Why We Fear To Sell And How You Can Overcome It By Robert Warlow

So, you have set up your business, got all your stationery printed, got the premises and office sorted and now you have to get out there and …sell! Suddenly you break into a cold sweat but you persevere, pick up the phone or approach your first customer and it all goes horribly wrong! This really sets you up for the next one!

The fear of selling is something which most first time business owners suffer from. Selling is not something we are taught in school or shown by our parents (unless you are immersed in business from an earlier age!) and so the whole process is alien to us. In this article we are going to look at exactly why we have this fear of selling and what you can do to overcome it.

What Is Fear?

But first of all what is ‘fear’? One great definition I have heard is that fear stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. That really sums up what fear is – our mind has gathered all this evidence to back up our inner doubts. This evidence is usually false but to our conscious mind it appears real and so translates into fear! At the end of the day, our fears are mainly thoughts and that’s it!

When our fears grab hold of us we find every excuse under the sun not to do something to get a sale – “I’ll ring again because it’s too early/lunch time/too late”, “I won’t approach them now; they don’t look in a good mood”, “I have a feeling that it’s not the right time to get in touch – may be next week.”

Sound familiar? With these ‘blockers’ getting in the way, your business will never take off! This is why you have to conquer those fears. But what are our main fears when it comes to selling and how can they be overcome?

Fear of failure...

Undoubtedly top of the list for any first time (and some experienced sales people!) is the fear of failure. We never like to fail, especially in a success-orientated environment. When we do, it makes the task even harder next time round. In school we are taught to fear failure (remember all those tests when the results were read out for all the class to hear?) and this stays with us in our adult life. Success has one fatal enemy and that’s the fear of failure!

But, don’t be like Homer Simpson when he tried to consol his son Bart who had failed in his bid to be class president,

“You tried and you failed. The lesson is … never try.”

So, what can you do to conquer your fear of failure? The bottom line is that you need a rock solid positive attitude. You must have an inner voice which is continually pushing you onto the next prospect and saying, “Come on, let’s find the one who’s going to say yes!”

Failure has to be seen as a learning opportunity. In every failure, there is a nugget of information, which next time, can point you in the direction of better success. James Dyson, the inventor of the revolutionary vacuum cleaner, summed up the need for a positive attitude, when he said, “Success is made up of 99% failure. You galvanise yourself and you keep going as a full optimist.”

Image Fears...

We all have the image of a successful salesperson – self confident, well dressed, good communicator, knowledgeable. We are our own worst critic and we quickly see the supposed flaws in our characters, which are either not there, or are so small that most people cannot detect them. Yet we allow our poor self image to drag us down. We convince ourselves that we cannot sell. Unless you are confident about your own ability to sell then the task is twice as hard. Remember that you are not born with confidence – it’s something we learn!

Not everyone has boundless self-confidence. When you start out in business, there is sometimes a nagging doubt that you may have bitten off more than you can chew. This inner doubt chips away at your self confidence and soon you have a poor self image, which reflects in your sales pitch. To be a successful salesperson you have to have a strong self image.

To improve your self image follow these steps:

• Write down the qualities which you believe a successful salesperson should possess. Try and limit the list to 4 or 5 key qualities

• Find a quiet spot and relax your body and mind with deep and steady breathing

• Once you are totally relaxed recite the strong, self image qualities you identified earlier

• Imagine or visualize yourself possessing each of these qualities. See in your minds eye how you look, now that you have these qualities. See how successful you are, how you look, and the car you are driving, where you are living

• Repeat to yourself that you are assuming each of these qualities and becoming a better person with each day that passes

Repeat this exercise first thing in the morning and last thing at night and you’ll soon find your self image and confidence levels increasing!

Fear of Rejection...

No one likes to hear the word “No”! The fear of rejection is another major stumbling block some people have to overcome when selling. Sometimes the fear of rejection is so big that their whole sales presentation is overshadowed. Their subconscious is saying “Why are you bothering? You know they are going to say no!” The presentation gets even worse; words are mumbled and product features are forgotten. The result? They get a ‘No’!

Hearing the response “No” is not a great motivator! The main way to deal with rejection is just to accept that it happens. Try and re-frame any rejection you get by saying to yourself that it’s the customer who loses out, not you. Walk away with a smug smile on your face and remind yourself that you are one step closer to someone who will say “Yes”.

Product Knowledge Fears...

Successful selling can only be achieved if you know your product or service inside out. If you don’t know all the features and benefits how can you ever hope to persuade someone that your product can solve all their problems? You may have had one bad experience where a customer highlighted your lack of knowledge but for some reason you have not put it right. Your subconscious continues to recognize this weakness and does what it can to sabotage your future presentations!

A lack of in depth knowledge about your product or service quickly finds its way to making for a poor presentation. There is only one solution … and that’s to get learning! Absorb yourself in the product. Understand all the features and benefits, so that you can confidently talk about all aspects of your offering. Banishing this fear is one of the easy ones to put right.

Fear of Criticism...

No one likes being criticized for what they do! We may do something to the best of our ability but our self confidence soon disappears when someone criticizes our selling style or product. This links in with the fear of a poor self image. If you have a low self image then criticism can hurt even more. On the other hand, people with a high self image can usually bounce back from a critical comment.

If you carry out the exercises on improving your self-image, your ability to take criticism will also improve. Decide to view criticism more as feedback than a direct attack on you. There is usually some element of truth in the majority of critical comments and it’s important that you take the opportunity to learn and change.

Presentation Fears...

You may be aware that your presentation skills leave a lot to be desired! Your sales pitch may be all over the place and lack any real structure, resulting in an inability to get the customer to commit. Your lack of confidence quickly shows up and the customer walks off with his wallet firmly in his pocket. This fear all boils down to lack of training. If you can spot this weakness or fear, then you are half way there. Many sales people don’t even know they have a training problem!

Your presentation fear can be down to a lack of structure around your sales process. Write a basic outline on how you wish a perfect sales pitch to go. Prepare a script for the key parts of the presentation and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!

Why not ask someone to help you role play a sales presentation? This will give you the opportunity to make all the mistakes you want but in a risk-free environment! You should also visit your local Business Link office and see what courses they are running on sales skills. Look out for books and tapes on effective selling. All of these actions will assist in improving your confidence and result in a more professional sales presentation.

Selling does not have to be a fearful experience! If you have the right attitude, a strong self belief, a full understanding of your product and plenty of practice, then you will have nothing to fear. So, take a look at each of these fears and put a plan in place to tackle them today!

© Robert Warlow -Small Business Success
_________
Small Business Success is a resource dedicated to helping small business owners be more successful. If you are looking for a regular flow of ideas and tips then subscribe to Small Business Success a free newsletter, which provides you with quick tips, ideas and articles. Visit SmallBusinessSuccess.biz

Sales Training and the Way You Think By Clayton Shold

Confucius observed, "He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger."

Learning and thinking are fundamentally linked. They need to be.

Let me state a working assumption, that is, people who choose to work in sales have been through a selection process to identify competencies and the individual has a realistic understanding of the sales role, responsibilities, and challenges.

When starting a sales career, sales training plays a critical role. Development usually focuses on three key areas, technique, process, and product. Layered over these are marketing components that address networking, prospecting and promotion. Together they form the technical components of sales training. Once mastered, they only improve with practice and repetition.

Arguably, the technical learning described in the preceding paragraph is not difficult. Product knowledge may be the exception as product can be complex. The topics have been studied and presented over many years. They have evolved and adapted but there have been few changes to the fundamental concepts of selling. Perhaps the last major change was the shift to needs based selling and the impact of a more informed consumer due to greater access to information on the Internet.

So then has the art of selling been perfected?

Perhaps, but some say it's all for naught if you haven't first tackled the way you think!

In fact my experience suggests that how you think should be an "up front" consideration.

Before getting on the road to technical development, there are real advantages to individuals and their organizations if both appreciated the impact effective thinking has on learning. Imagine an individual who is negative, pessimistic, lacks self-esteem, and procrastinates. Compare that person to a positive, self-starting optimist who is full of confidence and believes in himself or herself.

How you think, or your mindset, sets the tone for what follows in your career. It sets the tone for how you learn, how you interact with peers as well as prospects and clients.

In the perfect world, we would only hire those with a positive and optimistic attitude. We attempt to avoid recruiting those with a negative mindset who don't have a strong belief in self and who are not achievement oriented. In reality, we encounter individuals all along the spectrum.

The good news is someone with a negative or neutral mindset can learn to be an effective thinker. In fact, even those with a positive mindset can find ways to improve.

If one consciously understands their personal thinking style, and is able to recognize such things as negative self-talk and counter-productive behaviors, they are well on the way to affecting their mindset. Similar to learning, practice and repetition will enable and adjust the thought process. In time, the conscious re-framing, positive self-talk, and awareness becomes the new mindset.

Imagine the impact a positive mindset can have during the training event. The outcome can be significant. This permits an organization to better leverage its training investment - and ultimately the individual benefits from increased likelihood of personal success.

I'll close with a last thought on mindset from Confucius, "The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence."
__________
Clayton Shold's mission is to help sales professionals make more money. He is a member of the Salesopedia community, "The World of Sales from A to Z". Learn more at www.salesopedia.com

Who are you selling to? By Tom Hopkins

Too many salespeople are losing sales due to one simple mistake and they don't even realize it's happening. The mistake is in not giving equal attention when there is more than one decision-maker.

Never assume that the partner or committee member who speaks the most carries the most weight in decision-making. It's easy to get caught up in conversation with a member of the same sex as you. Or with a decision-maker with whom you have the most in common. Or, the one who is most excited about your offering.

True professionals in selling involve everyone present...everyone who could potentially influence the decision.
______________
Tom Hopkins International
7531 E. 2nd St., Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Tel: (480) 949-0786 or 800/528-0446 Fax: (480) 949-1590
TomHopkins.com - Visit our website for a great "Tip of the Day"

-----------Recommended resource-----

Learn proven Sales Skills from Sales Champions at AudioMotivation.com - offers downloading of audios for easy listening on the go!

Does Your Service Sell? By Kelley Robertson

Smart business owners know that providing great service to their patrons is an essential ingredient to their overall success. They also recognize that without a certain level of revenue they will not stay in business.

Unfortunately, many people think that selling and service are two distinct activities and mutually exclusive. So, where does the service part of the job end and where does selling begin in a retail store?

I believe that service and selling work hand-in-hand to create the entire experience for a customer. According to Webster’s dictionary, one definition of service is “to be ready to help or be useful”.

You can actually improve your service by applying a few customer-focused selling techniques because effective selling is an integral component of delivering great service. It’s all in the approach you use.

First of all, recognize that many consumers anticipate sub-standard service from businesses. While this may appear discouraging, it actually gives you an excellent opportunity to distinguish yourself from many of your competitors.

Here’s a personal example;
I recently ventured into a medium-priced fashion retail store. I was greeted immediately by the two employees who were working, and as I browsed through the store, one of them approached me to make sure I was finding what I was looking for.

At no time did she make me feel that I HAD to buy, she simply commented on some of the items I was considering. I eventually ended up spending several hundred dollars because of the attention I received in the store.

Personalized service is also a form of selling. An employee who shows interest in her customers is more likely to sell more and have a higher average dollar per transaction than her coworker who simply processes a customer’s order. Creating a connection with people creates trust.

My wife and I once traveled to New Orleans for a one-week vacation and decided to dine at a restaurant owned by a well-known chef. During our conversation, the server learned that we were on holidays and made us feel extremely welcome.

When the Chef arrived that evening she made arrangements for us to meet him and prompted me to buy one of his cookbooks so he could sign it. The service we received that night sold us on returning again before we left New Orleans.

Although we had dozens of restaurants to choose from in the vicinity, we decided to go back to this one because we knew the service would be great. Now, many years later, my wife and I still talk about that restaurant and our experience.

There are a few local retail stores I visit regularly because they work at creating that connection with their customers. They make me feel important which prompts me to return. Show interest in your customers. Strike up a conversation. Talk to them.

Although it sounds simple, my experience has taught me that most retailers do not engage their customer and create a personalized experience.

Suggestive selling is not pushy. I remember shopping for cuff links a while back. I had selected a pair in a certain men’s fashion store and was wandering around while I waited for my wife.

At one point, I stopped in front of a mannequin that displayed a particularly unique tie. As I gazed at the tie the salesperson said, “I can get one for you if you’d like.” His casual and comfortable approach made it easy for me to say “yes”. He then asked, “Would you like a suit to go with that tie?” I laughed and told him that I had enough suits in my wardrobe. He nodded and said, “We have some new raincoats that will protect your suits. Would you be interested in seeing them?”

Even though it was evident he was trying to increase the size of the sale, the way he positioned it indicated that he was actually trying to help me. Plus, his casual, yet professional and polite approach encouraged me to buy more than I had originally intended.

In another situation in a completely different store, the sales person took the initiative to suggest a few additional items that complemented the ones I was considering purchasing. As a result, I ended up buying a few more items that I had budgeted for.

Professional selling is about helping people make educated buying decisions. Professional service is about creating a memorable experience for your customers. Combine the two and you can quickly entice people to return while increasing the amount they spend each time they frequent your business.

© 2006 Kelley Robertson, all rights reserved.
___________
Kelley Robertson, President of the Robertson Training Group, works with businesses to help them increase their sales and motivate their employees and has helped thousands of sales professionals and business people improve their results. He is also the author of “Stop, Ask & Listen – Proven Sales Techniques To Turn Browsers Into Buyers.” Receive a FREE copy of “100 Ways to Increase Your Sales” by subscribing to his free sales and motivational newsletter available at KelleyRobertson.com. Contact him at 905-633-7750 or Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com.

Self Image in Selling By Brian Tracy

Why Your Self Image is a Key Part of Your Personality - Your self-image is the way you see yourself and think about yourself. It is often called your "inner mirror." You look into this mirror in every situation to see how you should perform on the outside. You always behave on the outside in a manner consistent with the picture you have of yourself on the inside.

How Do You See Yourself - For example, if you see yourself, as calm, confident and competent in any aspect of selling, when you are engaged in that activity, you will feel calm, confident and competent. You will be positive and happy. You will perform well and get excellent results. If, for any reason, it doesn't go well at that time, you will throw it off and dismiss it as a temporary situation. Your self-image is clear. In your mind's eye you see yourself as good and capable in that area, and nothing can interfere with your mental picture.

Change Your Self Image - The most rapid improvements in sales results come from changing your self-image. The moment that you see yourself differently, you behave differently as well. And because you are behaving differently, you get different results.

My Own Story - Some years ago, when I was selling club memberships from office to office, I would end my presentation by giving the prospect a booklet outlining the membership benefits and encourage him to "think about it."

My self-image was such that I could not bring myself to ask the prospect to make a buying decision. All day long, I would go from office to office giving my presentation and leaving a little book with descriptions to read. And as you might imagine, I was not making any sales. When I called people back after they had time to think about it, they would invariably say that they were not interested.

The Turning Point - I was getting desperate. I was living from hand to mouth at the time. Although I was seeing lots of prospects, I was making very few sales. Then I had a revelation which changed my career at the time. I realized that it was my fear of asking for the order that was causing all my problems. It was not my prospects. It was me. I needed to change my self-image and thereby change my behavior if I wanted results to improve.

Make A Decision - The very next morning, I made the decision that I would not call back on a prospect. The size of the purchase was small and, when I had completed my presentation, the prospect would know everything that he needed to know to make a decision. There was no benefit or advantage of leaving material behind or giving the prospect several days to think about it.

At my very first call, and I still remember it, when I had finished my presentation, the prospect said, "Let me think it over." I smiled and told him that I did not make call backs because I was too busy, and then I said, "You know everything you need to know to make a decision right now. Why don't you just take it?" I remember him shrugging his shoulders and saying, "OK. I'll take it. How would you like to be paid?"

Double Your Earnings - I walked out of that office on a cloud. That very day I tripled my sales. That week, I sold more than anyone else in the company. By the end of the month, they had made me the sales manager with 42 people under me.

I went from making one or two sales per week to making ten or fifteen sales per week. I went from worrying about money to a large salary with an override on the activities of all my salespeople. My sales life took off and, with few exceptions, it never stopped. And the turning point was that conscious choice to modify my self-image and make it more consistent with the results I wanted rather than the results that I was getting.

Action Exercises:

Now, here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, begin to see yourself the way you want to be. See yourself as strong, confident, competent and professional in every way. The person you see is the person you will be.

Second, identify an area of selling where your own ideas about yourself and the situation are holding you back. You always perform on the outside the way you see yourself on the inside.
____________
Brian Tracy is one of the world's leading authorities on personal and business success. His fast-moving talks and seminars are loaded with powerful, proven ideas and strategies that you can apply immediately to get better results in every area. Visit the Brian Tracy web site.