A New Thought Process

Sales Training

Subject: Sales, Success, Overcoming Rejection

By Victor Antonio

What is it about selling that makes you afraid?  Do you get nervous at the hint of having to sell? Is it the fear of rejection that scares you?  Is it the fear of not being able to communicate effectively?  

Define Your Fear. What is it about selling that makes you afraid? Next question, how did you develop this fear?  What is it based on? 

a) Many people fear sales because they’re afraid of being rejected as I mention.

b) Others simply fear being the center of attention; especially when giving a presentation in front a large group of people.

c) Some fear selling because they’re simply unprepared to answer tough questions or don’t have a deep understanding of the product or service they’re selling.

d) Could it be you don’t believe in the product or service your selling?

e) Other _______________________________________________
 

Why do your fear selling?  Circle one before you proceed.

Checking Your Premise. Now that you selected, I want you to check the premise of your answer. In other words, I want you to question the validity of your fear.  If you chose C, for example, then your fear isn’t selling; it has more to do with being unprepared and the potential ‘shame’ of being exposed in public. Take the necessary steps to learn the product; this confidence in your knowledge will minimize your fear. If you chose B, you have to question why you’re afraid of getting up in front of others. Did you have a bad experience when you were younger? Or, are you still programmed by the “children should be seen and not heard’ parental reminder? To overcome the fear, you must first check the premise (validity) of why you hold that fear. No one every died from giving a sales presentation...at least not to my knowledge.

Like What You Sell. I can’t emphasize this enough. When you sell what you love, you're selling from a position of belief. When you believe in something strongly, that enthusiasm squeezes out the fear. Are you selling something your really believe in or are you selling in order to get a paycheck? If the answer is the latter, you may be successful selling, but you’ll never achieve a true level of success (i.e., making money doing what you love). If you don’t truly believe in what you’re selling, you will always be selling from a position of doubt. Doubt breeds fear. Seek out products you love to sell.

Measure Success Over Time. Many trainers advocate measuring your successes on a daily basis. Let’s get real here. Some of my days are full of setbacks making measuring success on daily basis painful. Daily actions are just minor events leading up to the main event; the sale. Don’t measure minor events, measure main events. A runner doesn’t count how many running steps it took to get to the finish line, he instead focuses on getting there! Stay focus on the main event, the sale, and not the day-to-day ups and downs.

Small Elephant Bites. Remember, the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. Begin with small attainable objectives, than move on to larger ones. Build momentum.

Indicators. When you succeed or have a win, take a mental inventory of how it came about. Analyze in your mind the steps you took to manifest this win. When things don’t go well, do the same thing; analyze your thoughts and actions and ask, "What should I have done differently?". Setbacks are indicators or guideposts on the road to sales success.

Don’t Take It Personal. Earl Nightengale once said that success plays no favorites. Success only favors those who persist and don’t give up. Selling is about persistence. Persistence is about not taking rejection personally. When clients or people refuse to buy from you, learn to ask “Why?”. And no matter the response you get back from the customer, learn to depersonalize it and then learn from it. Only sissies take things personally (don’t be a sales sissy)!

Necessary Component: There is one eternal truth about this free market we call capitalism…selling keeps the economy moving. Selling is the grease that lubricates the economic machine and keeps all its moveable parts in motion. From this moment on, as a salesperson, I want you to view your profession as the necessary component for keeping this economy going. I want you to see purpose in your profession. Purpose squeezes out fear in order to make room for enthusiasm.

Please share this article with a friend who may need a word of inspiration.

Copyright © 2004 by Victor Antonio   All rights reserved.  This article MAY be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, as long as the author’s name, website and email address are included as part of the article’s body.  All inquiries, including information on electronic licensing, should be directed to Victor Antonio.