1. Selling with Purpose
What is it about selling that makes you afraid? Do you get nervous at
the hint of having to sell? Is it the fear of rejection that scares you?
Is it the fear of not being able to communicate effectively?
Define Your Fear. What is it about selling that makes you afraid?
Next question, how did you develop this fear? What is it based on?
a) Many people fear sales because they're afraid of being rejected as I
mention.
b) Others simply fear being the center of attention; especially when
giving a presentation in front a large group of people.
c) Some fear selling because they're simply unprepared to answer
tough questions or don't have a deep understanding of the product
or service they're selling.
d) Could it be you don't believe in the product or service your
selling?
e) Other _______________________________________________
Why do your fear selling? Circle one before you proceed.
Checking Your Premise. Now that you selected, I want you to check
the premise of your answer. In other words, I want you to question
the validity of your fear. If you chose C, for example, then your fear
isn't selling; it has more to do with being unprepared and the
potential 'shame' of being exposed in public. Take the necessary steps
to learn the product; this confidence in your knowledge will
minimize your fear. If you chose B, you have to question why you're
2. afraid of getting up in front of others. Did you have a bad experience
when you were younger? Or, are you still programmed by the
quot;children should be seen and not heard' parental reminder? To
overcome the fear, you must first check the premise (validity) of why
you hold that fear. No one every died from giving a sales
presentation...at least not to my knowledge.
Like What You Sell. I can't emphasize this enough. When you sell
what you love, you're selling from a position of belief. When you
believe in something strongly, that enthusiasm squeezes out the fear.
Are you selling something your really believe in or are you selling in
order to get a paycheck? If the answer is the latter, you may be
successful selling, but you'll never achieve a true level of success (i.e.,
making money doing what you love). If you don't truly believe in
what you're selling, you will always be selling from a position of
doubt. Doubt breeds fear. Seek out products you love to sell.
Measure Success Over Time. Many trainers advocate measuring your
successes on a daily basis. Let's get real here. Some of my days are
full of setbacks making measuring success on daily basis painful.
Daily actions are just minor events leading up to the main event; the
sale. Don't measure minor events, measure main events. A runner
doesn't count how many running steps it took to get to the finish line,
he instead focuses on getting there! Stay focus on the main event, the
sale, and not the day-to-day ups and downs.
Small Elephant Bites. Remember, the only way to eat an elephant is
one bite at a time. Begin with small attainable objectives, than move
on to larger ones. Build momentum.
Indicators. When you succeed or have a win, take a mental inventory
of how it came about. Analyze in your mind the steps you took to
manifest this win. When things don't go well, do the same thing;
analyze your thoughts and actions and ask, quot;What should I have
done differently?quot;. Setbacks are indicators or guideposts on the road
to sales success.
