Take a no gracefully and keep the door open. Creators decline for all sorts of reasons, timing, fit, workload so respond politely, thank them and leave room to work together later. A respectful reaction protects your brand's reputation in a community where creators talk to each other.
How should a brand handle being rejected by an influencer during outreach?
Rejection is a normal part of outreach so the healthiest mindset is that a no is rarely personal. Creators turn down brands for many reasons that have nothing to do with your offer, a packed schedule, an existing conflicting deal, a sense the fit is not quite right or simply too many requests. The move that matters is your reaction. A gracious reply that thanks them for considering it and leaves the door open costs nothing and protects your reputation, since creators talk to one another and remember how brands behave. Where it is appropriate, you can politely ask if a different arrangement or timing would work but pushing hard after a clear no backfires. It also pays to learn from patterns. If many creators decline, the issue may be your offer, your targeting or your approach rather than bad luck. Flinque helps on the targeting side by making sure you approach genuinely well-matched creators, which tends to lift acceptance and reduce the rejections in the first place.