Stop being too afraid or too lazy to sell

Stop being too afraid or too lazy to sell

So you have finally got a job in a sales department, you have been given your own private cubicle, got all your stationery and now you have to get out there and sell. You start to stare blankly at the catalog and your computer screen and look around you at your colleagues all hard at work and become daunted at the task ahead but you persevere, go online and find the first customer you can get the email too and send an email expecting an instant reply. You do this hundreds of times but no-one replies you. Instantly your confidence blows away and you become downhearted but finally you receive the phone call you have been waiting for but it all goes horribly wrong as you fail to answer any of the client’s questions. If you are 100% confident in yourself and your talent and experience then skip to the second stage. If not read on...

First of all – we have all been there. Selling is something that most of us have never been taught in school and never really experienced in real life and so the whole process is alien to us. Now undoubtedly the biggest fear of all people in selling is the fear of failure, there is nothing more demoralizing and embarrassing than a continual lack of success and especially when all your peers can see on a daily basis your failures. Now this fear comes from school and is ingrained in us form an early age. Remember all those fucking tests and how all the kids would compare them in class and if you got a poor result you would hide away or run into the bathroom so that no-one would ask the dreaded question “so, what did you get?”. The truth this is something everyone has gone through. The difference however is that talented sales people will brush off the rejection and say to themselves – “come on lets find the one who is going to say yes!” To be a success in sales you need to understand that business is not personal. The more energy you put in to the job the more you will get out of it and every failure we have is a huge learning opportunity. When I was a teacher at university I used to hate my students answering a question correctly because I knew that true learning is gained through the experience of constant failure and the willingness to achieve. As Dyson (the inventor of the vacuum cleaner) once said

“Success is made up of 99% failure. You galvanize yourself and you keep going as a full optimist.”

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 the image you have of yourself, 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
     
• 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

Closely linked with the fear of failure is the fear of rejection. 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”. Also you must believe in your price. If you do not believe in your price, then you have bigger issues than a fear of closing.  I never cease to be amazed by the sheer number of salespeople I meet who genuinely think the price they are asking is too high!

If you have chosen to be a salesperson for Feilong or any sales company, then you need to trust that company in how and why they’ve established their pricing.

Interestingly, my experience has shown that there are companies that are actually not charging enough for their product or services.  That being the case, you can boost your belief in your price by regularly telling yourself that the customer is actually getting a bargain at the current pricing.

A lack of in depth knowledge about your product or company 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.

No one likes to be criticized, especially if you have tried your hardest. Unless you are very thick-skinned, harsh criticism can knock you back. 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.

You may know all the features and benefits of your product but, like an actor, you suffer from stage fright! The 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! If you are afraid of presenting, it’s likely you have lost sight of the fact that your customer is standing before you because they have a want or a need that they desire be met.  When you take the time to uncover those wants and needs, you aren’t just adding to your bottom line, you are helping someone.  I don’t know about you, but I love the industry of sales because it is an industry that is all about helping people

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. However there are other ways to help curb your fear

The first thing you will notice about any true great sales person is the amount of energy they have. The more energy you bring to your work the more success your work can give back to you. I really cannot understand some people in sales that are bored or have time to watch movies and play games during the work place. Top sales all know that there are not enough hours in the day to reach there targets because customers will only find you if you guide them to your email box. No customer is going to walk up and sit on your lap with a big wad of cash you need to find them and you job as sales is to do precisely that. You must understand – you are more important than the chairmen of the company, and a company’s fate rests in your hands.

Remember that having the right attitude will always point you in the right direction because if you do not have the sales attitude you are setting yourself up for failure.

The right sales Attitude is:

1. Love of conversation – tap into the social aspects of selling with others. Actively listen in sales discussions for deep engagement.
2. Creatively sort problems – experiences sales people know that hurdles are meant to be overcome and will use creative ways to eliminate roadblocks to success.
3. Self-motivation – know what you need to do to track your own progress for constant growth.
4. Respect for prices, product and prospects – put forth confidence in the prices your company charges and feel strongly it’s worth every penny.
5. Rock-star presentation delivery- The most successful sellers invest 2 hours a week improving their product knowledge, objection handling and sales pitch.
6. Hang in there under pressure – keep on selling when times get tough. The best salespeople maintain balance though-out the highs and lows that accompany the sales process.
7. Committed to follow through – Take each relationship as far as you can by communicating, committing and delivering on each piece of the processes to close the deal.
8. Continuous skills development – connect with other sales people experiences to constantly sharpen your sales.
9. Lend a helping hand – Understand that you are helping people and helping your client’s through-out the process.