Top 4 Tips to Eliminate FEAR from Sales
In my years of working with entrepreneurs, small business owners and even the top sales folks in companies there is one piece of âhead trashâ that seems to be ever-present…Fear.
Some of us were raised with a fear of speaking about money. Â Our parents taught us that if we had money we donât talk about it because you donât want anyone to know. Â Or if you donât have money you donât talk about it because you donât want anyone to know. Â Money is something that can cause anxiety and, at itâs worst, it can lead to an inability to make a decision from fear that the money we need might magically not be there somehow.
We also fear hearing the word NO. âNo, I donât want to buy your product.â, âNo, this isnât a good fit.â
Or even worse, the deadlyâŠ.âNot right nowâŠ.â  UGH!
But here is the thing about fear most people donât realize: YOU are in control of fear. You manufacture it, you give it power and YOU bring it to that meeting.
Here are our top 4 tips for eliminating fear in your sales meetings:
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Have a process and a plan. Â How many of you âwing itâ when it comes to a sales call? Â Howâs that working out for ya? Â Having a process to follow to get to your clients REAL (compelling) reasons to do business with you will empower you to ask the powerful questions that will uncover if this customer is a good fit for you, and vice versa.
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Practice. I know, I know…totally uncomfortable. BUT if you have an accountability partner that can role play a sales call with you, help you verbalize the questions you want to ask and tell you when you need to change what you are doing you will walk in knowing that you are ready.
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Set a good agenda and get permission. If your prospect thinks you are just there to present they will be primed to say yes or no based on the price only, not the real value of your service. Get permission to ask them tough questions about their business and THEN you can dive deep into the REAL reason they need to make a change.
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Donât let fear drive your actions. Let go of the head trash. You donât have to feel bad talking about money. If you donât have enough money to even pay for the coffee, you might get uncomfortable asking for a large sum from your prospect. Donât sell with your own pocketbook. Your client is in a totally different situation than you are. Let it go. You are there because, hopefully, you can impact his organization in a major way. Donât fail him by not selling him what he really needs.
All of this takes practice. You can read a million sales books, but if you really want to move forward you need accountability, real-life experiences, and practice. Â I invite you to join us at our upcoming Executive Brief where we deep dive into the psychology of sales, the human decision model, and permission-based selling.
âSo don’t be fearless. Instead, fall in love with fear. Itâs the beacon in the night, guiding each of us toward the next better decision. Itâs the challenge that asks us whether weâre strong enough to receive the benefits of all weâve asked for. And itâs better than any alarm clock, giving us regular wake-up calls designed to help us rise to the next occasion.â
-Erika Napoletano
Columnist, American Express OPEN