What Scares People About Sales?

Rejection.

It’s the same thing that scares us about asking a love interest out on a date.

We put it off or find reasons to avoid it. We make excuses for ourselves about why it’s not the right time or we’re not the right people to do it and then bemoan our bad luck when our best friend plucks up the courage and takes them to dinner.

Why couldn’t we be braver and less stupid? We are our own worst enemy; we sabotage our potential success and then refuse to face the consequences of our own inaction by brandishing what has transpired as someone else’s fault.

Perhaps we need a {inset dating app} equivalent for sales which allows us to dehumanise the process. Technology has anonymised our communications by making it easier for people to connect and converse.

Sales people get a hard time from the general public. We constantly mock them or question their motivation, but the truth is they are incredibly brave. They are able to overcome that fear of rejection and pursue what they require.

And telling people what we want seems to be against human nature. Being open and honest scares us the younger we are. We fear what people think of us and what they will tell others about what we are doing.

Overcoming those fears are the essential necessity that enables us to progress and succeed. We are unlikely to be great at sales from the moment we have our first conversation it’s our ability to get back on the bike and try again.

Perseverance.

People wrongly believe that a sale has to be closed on the first contact, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead of becoming disheartened we need to understand it is part of the process. Younger people have not dealt with the same amount of rejection and are intrinsically less prepared to deal with the aftermath. They see it as a reason give up and not try. By not trying we forego the gains and success we could achieve.

48% of sales people never follow up with a prospect
25% of sales people make a second contact and stop
12% of salespeople make more than three contacts

2% of sales are made on the first contact
3% of sales are made on the second contact
5% of sales are made on the third contact
10% of sales are made on the fourth contact
80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact

Perseverance is key, and young people feel bad about pestering people. They think they have something to lose instead of seeing what they could gain.

In reality, persistence ensures we stand out. Think about it, with less than 52% of all sales people following up with their prospects you will not only grow your business but you will stand out amongst your peers. It is a differentiator which will simultaneously make you stand out and makes you successful.

Desperation.

Or rather a lack of it. Young people aren’t desperate enough. They don’t have a house to pay for or a family to feed. Desperation breeds motivation. Instead of seeing a sale as an obstacle you need to see it as a necessity. If your livelihood depends on your ability to push something over the line you are more likely to go that extra mile.

But that is the point which straddles decency and can veer into a territory which is counterproductive. Clients can sense desperation and it is something we must always fight to avoid.

Be Yourself.

It is the cliché prescribed to you when you are entering sales. Be yourself, let your personality assist the sale, but who wants to show their true self when the chances of rejection and criticism are so high? So we protect ourselves by becoming a different character. Instead of building rapport with potential clients we alienate them by becoming the caricature we all hate.

The most successful salespeople sell by not even trying to sell. They are inherently interested in you and want to sincerely assist in helping you overcome a problem we face. Think back to those people who have sold you a product successfully, you probably weren’t even aware it was occurring: the most successful of those achieved it on a subconscious level. The sale wasn’t so much a hard sell but a preparation through an ascertaining of need.

It all comes down to being present. Listening and seeing the customer and understanding them. We can’t do this if we are hiding behind a fa?ade, but then we are scared to discard it for fear of the detrimental reaction that we have come to expect.

Sales aren't easy and those on the front lines should be saluted instead of denigrated as pariahs.

The first rule of business is that sales cure all ailments.

If you liked this article, it would mean a lot to me if you shared it on LinkedIn or Twitter. Want more like this? Follow me on Medium,Twitter or Facebook. 

You may repost this article on your blog, website, etc. as long as you include the following (including the links): “This article originally appeared here. Follow @Chris_Herd for more articles like this.”

www.chrisherd.co.uk

#AdviceThatSticks #FutureTrends #BigIdeas