One More Hit: Handling the Brush-Off

In this short

Be too busy to care: high activity, lots in flow, never hang your month on one deal. Brushed off in the first meeting or two? Move on. Only after you've sunk real time in, ask once: "What happened? Did something change?"

Give them the out first: "I don't want to waste your time. I've got other things I can be doing. If this isn't for you, or now's not the time, just tell me. I won't be hurt." Let shoppers go clean and keep them as warm targets. Ronnie's qualified pipeline ran a 30–40% hit ratio, versus 5–10% for a padded one.

One more hit: the difference between a .200 and a .300 hitter is one more hit in ten at-bats. In the mid-1990s, someone told Ronnie that gap was worth about a million dollars, roughly $2.2 million today. In sales, one extra sale per ten can be life-changing income.

Pick your at-bats: take your swings, then move on to the next one. That's why prospecting, targeting your ideal customer profile, and having solutions to back it up matter.

Niches: a generalist writes anything: "I write it all." With over a thousand industry codes, that's a lot of "all." Be an expert instead: pick a couple of complementary verticals. Hospitality: restaurants, hotels, golf clubs. Transportation: trucking, buses, courier services, trash haulers, cross-selling commercial auto, workers' comp and general liability. Bigger accounts, ones that want all the services, or ones that can't get coverage elsewhere can be a good fit for a professional employer organization (PEO); see Lesson 11.

Stay tough: sales is tough. Stay mentally tough and persistent. Keep yourself healthy: spiritually or through singing, the gym, journaling, adult-league sports, and other salespeople to talk to (a mentor, or someone you mentor).

Optional: we're putting together one bundle of workbooks and trackers, one low price, no upsell. It's coming to ronnieodell.com. Every lesson and worksheet stays free.

Sources and credits

• Inflation math: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items (series CUUR0000SA0). 1995 annual average 152.4; October 2026, 337.511. $1,000,000 × 337.511 ÷ 152.4 ≈ $2.2 million.
• Industry code count: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 NAICS Manual: 1,012 U.S. industries.
• Ronnie's own experience: thirty years in sales, with insurance part of it the whole time. The hitter story, the walk-away line, the hit ratios, the niche example and the toughness habits are his.

Disclosures

• AI avatar and an AI voice of Ronnie O'Dell. The lessons and opinions are Ronnie's. The hitter story is real; the man who told it stays unnamed.
• Educational content only. Not legal, tax or insurance advice. PEO fit varies by state and by the PEO.