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Why We Fear To Sell … And How You Can Overcome It
Robert Warlow
Small Business Success
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.
Fear of Failure
Undoubtedly the biggest fear most people in selling, and business
have is the fear of failure. There is nothing more demoralising than a
continual lack of success! Fear of failure has been ingrained from school –
remember all those tests when the results were read out for all the class to
hear? If you had a poor result, you never felt like trying again! 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 Fear
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:
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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
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Once you are totally relaxed
recite the strong, self image qualities you identified earlier
-
Imagine or visualise 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
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".
Product Knowledge Fear
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.
Criticism
No one likes
to be criticised, 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.
Presentation Fears
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! 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
www.smallbusinesssuccess.biz
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