I have them, you have them, heck we all have them. The haters. You know, those folks within your lives that complain, are negative, or simply enjoy criticizing. In your world, it may be your friends, prospects, clients, affiliates or, hopefully not, even family members. Know what to say to haters and do not let their actions nor their words get to you.
What To Say To Haters | Never Let Them Haters Get To Me
In this article:
- Shake It Off With A Laugh
- To The Haters: You’re Not Bringing Me Down
- Handling A Hater With Class
- Haters Aren’t Worth A Debate
- Bye, Felicia
Shake It Off With A Laugh
This is especially true with social media today where any bully or coward can hide behind a pseudo name and share with the world how bad you are. Unfortunately, haters gonna hate.
The key to this is you must laugh it off. You know you are good, you know you provide a valuable service and you are in a position to change people’s lives. This is true. Being a professional in commercial real estate, you provide your clients with not only sales, leasing, management and valuation services, but more importantly, peace of mind, comfort, choices, income opportunities and greater margin for them to do more.
To The Haters: You’re Not Bringing Me Down
Never let the haters stop you from being great. Don’t hate them back, just get rid of them. Below is an example of a hater I seemingly deserved to procure last week (at least in his mind) on what he said, and how I have learned to handle it.
Over the last nine years, our company has coached over 1,000 commercial real estate professionals, and I have written 2 books, Brokers Who Dominate and Teams Built to Dominate, which have fortunately sold thousands of copies. Although I never feel I have reached a level of satisfactory success, probably an internal issue I need to work on, I am confident and comfortable on the contributions we are making.
Handling A Hater With Class
No doubt, I have my critics, but I especially loved this email I received last week.
“I purchased your book and it really didn’t tell me much. I just wasted my money. So, I’m wondering if I should even bother with you or your products.”
To his credit, this person did not hide behind social media. He shared his honest opinion, and I personally find constructive criticism a greater teaching tool than praise. However, it’s the praise that reinforces the value of what we do; of what you do. That is never easily forgotten.
In the book Hug Your Haters by Jay Baer, I learned a core rule of handling criticism that seems to work the best. First, acknowledge it. Respond to your critics and let them know you heard them, but only once.
Haters Aren’t Worth A Debate
Never get into a debate with a hater. There is no good to come of it. Second, get rid of the haters. That’s right, even if they are a prospect or client, get rid of them. They are not going to let you grow, and will not be a raving fan.
To the hater who emailed me last week, my message was simple:
“{First name}, I am sorry you did not find value in the content. I have asked my team to remove you from future marketing efforts as it is obvious you are not a candidate for our services. You will be missed.”
Bye, Felicia
I recently read a blog that shared the story of Herb Kelleher, founder of Southwest Airlines on how he responded to a particularly dissatisfied critic. His message was straightforward. Whereas most companies would have apologized to a disgruntled customer, given some form of gift or compensation and chastised the team for their poor and inappropriate behavior, Herb didn’t. He sent a short, three-word response to the lady. It said simply, you’ve guessed it, “We’ll miss you!”
The key is to simply stick to your core values. To all your haters simply say “we’ll miss you,” and focus on those who support your vision, your culture, and your growth.
Do you know what to say to haters? Tell us your take in the comments section.
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Editor’s Note: This article has been updated for accuracy and relevancy.
