fear of rejection, is what cripples people. It’s that fear of rejection that bogged me down. That fear which madeĀ me tiptoe instead of pushing me to run. I cared so much about preserving my image that it hindered me from reaching my full potential as a salesman. Sure, there were days when I overcame this fear, but it wasn’t consistent. I lacked a strong sense of purpose in my work and it made it even harder for me to overcome my fear.

I’ve since learned that communicating with a sense of purpose in my work and life is a powerful tool.Ā It enables Ā me to overcome my fears and move forward without dwelling on my past failures.

sales_trading_to_investment_bankingMy mission nowadays is clear – to contribute to national building in the Philippines by starting up a Philippine enterprise Ā to help myself while helping others. My sense of purpose gives me peace, and it can drive me to achieve highly improbable things, if I let it. While I still carry that fear and anxiety at times, my greater mission trumps the fear.

What are my sales tips, after all of these sales experiences and life realizations?

  • Embrace the power and significance of sales in your business. Without generating any sales, you’re not a business. As a result, it is very urgent that you sell.
  • Don’t feel guilty about selling. Selling is not a dirty thing. It’s a part of business.Ā Remember, you are sharing value with your customer when you offer your product/service through a sale.
  • If you are confident in your mission, then continue to take that leap of faith everyday. In the end, we’re all flawed humans. If you compromise your mission and work because you’re trying to get everyone’s approval, it won’t happen.
  • If you possess a higher purpose that provokes you to think outside of yourself, then allow it to take over. You will speak with more confidence and move with conviction. The right people will gravitate towards that spirit that you exude.
  • Do not give in to the need to conform to the status quo. As an entrepreneur, you are a leader. As an innovator, you must distort the norm.

How God Founded Our Startup

Peter Cauton


When a new employee starts in STORM, or any of the startups I’m associated with (we’re all in one building), they are treated to something different (especially if they’ve previously worked in corporations before) which happens every threeĀ o’clock. We invite the newbie to our conference room, where we read the Gospel for the day, and then everyone gets her turn to say a prayer.

When we celebrate a victory, we quickly remind ourselves that ultimately, it was God who enabled the victory. Yes, we have very talented and intelligent people on our team – but where do all these gifts come from anyway? We cannot and will not take full credit.

On the lower-right corner of our website, you will see Whom we dedicate this company to.

Why am I so obsessed with creating a workplace where culture is defined by faith?

During the company newbie orientation process, I give the talk on our history. A history of a startup is pretty much the history of its founders. When I give this talk, I get quite emotional because it is my life I am sharing. I tell new employees about how truly blessed we were in those early years – about how timing would always be so eerily perfect. The right client when we need it. A founder who backed out, only to become our first (needed) client. The right employee when we need it. Never missing payroll even in those times when we didn’t know where we could get the cash – I consider this nothing short of a miracle.

Soon, I reach the point where I talk about making my great leap in 2008 – from part-time to full-time, from corporate lifer to full-blown entrepreneur.

I made that leap at the MOST inopportune time ever – a full-blown recession, STORM having all sorts of problems, a person borrowing a huge chunk of money from me disappearing (and in doing so, wiping out my funds), a newborn son and a wife to support, our then-largest client alerting us through fax that they were letting go of us in two weeks, an impending 80% salary cut if I went full-time in STORM.

It was a completely idiotic decision.

So why, why, why, did I choose to make that leap when I did?

Discernment – I knew God wanted me to do so.

That’s it.

There was no secret client I was wooing, nor did I have a cash stash somewhere. No ace in the sleeve. Nor did I possess any irrational confidence that I could turn things around. I was wracked with doubt. Logic screamed at me to reconsider. I was not at peace.

(side note: I find that having “peace” with a decision is an overrated discernment element. I find that a lot of times, God talks to us by disturbing us. Oftentimes, when God asks us to grow and expand our horizons, it isn’t peace that is felt. It is disturbance. It is disturbance because when we expand our horizons, we always step out of our comfort zones)

But God was my rock.

So I leapt when He said so. It was truly a leap of Faith.

And ever since that leap, God has remained so faithful.

Not only has STORM been doubling revenues every year since ’08, but I have found what I want to do for the rest of my life: building startups and helping people build startups. I can talk about this topic nonstop for weeks. For the first time in my life, I have voluntarily devoured tons of (non-fiction)books on a topic. You could ask my wife – I have given up radio and I now instead listen to audiobooks and podcasts while driving. I would do this for free – I love this stuff.

I sometimes think of what I do now: the thrill of starting things, the experience of learning something by making decisions and truly being accountable for the ramifications, growing my startup family, work becoming my hobby and vice-versa, being involved in radically different but interesting things, writing and talking to people about something I am truly passionate about, I think of all these and I shudder. I shudder at the thought of how quickly and easily I might have decided to ignore that call to leap. Then I thank God again and again for the inspiration I was given.

I am utterly convinced with my entire being that if God had not intervened, if I had not been sufficiently guided, if I just followed what the world would have had me do, I would not have taken that leap. I would still be in a corporation now – completely uninspired, working for just my salary, totally waiting for Friday just like everyone else. No startups for me. No juangreatleap.

Instead, I had been redeemed.

This month, I met up with two blog readers I haven’t previously been acquainted with who invited me for coffee. Both asked me why I was doing this. Both noticed there weren’t any ads on this site. Both noticed I wasn’t asking for money during the meeting.

This is my answer, guys šŸ™‚ There will never be ads on this site, nor will I be asking for money for “consulting” when I meet people. This part of my life has been Gift. And so, for my part, I will share what I can with those who trust me enough to ask.

In all the ways I can think of, I try to make God the center of my work.

Just simply to give credit where it is due.

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