Hi, It’s Jen again, I had to write about this as I have found myself having the same conversation with people over the past few weeks. People in various industries and various roles all asking me the same question, what is the key to selling? Why are people on my team scared of the word sell, sales, selling?
Other than those of you who are true hard cores — meaning you eat, breathe and live for sales, for most people sales and selling is daunting, even a bit scary.
For some reason we all have this very traditional image in our mind of what selling means. We picture the 1950’s door to door salesman:
He spends his days knocking on doors, facing a lot of rejection, placing his and his family’s life savings on a commission model and wondering every day if he is going to be able to put food on the table….Because of this old traditional view, people hear sales and commission and instead of feeling inspired, excited and passionate they feel panicked and confused. Lots of questions come to mind like: do they want me for my database? How will I make ends meet? Do I have to survive on commission only? What will my friends think of me when I keep asking them for favors?
I’m here to reassure you that while you may earn a commission rest assured it can be fun, fulfilling, and exciting too. Here’s a great article from HubSpot, when I read it I wanted to share it, I could relate with the writer, I find whenever I say the words selling and fun in the same sentence I get a lot of mixed reviews.
Here are three common fears of selling and my recommendations on how to move past them. The key to success in selling is remembering that if you are passionate about what you do and believe in the company/brand you work for you are already more than half way there, you are already selling!
1. Fear of failure and/or rejection. The reality is you can’t win ’em all, that refers to people and pitches. There is a high chance that you will lose, hear the word no, and be rejected on multiple occasions. It’s what you do with that information that makes you shine. How and what do you learn from that to make your next presentation and conversation better? This is what will make you better and more confident.
2. Fear of change. There is often a belief that what you are doing is perfect and there is no room for improvement or change. I often work with small business owners who have amazing ideas and great methodologies. Sometimes they’ve been in business for many years, others only a few days. One thing most have in common is a passion for their vision and how they want share that with the world. There is a significant chance that regardless of the situation if you are open to collaboration and ideation on how you are sharing that vision and the way you are delivering it there are some refinements and tactics that could deliver it and sell it to get you closing instead of just conversing. Change is positive and being open to it even better.
3. Fear of accountability. What happens if I don’t deliver? This happens in two ways. The fear of not delivering to your boss and potentially not delivering to your client or customer. In some scenarios, this causes you to walk away or avoid the situation all together. But ownership and accountability are the key to confidence, belief and empowerment. By gathering as much knowledge as you can about your client, their situation and how it applies to what you are pitching you can only enhance your delivery. Inquiring about your customer’s feedback with honesty and integrity only continues to validate your value.
Here’s a great article I found with some tips on how to overcome the fear of selling:
Step out of your comfort zone and be proud of your ability to sell! I think you may find you will have some fun and close some big deals!
Until next time….
