Building your selling confidence
The biggest issue with salespeople is lack of confidence. While most of them deal with it in quiet desperation, there are also the loud egomaniacs who, while seeming to have too much confidence, really don't have enough and are simply over-compensating. This leads to a fear of making phone calls, knocking on doors and otherwise doing whatever it takes to be successful.
So, if you sell, here are five rules to build your confidence.
Stop making excuses and develop your sales skills.
Recently, someone told me the only reason he lost a $250,000 deal is because his was $2,000 higher than the competition's. He added that his area is different and people really do buy solely on price.
I hear that excuse about once a week. From what I've seen, the top company is always selling more expensive products to the same people who supposedly buy only on price. The truth is: Your market is not the exception to the rule! Price is simply an excuse for not doing the hard work of developing sales skills and learning to sell value.
Get completely sold on your product, your company and you.
I have seen the most timid people become the most confident, persuasive salespeople when they believed in their product and what they were doing. I once watched a young stockbroker who had only opened three accounts in four months open three in an hour when news broke on the stock he was pitching and it started to go up. He was possessed and wouldn't take “no” for an answer. He knew people would benefit.
Prepare.
The more prepared you are, the more confident you'll be. Know your product and be ready for anything that comes up on the sales call. You must have solid answers for every question, objection, issue and customer situation you might run into. Commit the answers to memory to a point where, if someone were to wake you at 3 a.m., you'd be able to answer immediately.
Get comfortable being uncomfortable, and face and conquer your fears.
This will do much to build your confidence and self-esteem. In the most important times in your life, you'll be uncomfortable and also a bit fearful. Look for uncomfortable situations, put yourself in them, and embrace them. What you'll realize is that very few things in life are, in fact, a matter of life or death. When you realize this, you'll simply take a deep breath, relax, and do and say what's necessary.
Work on motivation and self-discipline
The fastest way to motivation is to realize why you're doing what you're doing. What's the ultimate goal and payoff? To find your why, decide what you really want out of life. What do you want it to ultimately look like? What do you want for your family and your kids? What do you want to be able to do?
Self-discipline is getting in the habit of doing what you need to do every day whether you feel like it or not. If you can get into a daily routine and make everything you have to do a habit, the locked-in habits will usually be enough to keep you going and on track.
John Chapin, who is based in Auburn, is a motivational speaker and trainer focusing on sales. Contact him at johnchapin@completeselling.com.
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