How to Handle Rejection when Pitching to Hospitality Accounts

Even the most successful of entrepreneurs face one thing: rejection. 

Maybe you’ve been on the fence about approaching hotels and pitching hospitality accounts but you are afraid of that rejection. You could quite possibly have been in business for a while but still aren’t sure how to deal with that dreaded rejection.

This episode will help you normalize rejection and allow you to take it off that pedestal it has been on. After all, rejection itself has nothing to do with you. Fear of rejection, this topic, can be a little activating so I hope you’ll stick around with me while we dive in deep and discuss this. I want you to succeed and start pitching hospitality accounts with confidence. I know I would be doing a disservice to you if we didn’t discuss this very important topic. 

I want to normalize rejection. I want you to think about it as that it’s a required spice to your life.

We wouldn’t see the sun, if not for the rain. We wouldn’t see how beautiful summer is, if not for winter. We wouldn’t see how amazing our success is, if not for rejection.

We need to hear no’s in order to:

• Learn how to grow our business in a way that is sustainable to our nervous system
• Help slow us down so we can run our business the way that works best for us individually.
• Spark more conversations.
• Keep trying which increases your confidence in your ability to pitch. 

Every no, is just a “not yet”. 

Use those no’s to create a follow up list for the future. I talk about this “hit list” in The Hotel Florist™ Starter Kit, The Hotel Florist™ Profit Method and Petals to Profit. I talk about it pretty much everywhere because it is that important. 

What about when they tell you no because they already have a preferred vendor?

One thing this teaches you about this potential client is that they are loyal. They respect who they work with. We want to be in that relationship right? That’s why we’re so activated when they tell us no. 

When this happens, cultivate that follow up, keep them top of your mind. 

So much could happen in six months. So much could happen in a year.

Just because they’re telling you “we already have someone” doesn’t mean,

1) you’re not good enough

2) that they won’t ever work with you.

Lastly, what do we do when this potential client that we pitched our idea to, runs away and repurposes it for themselves? 

This is such a good question and we dive into it deep on the podcast because this has happened to me and it was such a great learning experience but at the time it left me super jaded. So if this has happened to you or you have been avoiding experiencing this, be sure to check this episode out. 

But in short, here’s my advice to you: do not give them the whole concept when you pitch them. It’s not required to overdeliver out of a place of lack.

Your proposal should tease and your proposal should give them a vibe. If they want that vibe, they invest in your services. There are ways for them to get a more detailed proposal if they wish, but we talk more about that strategy in depth on the podcast! 

You can listen in now on Spotify or Apple Podcasts here.  

Keep blooming, 

Franceska x

Ps. If you’re wanting to learn more about pitching to hotels, including what to include in your proposals, what questions to ask, what flowers to use and how to budget then you may want to check out The Hotel Florist™ Starter Kit!