Have you ever thought that something as simple as optimistic thinking could change the course of you and your business?
Monika Kochhar is the CEO and Co-founder of SmartGift. She has launched, grew and led startups that transformed music, payments and commerce, and redefined customer experiences. Monika previously worked in finance in derivatives trading, selling and emerging markets for JP Morgan, BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs. Monika attended Mount Holyoke College and the London School of Economics. In addition, she is an avid writer and speaker on payments, commerce, tech philosophy and women in entrepreneurship. She grew up in India and lives in NYC.
Feeling discouraged and need a boost? It’s time to learn about the power of optimistic thinking and the power it can have on you and your business. THIS BLOG POST will teach how to enthusiastically comprehend a NO, so you it no longer brings you down!
Here are a few key secrets we talked about in this episode:
- Michelle introduces Monika Kochhar.
- Monika explains Smart Gift, and how the business works: it’s all about creating an experience during the gifting process!
- When you’re starting out and have no name recognition, it’s key that you remain in an ego-less state, so you can pitch, and learn from rejection.
- Monika shares about a crushing rejection from a big retailer.
- Instead of just taking the NO, Monika reached out and asked for feedback; and asked what it would have taken to get a YES from them.
- Because she asked, and asked in an authentic way, they gave the feedback she requested!
- For Monika, taking, implementing and learning from that feedback was key.
- When you hear NO, it’s tempting to just ask for more time, five more minutes to show them why you are the best choice. Monika found that keeping it together and calmly asking for feedback was far more valuable.
- You have to know that this will work: have “blind faith” in yourself. You’ll also need a supportive team surrounding you!
- The feedback from that NO led to Monika and the team completely redoing their system, and making it better than ever.
- The more rejection you get, the more feedback that you get and are able to make yourself and your systems even better.
- Monika raised a little over $2 million dollars in the beginning stages of Smart Gift. Many investors said NO to funding Smart Gift, but Monika kept moving forward and still pulled it off.
- Moving forward was hard: Monika had to believe in herself with unbridled optimism, always pressing forward.
- When you hear NO, it can be tempting to start applying for corporate jobs.
- You want to create a frictionless experience for gaining new clients.
- Genuine conversations are a great part of the sales experience: they help create the chemistry for that perfect match.
- Ask directly for the deal: many people struggle with closing business because they don’t even actually ask for it.
- You can’t help your ideal client unless you close the deal by asking!
- Monika shares what she would tell her younger self.
Connect with Monika Kochhar:
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PS. Stop letting NO ruin your optimistic thinking. NO’s are just lessons on the path to success! Learn how to optimistically overcome the NO in THIS BLOG POST.
